Authors:
Bocar DIALLO, Abdoulaye G DIALLO, Yacouba KANE, Fily DEMBELE, Adama DIALLO and Issa TRAORE, Mali |
Abstract:
Sorghum is the fourth most produced cereal in Mali following maize, rice and millet. It is grown
either in rainfed conditions or in flood recession conditions in lakes, ponds or along the Niger
and Senegal rivers. However, its yield (829 kg/ha) remains low due to various abiotic and biotic
constraints, including the effects of post flowering drought. One of the limiting factors of its
production in the Sahelian zone remains the very frequent post-flowering drought. Data
collected from Mali's meteorological stations from Niono to Sikasso indicates a prevalence of
drought in every other year between 1950 and 2015.
The development of post-flowering drought-tolerant sorghum hybrids is one of the best
approaches to increase the level of sorghum productivity and production in the Sahelian zone,
which is often affected by the effect of drought. Thus, A/B lines (sterility maintainer) and R lines
(fertility restorer) with the "stay green" trait have been developed in Mali . The objective is to
ensure food security and income of farmers in the Sahelian zone of Mali through the
development and dissemination of sorghum hybrids tolerant to post -flowering drought .
Thirty-eight (38) hybrids from combinations between the different groups of parents were
compared to 2 controls in a 2-replication Alpha lattice design. The study was conducted at the
Kolombada Agricultural Research Substation and the Cinzana Agricultural Research Station).
The characteristics analyzed were plant height, number of green leaves at physiological maturity
and grain yield...
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