Genetic Variation among Sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i> L. Moench) Landraces from Eritrea under Post-Flowering Drought Stress Conditions

Abstract

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) grown under rain-fed conditions is usually affected by drought stress at different stages, resulting in reduced yield. The assessment of variation in morpho-physiological traits contributing towards drought tolerance at these stages is of vital importance. This study was conducted using a split plot design with three replications to evaluate 25 sorghum accessions at post flowering stage under well watered and drought stress conditions at Hamelmalo Agricultural College. The data of 14 different morpho-physiological traits were subjected to analysis of variance, estimation of genetic variability and heritability and principal component analysis. We analyzed variance for seedling vigor, number of leaves, leaf area, stay-green, peduncle exsertion, panicle length and width, plant height, days to flowering and maturity, grain yield, biomass and harvest index under drought stress and irrigated conditions. The results showed that genotypic differences were significant at P < 0.05 -< 0.001. High magnitude of phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variations for plant height, harvest index and biomass as well as high heritability for days to flowering, panicle length, days to maturity and over all agronomic score were recorded. Principal component (PC) analysis showed that the first 4 PCs had Eigen value >1 explaining 74.6% of the total variation with grain yield, biomass, stay-green, leaf area, peduncle exsertion and days to flowering and maturity being the most important characters in PC1 and PC2. This research demonstrated high diversity for the characters studied. Moreover, the result showed that drought stress reduced the yield of some genotypes, though others were tolerant to drought. Accessions EG 885, EG 469, EG 481, EG 849, Hamelmalo, EG 836 and EG 711 were * Corresponding author.Tesfamichael et al. 1411identified as superior for post-flowering drought tolerance and could be used by breeders in improvement programs.

Genetic variability in agronomic traits and associations in sorghum [(Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)] genotypes at intermediate agro-ecology sorghum growing areas of Ethiopia

“…Therefore, the breeders could get chance to select promising genotypes based on the phenotypic performance of these traits. Agreeing with the present study, high heritability estimates for overall agronomic aspect were reported by Abraha et al (2015). High heritability estimates for plant height was also reported by Tomar et al (2012), Godbharle et al (2010) and Bhagasara et al (2017) which is in accordance with the present findings.…”

“…The difference between PCV and GCV was maximum for grain yield followed by number of seeds per panicle, indicating that these traits are more influenced by the environment. The highest PCV and GCV value for plant height is in accordance with the report of Abraha et al (2015). Tomar et al (2012) and Godbharle et al (2010) also reported low PCV and GCV on days to 50% flowering and Warkad et al (2008) and Abraha et al (2015) also reported low PCV and GCV on days to maturity.…”

“…The highest PCV and GCV value for plant height is in accordance with the report of Abraha et al (2015). Tomar et al (2012) and Godbharle et al (2010) also reported low PCV and GCV on days to 50% flowering and Warkad et al (2008) and Abraha et al (2015) also reported low PCV and GCV on days to maturity. Similarly, moderate value of PCV and GCV on plant height reported by Warkad et al (2008) agrees with present research report.…”

Phenotypic characterization of Ethiopian finger millet accessions (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn), for their agronomically important traits

“…GCV values were minimal for days to 50% maturity and days to 50% flowering and medium for plant height and finger length. The current diversity research on finger millet is in agreement with previously conducted researches, considering the quantitative traits of maize and sorghum [20], [21], [22]. For all considered characters, the overall PCV values were higher than their corresponding GCV values.…”

Keragaman genetik, fenotip dan heritabilitas beberapa genotip sorghum pada kondisi tumpangsari dan monokultur

“…Pemuliaan tanaman merupakan suatu upaya peningkatan kualitas dan kuantitas tanaman yang bertujuan untuk menghasilkan varietas yang lebih baik atau lebih unggul (Lubis et al, 2014). Beberapa peubah genetik yang dapat digunakan untuk menentukan apakah suatu peubah dapat dijadikan kriteria seleksi, diantaranya adalah ragam genetik, ragam fenotip, dan heritabilitas (Yunianti et al, 2010;Anas et al, 2015;Abraha et al, 2015). Jika ragam genetik suatu variabel tinggi maka nilai heritabiitas akan tinggi sehingga variabel tersebut bisa digunakan sebagai kriteria seleksi.…”