Yield of Photoperiod‐sensitive Sorghum Hybrids Based on Guinea‐race Germplasm under Farmers’ Field Conditions in Mali

Abstract

The first sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] hybrids based on West African Guinea‐race‐derived parents were created to enhance farmer's food security and income through increased yields. To assess their performance, eight hybrids, six experimental pure‐line cultivars, one pure‐line check (Lata), and a highly adapted landrace cultivar (Tieble) were evaluated in 27 farmer‐managed and two on‐station yield trials in Mali, West Africa, from 2009 to 2011. The hybrids were confirmed to have photoperiod sensitivity similar to the well‐adapted Guinea landrace check cultivar. Genotypic differences for on‐farm grain yield were highly significant and genotype × environment crossover interactions were limited. The yield superiorities of individual hybrids, relative to the landrace check, ranged from 17 to 37% over the 27 on‐farm trials. The three top yielding hybrids showed 30% yield advantages across productivity levels, with absolute yield advantages averaging 380 kg ha−1 under lower (1.0–1.5 t ha−1) and 660 kg ha−1 under higher (2.0–3.5 t ha−1) productivity conditions. A mean male‐parent (better parent) heterosis of 26% was observed for the four hybrids having Lata as a male parent. As the hybrids studied here were obtained with a low intensity of selection using a limited number of parents, even greater yield superiorities may be attained with development of distinct parental pools and scaled‐up hybrid breeding.

Farmer Participatory Early‐Generation Yield Testing of Sorghum in West Africa: Possibilities to Optimize Genetic Gains for Yield in Farmers’ Fields

“…3), with considerable G ´ E interaction at the individual farmers' field level as was found in Rattunde et al (2013). Important G ´ Y interactions, however, were indicated by the separation between the 2011 and 2012 trials (Fig.…”

“…Acceptable on-farm repeatabilities for sorghum grain yield have been reported (Weltzien et al, 2007(Weltzien et al, , 2008bvom Brocke et al, 2010;Rattunde et al, 2013) but in trials with fewer and genetically fixed genotypes in much larger plots. The large range of repeatabilities, from 0 up to 0.8, in this and other studies (vom Brocke et al, 2010;Rattunde et al, 2013;vom Brocke et al, 2014) reflects observed differences for within-trial heterogeneities for water stagnation or drought, presence of trees or the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth., and uneven weeding or manure application, not to mention soil and slope gradients. Thus, many on-farm yield trials need to be conducted to obtain a sufficient pool of trials with useful levels of repeatability for effectively sampling the diversity of environments.…”

“…A major challenge for effectively breeding for increased sorghum yield in WCA is the complexity of environments and the associated genotype-by-environment (G ´ E) interactions across small-holder farmer conditions. Even within a geographically targeted agroecosystem, diversity for factors such as soil type and depth, the timing and manner of weeding and fertilizer application, and the date of sowing result in important G ´ E interactions (Rattunde et al, 2013).…”

Genetic differentiation, heterotic performance and grain yield determinate traits of locally adapted sorghum genotypes in contrasting environments in Ethiopia

“…Considering the potential for increased productivity sorghum hybrids have increasingly being used in the developing world (Kumar et al, 2011). Previous studies have demonstrated the potential of hybrids in the semi-arid tropics of Africa (Haussmann et al, 1999;Makanda et al, 2010, Rattunde et al, 2013.…”

“…However, these hybrids lack the adaptive traits for the diverse local environment, and additionally had short plant stature and lower grain size and hence do not meet local farmer's needs to be taken up by the Ethiopian farmers. The development of heterotic pools adapted to the local environment is one solution to overcome the challenges of both local adaptation and farmers' end use requirements (Xie et al, 2014;Rattunde et al, 2013). However, in sorghum, such a strategy is complicated by the complex cytoplasmic male sterility system and prevalence of nuclear-encoded restorer genes that imposes on the development of new seed parents (Jordan et al, 2011a).…”