Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a very important crop in the arid and semi-arid tropics of India and African subcontinent. In the process of release of new cultivars using multi-location data major emphasis is being given on the superiority of the new cultivars over the ruling cultivars, while very less importance is being given on the genotype 9 environment interaction (GEI). In the present study, performance of ten Indian hybrids over 12 locations across the rainy seasons of 2008 and 2009 was investigated using GGE biplot analysis. Location attributed higher proportion of the variation in the data (59.3-89.9%), while genotype contributed only 3.9-16.8% of total variation. Genotype 9 location interaction contributed 5.8-25.7% of total variation. We could identify superior hybrids for grain yield, fodder yield and for harvest index using biplot graphical approach effectively. Majority of the testing locations were highly correlated. 'Which-wonwhere' study partitioned the testing locations into three mega-environments: first with eight locations with SPH 1606/1609 as the winning genotypes; second megaenvironment encompassed three locations with SPH 1596 as the winning genotype, and last mega-environment represented by only one location with SPH 1603 as the winning genotype. This clearly indicates that though the testing is being conducted in many locations, similar conclusions can be drawn from one or two representatives of each mega-environment. We did not observe any correlation of these mega-environments to their geographical locations. Existence of extensive crossover GEI clearly suggests that efforts are necessary to identify location-specific genotypes over multi-year and -location data for release of hybrids and varieties rather focusing on overall performance of the entries.

Extrusion cooking is a unique method for preparing pasta, which is generally produced from durum wheat semolina. However, preparation of pasta from sorghum is not practiced in India. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to develop and standardize pasta from sorghum cultivar, M35-1 and wheat semolina of 0.1 mm particle size. Sorghum and wheat semolina in different proportions (T1;S:W-50:50, T2;S:W-60:40,T3;S:W-70:30,T4; S:W-80:20, T5; S −100) were mixed with lukewarm water (40°C) in the cold extruder for 30 min and passed through the extruder with a screw speed of 80 rpm and at a temperature of 55°to obtain pasta of diameter (0.6 mm) and length (1.4 mm). The extruded pasta was dried at 70°C in a tray drier for 8 h, cooled and stored in polyethylene bags at room temperature. The pasta was subjected to physico-chemical analysis such as length, diameter, bulk density, water absorption, cooking time, cooking loss, moisture, water activity, alcoholic acidity, amylase, carbohydrates, fat, protein, fibre and ash using standard methods. Organoleptic characteristics such as color and appearance, texture, taste, flavor and overall acceptability, stickiness, bulkiness and firmness were evaluated at laboratory level by a panel of semi trained judges using 5 point hedonic rating scale. Among the various blends studied, the sorghum and wheat semolina with a combination of 50:50 (T1) and 60:40 (T2) and 70:30 (T3) were more acceptable than others. Well acceptable sorghum pasta can be developed from sorghum and wheat, thereby improving its nutritional composition.

Fossil energy resources, the primary source of transport fuel in the world is depleting dramatically to meet the ever-increasing energy demands globally. Crop plants are one of the best sources of renewable energy which can be used as feedstock for biofuel production. Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], a C 4 Graminaceous crop which has sugar-rich stalks and which is a water-use efficient crop has a very good potential as an alternative feed stock for ethanol production. It is the only crop that provides grain and stem that can be used for sugar, alcohol, syrup, jaggery, fodder, fuel, bedding, roofing, fencing, paper and chewing. Sweet sorghum juices usually contain approximately 16-18% fermentable sugar, which can be directly fermented into ethanol by yeast. Technical challenges of using sweet sorghum for biofuels are a short harvest period for highest sugar content and fast sugar degradation during storage. Various review works based on the problems of sweet sorghum were described in this review. Some studies are on the genetic potential of sweet sorghum for higher green cane yield and juice extractability where as some studies are purely on the shelf life of the juice how to preserve the juice with low cost against bacterial contamination. Studies also involve testing the potential of genotypes for superior yields of cane during post rainy and summer seasons also to make the cane available for maximum period in a year. Studies on fermentation and hydrolysis of lignocellulose are also addressed in this review.

