Registration of ‘Sureño’ Sorghum

'SURENO' SORGHUM [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] (Reg. no. CV-129, PI 561472), is a dual-purpose food grain and forage variety with exceptional tortilla-quality grain, yield potential, and resistance to preharvest grain molds, maize weevil [Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky)] (1), and sorghum downy mildew caused by Pathotype 1 of Peronosclerospora sorghi (Weston & Uppal) C.G. Shaw. It was developed cooperatively by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TABS), and Honduran Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and was jointly released in 1985 by MNR and the International Sorghum and Millet Program (INTSORMIL) of the Title XII Collaborative Research Support Program of the Agency for International Development of the United States of America. Sureno was derived from the cross [(SC423 x CS3541) x E35-1J-2, which was made by ICRISAT. It then was distributed to the ICRISAT regional office in Mexico, and from there it was sent to TABS. The open-pollinated variety was introduced into Honduras in 1982 from TABS as an entry in the 1982 Grain Weathering Test. It was mass-selected for lodging resistance and tested for yield by scientists in the Honduran National Sorghum Program and designated 82GWT-210. Other institutions have selected in progeny of this cross and assigned different designations (M62650, ICSV110, and VG146) to their selections. Sureno is photoperiod insensitive and flowers in =72d. It has a height of =2.1 m and is genetically dw, Dw2 Dw3 dw^ Sureno has tan plant color (pp qq) and tan-colored glumes that cover half of the caryopsis. The lemma is awnless. Panicle shape is elliptical and semicompact with pubescent rachis branches. The caryopsis has a white translucent pericarp (RR yy ZZ II b,b, BjB2 SS), a mass of =28 mg, and normal endosperm texture and type. Sureno has excellent cereal quality properties for tortillas (2), an unleavened bread made using an alkali cooking process. Other traits that enhance its cereal quality are good levels of resistance to preharvest grain molds and moderate resistance to maize weevil, attributed to kernel hardness and small seed size. Sureno is resistant to Pathotype 1 of P. sorghi, the organism causing sorghum downy mildew. Sureno has juicy sweet culms and the leaf midrib appears dull or green. Its coleoptile color is green (rs rs). Lodging may occur under high plant densities (>200 000 plants ha-), narrow row spacing (<0.50 m between rows), or when grain yields are high. However, the application of N reduces lodging (3). On-farm testing throughout sorghum production areas in Honduras during 1983 and 1984 indicated that Sureno was adapted to an array of environments and that grain yields were superior in both favorable and stressful environments. It also responds to N fertilizers, which, in contrast to local landrace sorghum populations, makes improved agronomical technologies economically feasible. Sureno is recommended for lowland and hillside subsistence farmers who have adopted soil conservation practices such as terracing. Sureno performs best when sown pure stand or in relay with maize in the postrera planting season (August-September). Because of its lateness, Sureno is not recommended for the primera season (MayJune), in which photoperiod-sensitive varieties are preferred. Breeder seed can be obtained from D.T. Rosenow in Lubbock, TX, or from the Sorghum Project at the Panamerican Agricultural School, in Honduras.