Search

The lower lignin content in plants species with energy potential results in easier cellulose breakdown, making glucose available for ethanol generation. However, higher lignin levels can increase resistance to insect attack. The objective of this work was to evaluate the susceptibility of a bmr-6 biomass sorghum (a mutant genotype with a lower concentration of lignin) to important pests of energy sorghum, Diatraea saccharalis and Spodoptera frugiperda. Experiments were performed in the laboratory and greenhouse to evaluate the development of these pests on the biomass sorghum bmr hybrids BR007, BR008, and TX635 and their respective conventional near-isogenic genotypes (without the bmr gene). The lignin content was higher in non-bmr hybrids, but the evaluated insect variables varied between treatments, not being consistent in just one hybrid or because it is bmr or not. The lowest survival of S. frugiperda was observed in the BR008 hybrid, both bmr and non-bmr. The S. frugiperda injury scores on plants in the greenhouse were high (>7) in all treatments. For D. saccharalis, there was no difference in larval survival in the laboratory, but in the greenhouse, the BR007 hybrid, both bmr and non-bmr, provided greater survival. Due the need to diversify the energy matrix and the fact that greater susceptibility of the bmr hybrids to either pests was not found in this study, these results hold promise for cultivation of these biomass sorghum hybrids for the production of biofuels. Resumo O menor teor de lignina em espécies de plantas com potencial energético resulta na maior facilidade de quebra da celulose, disponibilizando glicose para geração de etanol. Porém, maiores teores de lignina representa um fator de resistência ao ataque de insetos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar como importantes pragas do sorgo energia, Diatraea saccharalis e Spodoptera frugiperda, se comportam quanto à alimentação e desempenho em sorgo bmr-6, um genótipo mutante com menor concentração de lignina. Foram realizados experimentos em laboratório e casa de vegetação, avaliando o desenvolvimento destas pragas nos híbridos de sorgo biomassa bmr 007, 008, TX635 e seus respectivos genótipos isogênicos convencionais (sem o gene bmr). O teor de lignina foi maior nos híbridos não bmr, mas nos parâmetros avaliados nos insetos, houve variação entre os tratamentos, não sendo consistente em apenas um híbrido e nem por ser ou não bmr. A menor sobrevivência de S. frugiperda foi verificada no híbrido BR008 tanto bmr quanto não bmr. As notas de injúria por S. frugiperda no sorgo em casa de vegetação foram altas (>7) em todos os tratamentos. Para D. saccharalis, não houve diferença significativa para a sobrevivência larval em laboratório, mas em casa de vegetação o híbrido BR007 tanto bmr quanto não bmr proporcionaram maior sobrevivência. Diante da necessidade de diversificar a matriz energética e o fato de que não foi comprovada neste estudo maior suscetibilidade dos híbridos bmr a ambas as pragas, estes resultados são promissores para o cultivo desses híbridos de sorgo biomassa para produção de biocombustíveis.

Climate-change-associated shifts in rainfall distribution together with a looming worldwide water crisis make drought resilience of central importance to food security. Even for relatively drought resilient crops such as sorghum, moisture stress is nonetheless one of the major constraints for production. Here, we explore the potential to use natural genetic variation to build on the inherent drought tolerance of an elite cultivar (Teshale) bred for Ethiopian conditions including chronic drought, evaluating a backcross nested-association mapping (BC-NAM) population using 12 diverse founder lines crossed with Teshale under three drought-prone environments in Ethiopia. All twelve populations averaged higher head exsertion and lower leaf senescence than the recurrent parent in the two highest-stress environments, reflecting new drought resilience mechanisms from the donors. A total of 154 QTLs were detected for eight drought responsive traits – the validity of these were supported in that 100 (64.9%) overlapped with QTLs previously detected for the same traits, concentrated in regions previously associated with ‘stay-green’ traits as well as the flowering regulator Ma6 and drought resistant gene P5CS2. Allele effects show that some favorable alleles are already present in the Ethiopian cultivar, however the exotic donors offer rich scope for increasing drought resilience. Using model-selected SNPs associated with eight traits in this study and three in a companion study, phenotypic prediction accuracies for grain yield were equivalent to genome-wide SNPs and were significantly better than random SNPs, indicating that these studied traits are predictive of sorghum grain yield. Rich scope for improving drought resilience even in cultivars bred for drought-prone regions, together with phenotypic prediction accuracy for grain yield, provides a foundation to enhance food security in drought-prone areas like the African Sahel.

