TITLE:
Genetic Variation among Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) Landraces from Eritrea under Post-Flowering Drought Stress Conditions
AUTHORS:
Tesfamichael Abraha, Stephen Mwangi Githiri, Remmy Kasili, Woldeamlak Araia, Aggrey Bernard Nyende
KEYWORDS:
Drought Tolerance, Genetic Variability, Post Flowering, Principal Component Analysis, Sorghum
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.9,
June
16,
2015
ABSTRACT: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) grown under rain-fed conditions is usually affected by drought stress at different stages, resulting in reduced yield. The assessment of variation in morpho-physiological traits contributing towards drought tolerance at these stages is of vital importance. This study was conducted using a split plot design with three replications to evaluate 25 sorghum accessions at post flowering stage under well watered and drought stress conditions at Hamelmalo Agricultural College. The data of 14 different morpho-physiological traits were subjected to analysis of variance, estimation of genetic variability and heritability and principal component analysis. We analyzed variance for seedling vigor, number of leaves, leaf area, stay-green, peduncle exsertion, panicle length and width, plant height, days to flowering and maturity, grain yield, biomass and harvest index under drought stress and irrigated conditions. The results showed that genotypic differences were significant at P 1 explaining 74.6% of the total variation with grain yield, biomass, stay-green, leaf area, peduncle exsertion and days to flowering and maturity being the most important characters in PC1 and PC2. This research demonstrated high diversity for the characters studied. Moreover, the result showed that drought stress reduced the yield of some genotypes, though others were tolerant to drought. Accessions EG 885, EG 469, EG 481, EG 849, Hamelmalo, EG 836 and EG 711 were identified as superior for post-flowering drought tolerance and could be used by breeders in improvement programs.