Variability of Agro-Morphological and Biochemical Characteristics of Hybrid Sorghum Varieties in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Sorghum is the first cereal grown in Burkina Faso. It is produced in all regions of the country, however yields in the field are very low. In view of this low productivity, new hybrid varieties have been introduced from Brazil and Mali. Our study aims to evaluate their agro morphological and nutritional characteristics in order to disseminate the most efficient genotypes. A completely randomized block device with three (03) repetitions has been set up at the Farako-Bâ research station. Observations focused on five (05) agro morphological traits such as the semi-flowering cycle, plant height, panicle length, weight of a thousand grains and yield and six (06) biochemical traits including total water, total sugar, protein, fat and mineral content. Analysis of variance and heritability in the broad sense were performed. Our results showed both agro morphological and biochemical variability between the varieties evaluated. Heritability in the broad sense has also shown that all traits studied are under the influence of genetic rather than environmental factors. In general, hybrids obtained semi-dwarf sizes and yields above 4000 kg/ha. The control variety KAPELGA recorded the highest values of protein and mineral content. The highest sugar content is obtained in the hybrid XBS60015 with 17.82 μg Glu/100mgMS. Correlation analyses have shown that there is a negative and very highly significant correlation (-0.86) between yield and protein content. The most efficient hybrids will be able to be disseminated following participatory selection tests on different sites nationwide.