Aridity and salinity limit sustainable biomass production and agricultural practices in desert areas. The capability of halophytes plantation with wind deposits containing around 10% gypsum was evaluated for reclamation of saline soil and its effect on the production of Sorghum bicolar L., in an arid area. Two substance treatments at concentrations of 25 and 50 ton ha(-1) gypsum and wind deposits at levels of 85 and 170 ton ha(-1) were applied. Biological treatments were applied using halophyte plantation as a pioneer species. Sorghum was cultivated for all substance treatments and the production of sorghum was determined for the different treatments. Results indicated that the method leads to a reduction of salinity from 139 to

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different concentrations of aqueous extracts of Neem kernels (NK) and Neem leaves (NL) on the incidence and damage of spotted stem borer in sorghum during 2011/12-2012/13 seasons at New Halfa Research Station farm. Sorghum variety Tabat was used. The experiment was laid in a RCB design with four replicates and seven treatments. These were: NK at kg/ 30 and 40 Liter of water, NL at kg/15 and 20 Liter of water, Furadan10% G at 15kg/F and Malathion 57% EC at 2L/F as standard and the untreated control. A liquid soap was added to Neem treatments as an emulsifying agent. Three sprayings were applied using knapsack sprayer starting two weeks after emergence with 10 days intervals. Data on percent deadheart, percent leaf damage plants, percent stem tunneling, number of borer holes per plant and grain yield were recorded. Results indicated that, all treatments were highly significantly (P>0.001) reduced stem borer damage and increased the grain yield compared to the untreated one. NK at kg/ 40 L of water was the best in reducing stem borer damage and increasing grain yield comparable to the standard treatment Furadan 10% G at 15 Kg/F.

Food is consumed to provide nutritional support to an organism. The primary source of food and feed are field crops such as wheat, rice, maize, barley, sorghum, soybean and sugarcane etc. These field crops are a rich source of carbohydrates and cellulosic biomass which help in ethanol production. With the passage of time, agriculture facing the major issue of improving the productivity of field crops in an environmentally sustainable manner. The Productivity of field crops is mainly affected by the vulnerability of pests and diseases and also through annual climate variables such as temperature extremes, droughts and floods. Crop improvement through conventional breeding methods is very expensive, tedious and time-consuming. Therefore, these cannot be utilized to meet progressive demands and living standard of the present world. Genetic and epigenetic modifications support the improvement of plant varieties concerning for nutritional quality and yield by creating novel epialleles, transgenic RNAi. Present review article describes the genetic and epigenetic improvement of crops to various biotic and abiotic stress resistance.

lt;bgt;Background and Objective:lt;/bgt; Salt stress is considering the biggest environmental obstacle to crop productivity, especially sorghum. So, it was necessary to develop new sorghum lines tolerant to salt stress and high yielding to participate in bridging the large gap in the Egyptian bread industry and also as an important feed for animals. This is the biggest goalie this investigation.lt;bgt;Materials and Methods:lt;/bgt; Some promising sorghum genotypes were evaluated under the control experiment and two salinity stress locations to test their stability and its salinity stress tolerance during two years. Some agro-morphological and physiological traits were the most important parameters tested under all conditions besides, 11 SCoT primers for comparing among the seven sorghum genotypes and Identification of molecular genetic markers responsible for salt stress tolerance.lt;bgt;Results:lt;/bgt; The final results revealed that the five promising sorghum lines were recorded highly rank of salinity stress tolerance in all studied traits and a higher level of genetic stability during the two years.lt;bgt;Conclusion:lt;/bgt; Results of agro-physiological traits, salinity tolerance indices and SCoT primers succeed in determining salt stress tolerance mechanisms in sorghum and which an important taxonomic tool is for plant breeder that helps him in sorting the tolerant genotypes from the sensitive ones.

