Abstract

PEREIRA RIBEIRO, Larissa et al. Combining yield, earliness and plant height in a single genotype: a proposal for breeding in grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Rev. Fac. Cienc. Agrar., Univ. Nac. Cuyo [online]. 2021, vol.53, n.1, pp.11-21. ISSN 1853-8665.

Grain sorghum production has expanded during the off-season when rainfall oscillates and becomes insufficient. Aiming to obtain better adapted cultivars, breeding programs have sought new combinations of hybrids with earliness, high grain yield, and ideal plant height for harvesting. This study aimed to estimate de combining ability of grain sorghum lines, proposing a breeding strategy, to identify hybrids gathering high yield, earliness, and desired plant height. Thirty-six hybrids from crosses of 12 lines were evaluated at two sites in the Brazilian region known as Cerrado biome. The evaluated traits were: days to flowering, plant height, and grain yield. For the diallel analysis, Method 4 of Griffing adapted to partial diallel was adopted. By combining ability analysis, we identified promising lines to be used as parents to obtain more yielding, early, and ideal height hybrids. The findings allowed us to propose a breeding strategy, in which complex crosses should be performed to gather favorable alleles in new restorer and male-sterile lines. The hybrids 7, 9, 19, and 22 are the most suitable for growing in the evaluated sites.

Keywords : Combining ability; Diallel; Hybrids; Male sterility; Sorghum bicolor L.