Quantitative‐genetic parameters of sorghum growth under striga infestation in Mali and Kenya

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
To estimate quantitative‐genetic parameters of sorghum for resistance to the hemi‐parasitic weed striga [Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth.] and for agronomic traits, 36 diallel F2 populations and their nine parental lines were evaluated under severe striga infestation at two locations each in Mali and Kenya. Location means for grain yield ranged from 132 to 254 g/m2. F2 populations outyielded lines on average by 18%. For striga emergence traits, F2 heterosis values ranged from ‐36% to 232% among populations. Genetic and genotype x environment interaction variances of lines and F2s were highly significant for all traits. Broad‐sense heritabilities for areas under striga severity progress curves and grain yield were 0.83 and 0.90 in lines, and 0.81 and 0.89 in F2s, respectively. General and specific combining ability, and their interaction effects with locations were significant for most traits. F2 superiority for grain yield under striga infestation demonstrates the potential merit of heterozygous cultivars in the target areas. Significant genotype x environment interaction entails multilocational testing to identify stable resistance. A combination of resistance with striga tolerance is recommended to breeders.