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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Crop Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #287708
Title: Evaluation of sorghum accessions from Ethiopia and Mali against Fusarium thapsinum

Author
item Prom, Louis
item Erpelding, John

Submitted to: Journal of Tropical Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2013
Publication Date: 12/1/2013
Citation: Prom, L.K., Erpelding, J.E. 2013. Evaluation of sorghum accessions from Ethiopia and Mali against Fusarium thapsinum. Journal of Tropical Agriculture. 51(1-2):92-97.

Interpretive Summary: Grain mold is a fungal disease of sorghum that lowers both the grain yield and quality. In this study, 20 lines from Mali and 18 lines from Ethiopia were screened in Isabela, Puerto Rico, for resistance against Fusarium thapsinum, one of the fungal agents that can cause grain mold. Eighteen out of the 38 accessions tested were either highly susceptible or susceptible to grain mold. However, sorghum lines PI525954, PI276841, and PI276840 showed high levels of resistance to the fungus and also had the highest germination rates when compared with the resistant controls Sureno and SC719. This work suggests that these three lines may be useful in breeding programs to develop grain mold resistance lines which will increase productivity and profitability of sorghum.

Technical Abstract: Thirty-eight sorghum accessions from Ethiopia and Mali along with resistant (Sureno and SC719) and susceptible (RTx430 and RTx2536) checks were evaluated in replicated plots for resistance against Fusarium thapsinum at Isabela, Puerto Rico. Environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall during this study, especially at and after physiological grain maturity were optimal for grain mold development. Highly significant negative correlations were observed between grain mold severity ratings in the field and on threshed grains with germination rate, indicating that germination rate was adversely affected when challenged with F. thapsinum. Of the 38 accessions tested, 18 accessions were either highly susceptible or susceptible to the pathogen. Accessions PI525954, PI276841, and PI276840 exhibited lower mean grain mold severities and higher germination rates when compared with the resistant checks Sureno and SC719. The aforementioned accessions may possess grain mold resistant genes and further studies are underway to determine the resistance mechanisms.