Grain sorghum is a versatile crop, which can thrive under limited water and other inputs. However, crop loss from weed infestation continues to be a major constraint in grain sorghum production. Particularly, post‐emergence grass weed control is a great challenge in grain sorghum due to the lack of herbicide options. Unlike in other major crops, such as maize or soybean, herbicide‐resistant sorghum technology that can facilitate weed control throughout crop growing season is not available to growers yet. The development of herbicide‐resistant sorghum can have potential to improve weed management, including post‐emergence grass weed control. One of the major concerns in the development of such technology in sorghum is escape of resistance traits into weedy relatives of sorghum (e.g. shattercane and johnsongrass). This review focuses on sources of herbicide resistance in sorghum, the status of the development of herbicide‐resistant sorghum technologies, overview of breeding methods, and limitations in the development of such sorghum technology as well as economic benefits for sorghum growers. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens associated with bovine mastitis and human foodborne illnesses from contaminated food and water have an impact on animal and human health. Phenolic compounds have antimicrobial properties and some specialty sorghum grains are high in phenolic compounds, and the grain extract may have the potential as a natural antimicrobial alternative. The study’s objective was to determine antimicrobial effects of sorghum phenolic extract on bacterial pathogens that cause bovine mastitis and human foodborne illnesses. Bacterial pathogens tested included Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis. Antibacterial activities of sorghum phenolic extracts were determined by agar-well diffusion assay. Sorghum phenolic extract was added to the wells in concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 500, 1000, or 4000 µg/mL. The control wells did not receive phenolic extract. Plates were incubated for 18–24 h, and the diameter of each zone of inhibition was measured. The results indicated that sorghum phenolic extract had inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Campylobacter jejuni, and Campylobacter coli.
Many crop species, particularly those of tropical origin, are chilling sensitive, so improved chilling tolerance can enhance production of these crops in temperate regions. For the cereal crop sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.), early planting and chilling tolerance have been investigated for >50 years, but the potential value or tradeoffs of this genotype × management change have not been formally evaluated with modeling. To assess the potential of early planted chilling‐tolerant grain sorghum in the central US sorghum belt, we conducted CERES‐Sorghum simulations and characterized scenarios under which this change would be expected to enhance (or diminish) drought escape, water capture, and yield. We conducted crop growth modeling for full‐ and short‐season hybrids under rainfed systems that were simulated to be planted in very early (April), early (May 15), and normal (June 15) planting dates over 1986–2015 in four locations in Kansas representative of the central US sorghum belt. Simulations indicated that very early planting will generally lead to lower initial soil moisture, longer growing periods, and higher evapotranspiration. Very early planting is expected to extend the growing period by 20% for short‐ or full‐season hybrids, reduce evaporation during fallow periods, and increase plant transpiration in the two‐thirds of years with the highest precipitation (mean > 428 mm), leading to 11% and 7% increase grain yield for short‐ and full‐season hybrids, respectively. Thus, in this major sorghum growing region, very early and early planting could reduce risks of terminal droughts, extend seasons, and increase rotation options, suggesting that further development of chilling‐tolerant hybrids is warranted.
Breeding sorghum for drought adaptation is pivotal to secure crop production in drought-prone regions. Limited transpiration (LT) restricts water demand at high vapor pressure deficit, saving water for use in critical periods later in the growing season. Here we evaluated the hypothesis that LT would increase sorghum grain yield in the United States. We used a process-based crop model, APSIM, which simulates interactions of genotype, environment, and management (G x E x M). In this study, the G component includes the LT trait (GT) and maturity group (GM), the E component entails water deficit patterns, and the M component represents different planting dates. Simulations were conducted over 33 years (1986-2018) for representative locations across the US sorghum belt (Kansas, Texas, and Colorado) for three planting dates and maturity groups. The interaction of GT x E indicated a higher impact of LT sorghum on grain for LD, MD, and ED (8%), than on WW environments (4%). Thus significant impacts of LT can be achieved in western regions of the sorghum belt. Otherwise, the lack of interaction of GT x GM x M suggested that an LT sorghum would increase yield by around 8% across maturity groups and planting dates. Although the interaction GM x M revealed that specific combinations are better suited across geographical regions. Overall, the findings suggest that breeding for LT would increase sorghum yield in the drought-prone areas of the US without tradeoffs.
Liver abscesses occur in finishing cattle fed high-grain, low-roughage diets. Cattle with abscessed livers seldom show any clinical signs and are detected only at the time of slaughter. Liver abscesses are of significant economic concern to the feedlot industry. Liver abscesses comprise, on average, 67% of all liver abnormalities in cattle slaughtered in the United States with a prevalence of 10–20% and may reduce the value of the beef carcass up to $38 per animal with the most severe abscesses. There are four causative agents of the disease including the two subspecies of Fusobacterium necrophorum, ssp. necrophorum and ssp. funduliforme, Trueperella pyogenes, and Salmonella enterica. Tylosin, supplemented in the feed, is the most commonly used antibiotic in the feedlot industry to prevent liver abscesses. Because of the concerns about antimicrobial resistance, there is a need to find an effective alternative to this antibiotic, and sorghum grain extracts, which are high in phenolic compounds, may have the potential to be used as natural antibiotic alternatives. Our objectives were to investigate the efficacy of phenolic extracts from black, sumac, brown, and burgundy sorghums on liver abscess pathogens. The sorghum phenolics were extracted using 75% aqueous acetone and total phenolic content was determined by spectrophotometrically. Bacterial strains were cultured in Mueller-Hinton broth (Salmonella and Trueperella pyogenes) or anaerobic brain-heart infusion broth (Fusobacterium) with and without sorghum extracts (1 mg/ml) at 12, 24, and 48 hours and bacterial concentrations were determined. If the compound was inhibitory, a micro-broth dilution method was used to quantify the inhibitory activity. Both black and sumac sorghum phenolics inhibited growth of all four bacterial species. Further studies are ongoing to investigate different concentrations and phenolic compounds from varieties of sorghum grains on the liver abscess pathogens.
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