Purpose Sorghum is an important cereal crop, cultivated for food, fodder and biofuel. Mutation breeding techniques are used to create genetic variability for qualitative and quantitative traits in crop plants. The purpose of this study was to create induced variability and estimate mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency of physical and chemical mutagens in two sorghum cultivars. Materials and methods Gamma rays (100, 200, 300 and 400 Gy, Co60 source, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, India), ethyl methane sulphonate (0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.4% EMS, Sigma-Aldrich, India) and their combinations were used to mutagenize 296B (rainy season) and Parbhani moti (post-rainy) cultivars. Morphological and yield traits were analyzed for enhanced variability in qualitative and quantitative traits across M2 and M3 generations. Results Based on the mutagenic sensitivity, lethal dose at 50% survivability (LD50) for both the genotypes was found to be 269-281 Gy in case of gamma rays and 0.32-0.33% for EMS. Based on reduced germination and survivability, mutagenic sensitivity was dose dependent and genotype independent. High frequency of chlorophyll mutations (albino, xantha, viridis, variegated and chlorine) were linearly correlated with dose in both the genotypes. Among the favorable mutants, dwarf and brown midrib were isolated from Parbhani moti population, which could be used in the cross breeding programs. A combined treatment, 100Gy +0.1% EMS showed high mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency. Enhanced genetic variation for quantitative traits as measured by wide range values and coefficient of variation was attributed to the effect of physical and chemical mutagens. Early flowering, high grain yield (24-49% increase over control) were identified in M2 and validated in M3 generation in both genotypes. Conclusions This study has revealed wide genetic variability and better effectiveness and efficiency of the physical (300 Gy) and chemical mutagens (0.2%) and their combination (200 Gy+ 0.2%) across two sorghum genotypes. Significant correlations identified between quantitative traits will help in better selection in the segregating generations.

KEY MESSAGE Endogenous U6 promoters increase CRISPR/Cas9 editing efficiency in sorghum and may be useful for gene editing applications in other cereals.

BACKGROUND Since first reported in Botswana, fall armyworm (FAW) continues to be a threat to crop production. This study aimed to estimate impacts of FAW on yield and farmers' livelihoods in Botswana, and to obtain data that could be extrapolated to national level. Further, farmer knowledge of the pest, management practices and pesticide use for FAW management were assessed. RESULTS In fact, 76% of the 220 respondents had seen FAW in their farms in the 2018/2019 cropping season, affecting almost the entire and about half of cultivated area for maize and sorghum, respectively. Thus, 51% of the respondents implemented FAW control measures, with chemical pesticides (27%) being the most common management against FAW. Only 33% of respondents in 2018/2019 were food self-sufficient, as opposed to 80% in an ordinary year, with farmers who reported not to have been affected by FAW more likely to be insufficient with food (88%) compared to 60% of the farmers who reported FAW attack. Drought was ranked the major stress experienced by the famers (35%), and also showed significant yield reducing effects on maize yield with pest and diseases reported second most important. Pesticides (20%) and training on pest management (18%) were the top ranked needs by farmers interviewed. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the impact and threat of FAW to crop production in Botswana. Chemicals remain the go-to control option by a majority of the farmers. Other low-risk technologies exist and are proposed for adoption in the management of FAW. Of note is the acknowledgement that a single control strategy will not be effective against FAW and as such integrated pest management (IPM) on an area-wide scale is needed to achieve best results. Mass awareness, training and demonstration will be required to achieve this.