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Most traits of interest to medical, agricultural and animal scientists show continuous variation and complex mode of inheritance. DNA-based markers are being deployed to analyse such complex traits, that are known as quantitative trait loci (QTL). In conventional QTL analysis, F2, backcross populations, recombinant inbred lines, backcross inbred lines and double haploids from biparental crosses are commonly used. Introgression lines and near isogenic lines are also being used for QTL analysis. However, such populations have major limitations like predominantly relying on the recombination events taking place in the F1 generation and mapping of only the allelic pairs present in the two parents. The second generation mapping resources like association mapping, nested association mapping and multiparent intercross populations potentially address the major limitations of available mapping resources. The potential of multiparent intercross populations in gene mapping has been discussed here. In such populations both linkage and association analysis can be conductted without encountering the limitations of structured populations. In such populations, larger genetic variation in the germplasm is accessed and various allelic and cytoplasmic interactions are assessed. For all practical purposes, across crop species, use of eight founders and a fixed population of 1000 individuals are most appropriate. Limitations with multiparent intercross populations are that they require longer time and more resource to be generated and they are likely to show extensive segregation for developmental traits, limiting their use in the analysis of complex traits. However, multiparent intercross population resources are likely to bring a paradigm shift towards QTL analysis in plant species.

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a drought‐resilient crop, grown extensively in semiarid tropics of the world. To understand the scenario of sorghum cultivation across the world, trends in area and yield gain and associated changes in yield stability were analyzed in the top 10 sorghum‐producing countries from 1970 to 2009. Asian countries and the United States recorded a large drop in harvested area. Grain yield levels increased substantially in all the countries except Sudan. Relative to yield level of 1970, sorghum productivity increased annually at 0.96% yr−1 across the top 10 countries analyzed. China (100.9 kg ha−1 yr−1) and Nigeria (48.6 kg ha−1 yr−1) experienced phenomenal yield gain before reaching a plateau. Overall yield gain was not associated with increased yield stability in a majority of countries except Ethiopia. In fact, in China and India (post‐rainy‐season sorghum), the yield variability increased over time. Genetic gain for grain yield over years in the Indian sorghum improvement program was prominent in rainy‐season hybrid trials (18.5 kg ha−1 yr−1), whereas both in post‐rainy‐season hybrid and varietal trials it was insignificant. Much progress in rainy‐season variety trials after 1985 was not observed. Across years in India, the gap between potential and farm yield declined 0.32% yr−1 among rainy‐season cultivars and 0.46% yr−1 among post‐rainy‐season cultivars. The analysis reveals that though substantial progress has been made towards yield gain, this was not represented by increased production because of extensive loss of the sorghum area to other remunerative crops.

BackgroundSorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important dry-land cereal of the world providing food, fodder, feed and fuel. Stay-green (delayed-leaf senescence) is a key attribute in sorghum determining its adaptation to terminal drought stress. The objective of this study was to validate sorghum stay-green quantitative trait loci (QTL) identified in the past, and to identify new QTL in the genetic background of a post-rainy adapted genotype M35-1.ResultsA genetic linkage map based on 245 F9 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) derived from a cross between M35-1 (more senescent) and B35 (less senescent) with 237 markers consisting of 174 genomic, 60 genic and 3 morphological markers was used. The phenotypic data collected for three consecutive post-rainy crop seasons on the RIL population (M35-1 × B35) was used for QTL analysis. Sixty-one QTL were identified for various measures of stay-green trait and each trait was controlled by one to ten QTL. The phenotypic variation explained by each QTL ranged from 3.8 to 18.7%. Co-localization of QTL for more than five traits was observed on two linkage groups i.e. on SBI-09-3 flanked by S18 and Xgap206 markers and, on SBI-03 flanked by XnhsbSFCILP67 and Xtxp31. QTL identified in this study were stable across environments and corresponded to sorghum stay-green and grain yield QTL reported previously. Of the 60 genic SSRs mapped, 14 were closely linked with QTL for ten traits. A genic marker, XnhsbSFCILP67 (Sb03g028240) encoding Indole-3-acetic acid-amido synthetase GH3.5, was co-located with QTL for GLB, GLM, PGLM and GLAM on SBI-03. Genes underlying key enzymes of chlorophyll metabolism were also found in the stay-green QTL regions.ConclusionsWe validated important stay-green QTL reported in the past in sorghum and detected new QTL influencing the stay-green related traits consistently. Stg2, Stg3 and StgB were prominent in their expression. Collectively, the QTL/markers identified are likely candidates for subsequent verification for their involvement in stay-green phenotype using NILs and to develop drought tolerant sorghum varieties through marker-assisted breeding for terminal drought tolerance in sorghum.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-909) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sorghum diet on Glycosilated Hemoglobin and Lipid Profile in people suffering from Diabetes 76 7.4 Amino acid profile of sorghum foods 77 7.5 Effect of sorghum diet on nutritional status of school going children 77 7.6 Determination of protein efficiency of sorghum 79 8 Processing and Impact of Sorghum on Nutritional Composition 81-87 8.1 Processing of Millets 81 8.2 Effect of grain processing on nutrient composition of sorghum products 83 9 Summary and Conclusions 89-90 10 Reference 91-104