Genetic variability among Indian rainy season sorghum cultivars revealed by morpho-agronomic traits

Abstract

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)] is an important crop for the semi-arid tropics. To protect varieties under Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act (PPVandFRA) 2001 the entries need to be tested for distinctiveness, uniformity and stability during the season of their adaptation itself. Fifteen parental lines and 32 varieties belonging to different categories of sorghum were characterized for DUS traits during the kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007. Among quantitative traits total plant height contributed >70% towards variability of the genotypes. Quantitative traits alone put the 47 genotypes into three clusters, while qualitative traits alone grouped the genotypes into four main clusters. Grouping based on qualitative traits corroborated more towards the total variability as against quantitative traits alone. Generated data clearly could establish distinctiveness among all the genotypes without any ambiguity. Combination of qualitative and quantitative traits in establishing distinctiveness was more effective than any type of trait alone.