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Towards Enhancement of Early‐Stage Chilling Tolerance and Root Development in Sorghum F1 Hybrids
Author(s) -
Windpassinger S.,
Friedt W.,
Deppé I.,
Werner C.,
Snowdon R.,
Wittkop B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1111/jac.12171
Subject(s) - heterosis , biology , sorghum , hybrid , agronomy , quantitative trait locus , trait , sweet sorghum , crop , drought tolerance , seedling , temperate climate , shoot , botany , computer science , gene , programming language , biochemistry
Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is regarded a drought‐tolerant alternative to maize as a bioenergy and fodder crop, but its early‐stage chilling sensitivity is obstructing a successful implementation in temperate areas. While several studies have identified quantitative trait loci ( QTL ) underlying chilling tolerance‐related traits in sorghum lines, little is known about the inheritance of these traits in F 1 hybrids. We have conducted a comprehensive approach to analyse heterosis, combining ability and the relation between line per se and hybrid performance for emergence and early shoot and root development comprising both field trials and controlled environment experiments including chilling tests. To our best knowledge, this is the first study analysing heterosis for sorghum root parameters under chilling. Our results show that most traits are heterotic and that the mid‐parent values are rather poor predictors of hybrid performance. Hybrid breeding programmes should focus on efficient GCA tests and the establishment of genetically diverse pools to maximise heterosis rather than on a too strict selection among lines based on their per se performance. The medium‐to‐high heritabilities estimated for seedling emergence and juvenile biomass suggest that a robust breeding progress for these complex traits is feasible.