It is essential to determine the productive potential and quality of forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) silages using alternative and organic inputs, such as poultry litter (PL), intending to higher efficiency, and sustainable development of animal production systems in the world. Poultry litter fertilization has been widely used in crops for silage production, where it is believed that fertilization with PL can influence the fermentation profile and composition of forage sorghum silages. The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of fertilization with PL on the agronomic and quality characteristics of forage sorghum silage ‘BRS Ponta Negra’. For determination of agronomic and productive characteristics, randomized blocks design was adopted, the treatments were different PL levels: 5, 10, and 15 Mg ha-1. While for the evaluation of silage characteristics, the design was completely randomized. With fertilizer doses, a linear increase was observed for plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, and consequently for fresh and DM productions. Linear reduction was observed for neutral detergent fiber, while crude protein and pH contents of silages increased linearly with PL levels. Quadratic effect occurred for gas and effluent losses. Poultry litter may be an alternative source to supply the N needs in the production of sorghum for silage under experimental similar conditions. Associating productivity with cultivation efficiency, the PL level 13.46 Mg ha-1 is recommended for presenting the highest N agronomic efficiency and good nutritional quality of the silage.

Industrial activities have led to a gradual and global increase in soil aluminum (Al) and atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Al bioavailability strongly depends on the soil pH, which in turn is affected by atmospheric CO2 levels. In spite of the concurrent impact which Al and elevated CO2 (eCO2) could have on plants, their interaction and how it might affect the growth of economically important crop species has not been investigated. Here, we have investigated the combined impact of soil Al and eCO2 exposure on key C3 (wheat, oat) and C4 (maize, sorghum) crops, at the physiological and biochemical level. Compared to C3 plants, C4 plants accumulated less Al by stimulating soil Al retention through exudation of root organic acids. Consequently, Al-exposed C4 plants maintained photosynthetic performance and anti-oxidative capacity. Exposure to eCO2 reduced the stress responses of C3 and C4 crops to Al exposure. Elevated CO2 decreased Al accumulation and oxidative damage in all cereals, and ameliorated C3 plant growth. This was reflected on the biochemical level, where eCO2 inhibited ROS production and restored RuBisCo activity in C3 crops only. Overall, our data suggest that, compared to C3 crops, C4 cereals are more tolerant to soil Al exposure under current ambient CO2 (aCO2) levels whereas future eCO2 levels might stimulate Al tolerance in C3 crops.

The perilla seed bugs, Nysius plebeius Distant and Nysius hidakai Nakatani, are emerging pests of several field crop species including perilla crop in Korea. Here, we investigated the oviposition, nymphal mortality, development, adult emergence, adult longevity, adult weight and female ratio of N. plebeius and N. hidakai on multiple (MC) and double (DC) combinations of five crop seed species: perilla [Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton.], sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.)], proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), and foxtail millet (Setaria italic L.) in no-choice test. The life-history variables of N. plebeius and N. hidakai were significantly influenced by the crop seed combinations. The most preferred crop seed combinations for oviposition were MC (perilla + sorghum + sesame + proso millet + foxtail millet), followed by DC (perilla + foxtail millet and perilla + sorghum), whereas the least preferred seed combination was DC (proso millet + foxtail millet). Both Nysius sp. were developed faster in MC (perilla + sorghum + sesame + proso millet + foxtail millet), with minimal nymphal mortality, higher adult emergence, longer adult longevity and heavier adult weight. The positive adult bug’s performance on the MC (perilla + sorghum + sesame + proso millet + foxtail millet) may be due to the nutrient contents and physicochemical components associated with the crop seeds. Further, the findings of this study are discussed in terms of bug's behavioral response to crop seed species combinations and management strategies of Nysius sp. as an alternative to chemical management.

