Assessment of variability in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] germplasm for agro-morphological traits

Abstract

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important staple food crop of the semi-arid tropics. Phenotypic characterization of conserved gene bank accessions is necessary for their effective utilization for crop improvement. In this study, a total of 2834 accessions of sorghum were characterized during 2018-19 and the data were subjected to ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and Shannon’s diversity index analysis. Shannon diversity index calculated indicated ear head shape to be the most diverse (H’=1.36). Several trait-specific accessions for early flowering (EC0524806, 57 days), high yield (IC0355254, 245.3 g/plan) etc. were identified. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that grain yield was positively influenced by the traits like ear head width (r=0.14), plant height (r=0.1), number of basal tillers (r= 0.07), and 100seed weight (r= 0.09). The trait-specific germplasm accessions identified in the study could be used as trait-specific donors by breeders for sorghum crop improvement.

Keywords

• sorghum
• shannon diversity
• correlation