TITLE:
Cytoplasm Has No Effect on the Yield and Quality of Biomass Sorghum Hybrids
AUTHORS:
Leo Hoffmann Jr., William L. Rooney
KEYWORDS:
Near Infrared Spectroscopy; Photoperiod Sensitive; Cytoplasm
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems,
Vol.3 No.2,
June
25,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The development of the biomass sorghum hybrid seed
industry is contingent on the use of cytoplasmic male sterility. Within
sorghum, there are several different cytoplasmic male sterility systems and it
is important to determine early in development if cytoplasm will affect
agronomic performance or composition characters. Thus, if there is a
difference, then the best system can be deployed. The purpose of this study was
to determine if cytoplasm per se influences agronomic performance
of biomass sorghum using a set of iso-cytoplasmic hybrids. Three hybrid
genotypes were produced in three different cytoplasms (A1, A2, and A3) for a
total of nine hybrids. These hybrids were evaluated for plant height, biomass
yield, and biomass composition in three Texas environments (Weslaco, College Station,
and Halfway) in 2010. Across environments, significant differences existed
among hybrids for both agronomic and compositional traits, but cytoplasm per se had no effect on any measured
trait. Since cytoplasm did not effect on hybrid performance, any of the tested
cytoplasms (A1, A2, and A3) can be deployed in hybrid biomass sorghums.