The need to accelerate breeding for increased yield and better adaptation to drought is an issue of great concern because of the high demand for food and potential climate change poses further challenges. The study was designed to introgress drought-tolerant possessing genes/quantitative trait loci into popular and farmer-preferred cultivars through marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) and assess for post-flowering drought tolerance. Sixty-one converted progeny and nine parental lines were evaluated under post-flowering water stress condition. The mean grain yield of genotypes that widely varied (923 to 4585 kg ha-1) was 1991 kg ha-1. Out of the 61 BC2F3, 9.8% were superior in yield ranging from 2831 to 4585 t ha-1, indicating the potential to withstand post-flowering moisture stress. They were also characterized by high chlorophyll content, greater leaf area and greenness at physiological maturity. Relatively high heritability (34.8-74.7%) and genetic gain (1.4-42.7%) were obtained for most agronomic and physiological characters, revealing selection for such characters could be easily attained. Thus, the presence of more green leaves, greater green leaf area and high chlorophyll content both at booting and maturity could contribute to higher photosynthesis and better availability of food reserves for grain-filling and improved yield. Key words: Drought tolerance, introgression, post-flowering, Sorghum bicolor, water-limited.

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], is believed to be originated in Ethiopia and Sudan. Although, many morphological and molecular diversity studies reveal the existence of genetic variations with sorghum populations, their distribution within basic races were not considered. Hence, the present study aimed to analyze the extent and distribution of genetic variation within basic Ethiopian sorghum landraces using SSR markers. A total of 107 landraces obtained from Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI) representing 12 ecological zones grouped according to their race types based on inflorescence and spiklet on field at their maturity time. Twelve SSR markers revealed a total of 110 alleles with average polymorphic content of 0.76 and the allele frequencies show 42 of them were rare (less than 0.05), 22 ranged from 0.05 to 0.1, while 46 of them were higher than 0.1. Expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.78 and 0.2, respectively. The genetic differentiation between populations were also moderate (FST=0.07 for races and 0.13 for E/zones) indicating continuous exchange of genes among them. Partitioning the total genetic variation also indicated 61.38 and 55.17% of the variations were among individuals within racial and zonal populations, respectively. Neighbor-Joining cluster analysis also indicated four major grouping of the landraces according to their racial groups where majority of race caudatum and durra form separate groups while intermediate durra-bicolor form two separate sub-clusters. Overall locus, the intra-racial population diversity showed the greatest genetic diversity (He=0.77 and 0.75) among race dura-bicolor and caudatum, respectively. Information with sorghum races along their important agronomic traits could be used for conservation and future breeding programs of sorghum. Key words: Sorghum bicolor, races, genetic diversity, SSR.

The sorghum association panel was evaluated for grain mold severity, seed weight, and germination rate. The 377 accessions were inoculated with Alternaria alternata alone, a mixture of A. alternata, Fusarium thapsinum, and Curvularia lunata, and untreated water-sprayed control during 2010, 2013-2015 growing seasons at the Texas AgriLife Research Farm, Burleson County, Texas. Each accession was evaluated at least twice. Across accessions, Spearman’s rank correlation was performed for non-parametric correlation analysis for grain mold severity, seed weight, and germination rate. There were significant negative correlations between grain mold severity with seed weight and germination rate for the individual treatment and when combined. A significant positive correlation between seed weight and germination rate was observed. The results indicated that higher grain mold severity reduces both sorghum seed weight and germination rate whether deliberately inoculated with fungal pathogens or naturally infected. It can be argued that correlations from this study were more robust due to a large number of accessions from all major sorghum races used and may represent the true association among the three parameters for this pathosystem. Thus, the use of grain mold-resistant lines, resulting in sound seeds and higher germination rates is recommended.

