Analysis of the content of absolutely dry matter (ADM) is one of the main indicators of the productivity of varieties and hybrids in crop plants. In this study, we investigated the effect of the type of sterile cytoplasm on the content of ADM in the F 1 hybrids of grain sorghum obtained on the basis of two series of alloplasmic iso-nuclear CMS-lines-with genomes of the Zheltozernoe 10 (in A3, A4, and 9E cytoplasms) and Pischevoe 614 (in 9E and M35-1A cytoplasms). The varieties of grain sorghum Mercury and Pischevoe 35 were used as pollen parents. The studies were carried out at the stages of "emergence -tillering", "tillering -heading" and "heading -complete maturity" for three years with different hydrothermal conditions. For the first time, the effect of the type of sterile cytoplasm on the content of ADM and the manifestation of true heterosis for this trait was shown. In each season, the A3 cytoplasm significantly reduced the ADM content in the F 1 hybrids with both pollen parents at the "tillering -heading" stage, whereas the 9E cytoplasm increased the ADM content at the "heading -complete maturity" stage. The manifestation of cytoplasmic effects depended on the hydrothermal regime of plant growing: the most significant differences between the hybrids in different types of sterile cytoplasms were observed under drought conditions, the 9E cytoplasm increased, and the A3 cytoplasm decreased the ADM content, whereas in the seasons with mild conditions these differences were less pronounced. The data obtained indicate the genetic influence of the cytoplasm on the assimilation capacity of sorghum hybrids and tolerance to drought stress.