Genetic Diversification and Selection Strategies for Improving Sorghum Grain Yield Under Phosphorous-Deficient Conditions in West Africa
Date
2019-11-11
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
agronomy
Abstract
Sorghum, a major crop for income generation and food security in West and Central
Africa, is predominantly grown in low-input farming systems with serious soil phosphorus (P)
deficiencies. This study (a) estimates genetic parameters needed to design selection protocols that
optimize genetic gains for yield under low-phosphorus conditions and (b) examines the utility of
introgressed backcross nested association mapping (BCNAM) populations for diversifying Malian
breeding materials. A total of 1083 BC1F5 progenies derived from an elite hybrid restorer “Lata-3”
and 13 diverse donor accessions were evaluated for yield and agronomic traits under contrasting soil
P conditions in Mali in 2013. A subset of 298 progenies were further tested under low-P (LP) and
high-P (HP) conditions in 2014 and 2015. Significant genetic variation for grain yield was observed
under LP and HP conditions. Selection for grain yield under LP conditions was feasible and more
e cient than the indirect selection under HP in all three years of testing. Several of the BCNAM
populations exhibited yields under LP conditions that were superior to the elite restorer line used as
a recurrent parent. The BCNAM approach appears promising for diversifying the male parent pool
with introgression of diverse materials using both adapted Malian breed and unadapted landrace
material from distant geographic origins as donors.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
base broadening, germplasm, sorghum, phosphorus adaptation, selection strategy