The study on seasonal incidence of fall armyworm was carried out during kharif, 2019 at Agricultural college farm, Bapatla. The oviposition of fall armyworm was observed from 34th SMW (Standard Meterological Week) and reached its peak during 40th SMW (0.03 egg masses plant-1). The larval population of fall armyworm was commenced during 35th SMW and increased gradually to a peak of 1.67 larvae plant-1 during 41st SMW. The maximum plant infestation (60.00%) and leaf damage severity rating (3.13) of fall armyworm was observed during 41st SMW. The peak activity of natural enemies was observed during 41st SMW which coincides with the larval population of fall armyworm. The correlation analysis indicated that eggmasses of fall armyworm was positively correlated with minimum temperature(r= 0.668) and wind speed (r= 0.529) while, the larval population showed significant positive correlation with maximum temperature (r= 0.029). The plant infestation caused by fall armyworm had shown significant negative correlation with maximum temperature (r= -0.633) and positive correlation with morning relative humidity (r= 0.678) and evening relative humidity (r= 0.664) whereas, the leaf damage severity rating exhibited significant positive correlation with evening relative humidity (r= 0.691). The multiple regression analysis revealed that the influence of weather parameters on the incidence of fall armyworm and natural enemies in sorghum ecosystem was more than 65% and 40%, respectively.

The aim of this research was to produce acceptable ‘fufu’ from a mixture of sorghum, millet, and African yam bean flours that will have a moderate carbohydrate and protein content with most optimized texture. The functional and sensory properties of flour blends produced from Sorghum, Millet and African yam bean was studied. Sorghum, Millet and African yam bean were processed into flour and mixed at different ratios to obtain composite flours. The flour formulations obtained were analyzed for water absorption capacity, bulk density, least gelation concentration , and viscosity .The water absorption capacity ranged from 1.00 to 3.00, the bulk density ranged from 0.56 to 0.82;the least gelation concentration ranged from 5.77 to 6.87,while the viscosity ranged from 0.956 to 9.30.Also proximate composition of the individual flours before formulation was analyzed, it ranged from 6.13 to 8.46 moisture, 2.00 to 4.67 ash, 0.17 to 8.00 fiber,5.47 to 8.61 fat, 7.57 to 21.84 protein, 58.34 to 69.27 carbohydrate.The sensory values ranged from 5.60 to 6.45 for taste; 4.25 to 6.85 for colour; 5.15 to 6.80 for texture; 3.85 to 5.70 for aroma; 5.45 to 6.45 acceptability. Sample 10 (with the ratio of 40:70:20) had the highest rating for general acceptability. It was observed that sample 1(with the ratio of 60:50:60) had the lowest rating in taste and aroma. The mixture components that could produce optimum texture was determined through optimization plot. This work has demonstrated that acceptable ‘fufu’ with moderate protein and carbohydrate could be successfully produced using composite flours of sorghum, millet and African yam bean.

This research is concerned with the energy performance analysis of convective drying of sorghum gruel residue. The process was carried out on a hot air dryer conducted at four drying air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C respectively, three different air velocities 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2m/s and three different varieties of sorghum gruel residue, Caudatum,Durra and Guineense respectively. The effects of drying temperature and air velocities on the specific energy consumption, energy efficiency, drying efficiency and thermal efficiency were investigated. The specific energy consumption for Caudatum,Durra, Guineensevarieties ranges from 169530.001 J/kg - 71433.758 J/kg, 170557.25 J/kg - 76732.96 J/kg and 179367.266 J/kg - 83750.923 J/kg respectively while the energy efficiency for Caudatum,Durra, Guineensevarieties ranges from 35.5% - 13.934%, 31.188% - 13.836% and 28.463% - 13.157% respectively. The results of this study also confirmed that the convective drying process is energy intensive and drying fresh agricultural produce with heated-air dryers requires a relatively large amount of energy.

