Assessment of the variability of Senegalese landraces for phenology and sugar yield components to broaden the genetic pool of multi-purpose sorghum

Abstract

Sweet sorghum is highly coveted to contribute and take up food and energy challenges. A collection of 84 West Africa landraces mostly from Senegal and four control cultivars were screened to identify relevant accessions and trait combination for multi-purpose (sugar/grain/biomass). The implication of photoperiod sensitivity was particularly addressed. A total of 20 traits related to phenology, morphology, grain and sugar production were assessed in two sowing dates (July and August) at CNRA Bambey in Senegal. Late sowing resulted in shortened vegetative phase and a significant decrease in traits related to plant size, stem sugar, biomass and grain productions. Broad-sense heritability was moderate to high for most of the phenology, morphology, grain and sugar-related traits, suggesting their interest for breeding. All the traits related to plant size were positively correlated with plant sugar production except plant height. A cluster analysis identified three groups contrasting in their ability to combine sugar, grain or fodder production based on 18 traits measured for the early sowing. Clusters I and III were suitable for one purpose: grain and sugar, respectively. Cluster II was the most suitable for multi-purpose, showing the best trade-off among grain, sugar and vegetative biomass production. The best accessions for stem sugar yield belonged to durra, caudatum and their intermediate types. The relationship between internode size and sweetness should be further studied, in particular exploring their relationship with internode tissue anatomy. Further studies are also needed to evaluate the role that stay-green can play in sugar yield maintenance under post-flowering drought. (Résumé d'auteur

Genotypic covariations of traits underlying sorghum stem biomass production and quality and their regulations by water availability: Insight from studies at organ and tissue levels

“…Sorghum is increasingly used as a biomass crop to meet societal expectations in terms of bioenergy [bioethanol of first (Ebrahimiaqda & Ogden, ) and second (Mitchell et al., ) generations, methane (Mahmood & Honermeier, ; Thomas et al., ), bio‐based materials (Chupin et al., ; Vo et al., ) and forage productions in many regions worldwide United States: (Rooney, Blumenthal, & Bean, ); Europe: (Tuck, Glendininga, Smith, Housec, & Wattenbach, ); China: (Fu, Meng, Molatudi, & Zhang, ); and West Africa: (Tovignan, Luquet, et al., )]. It is characterized by a high biomass yield potential (particularly stem) and a wide genetic diversity in terms of stem biochemical composition (lignocellulose, sugar) potentially ensuring the development of different value chains (Mathur, Umakanth, Tonapi, Sharma, & Sharma, ; de Oliveira et al., ; Trouche et al., ).…”

Genetic diversity of sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor </i>(L) Moench) accessions from thirteen regions of Burkina Faso

“…In a survey in Kenya Labeyrie et al (2015) revealed the diversity among farmers varieties. Genetic diversity was found sorghum germplasm from Senegal (Tovignan et al, 2015). In Burkina Faso, Barro-Kondombo (2010) found genetic diversity among sorghum accessions of three regions: Centre North, Centre West and Boucle du Mouhoun.…”