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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Insect Control and Cotton Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399424
Research Project: Molecular and Genetic Approaches to Manage Cotton and Sorghum Diseases

Location: Insect Control and Cotton Disease Research

Title: Evaluation of a subset of Ethiopia sorghum collection germplasm from the National Genetic Resources Program of the United States Department of Agriculture for anthracnose resistance

Author
item Prom, Louis
item Cuevas, Hugo
item Ahn, Ezekiel
item ISAKEIT, THOMAS - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: American Journal of Plant Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2022
Publication Date: 12/21/2022
Citation: Prom, L.K., Cuevas, H.E., Ahn, E.J., Isakeit, T. 2022. Evaluation of a subset of Ethiopia sorghum collection germplasm from the National Genetic Resources Program of the United States Department of Agriculture for anthracnose resistance. American Journal of Plant Sciences. 13:1403-1411. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2022.1312095.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2022.1312095

Interpretive Summary: Anthracnose is one the most devastating fungal diseases of sorghum; yield losses of up to 100% can occur in susceptible varieties. Currently, the use of resistant lines is deemed the best option to control anthracnose. As a result, a subset of sorghum lines from the Ethiopian sorghum germplasm collection were screened in 2019 and 2020 to identify resistant sources. Results over both years showed that 30 sorghum lines were resistant to anthracnose. This work is significant because these resistant sources can be used in breeding programs to develop new resistant sorghum lines and hybrids for producers in the U.S. and abroad.

Technical Abstract: Globally, one of the most devastating diseases of sorghum is anthracnose incited by Colletotrichum sublineola. During the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons, 94 and 64 accessions from the Ethiopian sorghum germplasm collection maintained by the National Genetic Resources Program of the United States Department of Agriculture were evaluated for anthracnose resistance. Seeds were planted in 1.8 m rows with 0.9 m row spacing in a randomized complete block design. The accessions and checks were replicated three times and 30 days after planting, inoculated by placing C. sublineola-colonized grains in the plant whorls. A total of 30 accessions, including PI533918, PI533923, PI534131 and PI534151 were resistant to the disease in both years. These identified resistant sources can be used in breeding programs to develop anthracnose resistant lines and hybrids.