Surface level ozone pollution imposes significant crop yield damages. However, the quantification has mainly involved chamber experiments, which may not be representative of results in farm fields. Additionally, the relative impacts of ozone under future climate change and their possible interactions remain poorly understood. Here we attempt to empirically fill this gap using historical county-level crop yield, ozone, and climate data in the United States. We explore ozone impacts on corn, soybeans, spring wheat, winter wheat, barley, cotton, peanuts, rice, sorghum, and sunflowers. We also incorporate a variety of climatic variables to investigate potential ozone-climate interactions. The results shed light on future yield consequences of ozone and climate change individually and jointly under a projected climate scenario. Our findings indicate significant negative impacts of ozone exposure for eight of the ten crops we examined, excepting barley and winter wheat. Meanwhile, corn exhibits to be more sensitive to ozone than soybeans. These results differ from those found under chamber experiments. We also find rising temperatures tend to worsen ozone damages while water supplies mitigate that. We find that the average annual historical damages from ozone reached $6.03 billion (in 2015 U.S. dollar) from 1980 to 2015. Finally, our results suggest that the damages caused by climate change-induced ozone elevation are much smaller than the damages caused by the direct effects of climate change itself.

Malting is an important industrial product with a huge market outlet. Sorghum grain carries a numerous and variable, microbial population that mainly consists of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. Sorghum malt is heavily reliant on chemical control of moulds and coliforms. This research aimed at investigating ways of improving malt quality and safety, using starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria and yeast, during the steeping stage of malting. All the steep treatments contained a sizeable population of moulds, greater than 4logcfu/mL, at 0hrs of steeping. A 3Log decrease was recorded in the steep treatment containing only single culture of Lactobacillus plantarum All the steeping treatments achieved varying levels of anti-nutrient reduction. The Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 steep reduced the phytate level by as much as 47% when compared to the phytate level in sorghum grain. The combined cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 and Saccharomyces cerevisiaeCYT1 reduced the phytate content by as much as 40% when compared to the sorghum grain without treatment. When compared to the control steep, the Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 steep improved the anti-nutrient degradation by 31%. The combined cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae CYT1 reduced the phytate content by as much as 23% when compared with the control steep. The polyphenol content was reduced by about 46% in the Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 steep and 29% in the combined cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae CYT1 steep when compared to the polyphenol content in the whole sorghum grain. Only the Lactobacillus plantarum CLB8 steep had better polyphenol reduction than the control with a 9.6% reduction more than the control. It was concluded that lactic acid bacteria can be apply as a biological control organism in malting of grains.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) establishment failure is often attributed to autotoxicity when alfalfa is reseeded shortly after termination of the previous alfalfa stand, but renovation/rotation strategies for irrigated semiarid, subtropical environments have not been studied. Two identical studies were initiated at the New Mexico State University Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center at Tucumcari, NM, USA to compare continuous alfalfa (ALF), a single year of rotation to sorghum-sudangrass (SS1, Sorghum bicolor × S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf), two years of rotation with sorghum-sudangrass (SS2), and winter wheat forage (Triticum aestivum L.) followed by a single season of sorghum-sudangrass (WW/SS). Soil type and renovation/rotation strategy may influence soil fertility prior to replanting alfalfa, but soil fertility did not appear to influence alfalfa re-establishment or first production year yields. With a Test x Rotation interaction due to differences between tests for WW/SS for first production year yield after September alfalfa replanting, the main effect of Rotation was significant for yield (6.43AB, 5.3B0, 6.92A, and 3.54C Mg ha−1 for ALF, SS1, SS2, and WW/SS, respectively, 5% LSD = 1.22). Alfalfa stand destruction and replanting with no intervening crop rotation may be feasible in sandy soils with irrigation in the semiarid, subtropical southwestern USA and similar environments.

Sorghum is the most well-known helpful cereal crop for poor farmers in Ethiopia’s dry lowland areas due to it’s a high yielding, drought tolerant, nutrient use efficiency crop that can be grown over 80 % of the worlds’ cultivated land. It has many advantages in the economic lives of the farmers in the highlands of the country. It is a source of food, feed, fuel, construction, fencing to poor farmers of Ethiopia. Though, many biological and environmental stresses are reducing grain yield increment. Foliar and grain diseases are one of the main biological stresses limiting sorghum production and productivity in the high and intermediate rainfall areas of Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the current state of highland sorghum improvement in Ethiopia’s highlands. Breeders, pathologists, agronomists, and research extension workers have all worked hard to overcome the constraints. In addition, the national sorghum research program is focusing on developing tolerant varieties that can withstand a variety of pressures by backcrossing tolerant characteristics into existing potential landraces and elite advanced lines. Due to many yield-limiting conditions, the crop’s production is well below its potential. Sorghum breeding began in Ethiopia in the early 1950s to solve important production difficulties that contributed to low productivity, and as a result, a number of improved varieties have been offered to farmers. Since 1978, research and development efforts previous to Ethiopian sorghum enhancement have been studied. Generally, believe that future productivity will most likely increase as a result of the integration of a diverse collection of mutually beneficial disciplines and organizations with varying priorities in technology development, advancement, promotion, and market/product production. Multidisciplinary methodologies, system sustainability with temporal and spatial intensification, and participation of essential stakeholders, including farmers, in the technological development, increase, promotion, and proper intervention in production are also of interest.

We aimed to develop a coating process for maize and sorghum in order to simplify the application of microbial fertilizers and increase seed resistance against insects. The coating is a thin layer of Rhizophagus fasciculatus and Rhizophagus aggregatus spores and Leifsonia sp. applied on the surface of seeds using three Arabic gum solutions as glue materials. The germinating capacities of seeds and coated inoculants were followed up to 4 months of storage between 6 °C and 25 °C conditions. The remaining seed batches were mixed with 5 days aged insects (Sitophilus zeamais and Rhyzopertha dominica). Insect emergences were daily monitored and their damages on seeds were followed. Coating with a 10% gum solution had no negative effect for maize and sorghum seed germination. Moreover, seeds can be stored for up to 4 months at 6 °C without losing their germinability. Nevertheless, coating with 15 and 20% gum decreased the germinating characteristics of sorghum small seeds. Furthermore, incorporating fungal spores through seed coating did not alter mycorrhizal spores in generating root colonization. Lastly, the coatings decreased significantly the insect emergences with less seed attacks and seed weight losses although no gum dose is able to completely stop the emergence of S. zeamais and R. dominica.

The aim of this work is to investigate the composition of pathogenic mycoflora on seeds of grain sorghum in the Samara region and to study the effectiveness of dressing agents against pathogens in laboratory conditions. Research methodology and methods. The research was carried out on the basis of the laboratory of innovative technologies in breeding, seed production and seed science of the Volga NIISS, a branch of the SamSC RAS. The objects of research were two varieties of grain sorghum Ros’ and Kinel’skoe 63. Determination of the population of seeds by pathogenic organisms was carried out by the method of a wet chamber with their preliminary placement on corrugated filter paper in boxes with natural ventilation using the technique according to GOST 12044-93 and subsequent microscopy. To study the effect of plant protection chemicals, the seeds were treated with moisture (at the rate of 10 l/tons) with preparations of contact-systemic action Celeste Maks and Vitaros; contact – TMTD and Maksim; and systemic action - Armor. Untreated seeds were used as a control. The repetition is fourfold. Results. Correct diagnosis and knowledge of the causes of the onset of the disease, the peculiarities of the development of a particular pathogen will be the basis for the successful implementation of protective and preventive measures. Phytopathological examination of grain sorghum seeds, carried out by us in 2019–2020, shows that the most common fungi found on grain sorghum seeds are Cladosporium sp., Trichothecium roseum, Mucor sp., Penicillium sp. It has been established that dressing agents with varying efficiency – from 75.8 to 97.6 % reduce the contamination of seed material. Scientific novelty. A phytopathological assessment of grain sorghum seeds was carried out in relation to the conditions of the Samara region and the most effective preparations for pre-sowing treatment of grain sorghum were determined to reduce the damage to plants by diseases.