|
Collaborating
Scientists:
U.S.:
Scott Bean, USDA-ARS, GMPRC, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Kassim Al Khatib, Kansas State University, Dept. of
Agronomy, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Jianming Yu, Kansas State University, Dept.of Agronomy,
Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
Gebisa Ejeta, Purdue University, Dept.of Agronomy, West
Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
David Aupperle, DuPont Crop Protection, Wilmington, DE
19880-0705, USA Reginald Young, DuPont Crop Protection,
Wilmington, DE 19880-0705, USA
John Beitler, DuPont Crop Protection, Wilmington, DE
19880-0705, USA Frank Klemens, DuPont Crop Protection,
Wilmington, DE 19880-0705, USA
Niger:
Souley Soumana, INRAN Rainfed Crops Program, INRAN, BP 429,
Niamey, Niger
Mali:
Mountaga Kayento, IER/Sotuba Research Station, BP 262,
Bamako Mali
Burkina Faso:
Hamidou Traore, INERA, 04 BP 8645, Ouagadougou, 04, Burkina
Faso
Summary:
Sorghum is poised to
play a key role in expanding agricultural development and
food security in countries around the world. New marketing
opportunities for sorghum include use in high-quality food
and beverage products, feed for poultry production, and use
of grain and potentially biomass in the rapidly expanding
biofuels industry. Success in meeting these demands hinges
in part on the successful transfer of genetic, genomic, and
agricultural technologies that have been developed for the
crop. The research described in this work plan will focus on
development and deployment of new and existing genetic
technologies that will enhance the value and performance of
sorghum in farmer-accepted varieties adapted in West Africa
(WA) and the United States. In WA, the most important
regional research issues highlighted by scientists from the
area include the need to develop locally-adapted guinea and
non-guinea sorghum varieties and hybrids with improved grain
quality characteristics (e.g., tan-plant, white-grain, grain
mold resistance, etc.) and resistance to Striga. In the
U.S., research is focused on development of high-yielding
hybrids to meet the expanding food, feed, and biofuels
markets and technologies to manage grassy weeds. This
research, training, and institutional development project
attempts to address these crop improvement needs through
targeted research, short and long term training and
education, and technology transfer to promote and enhance
sorghum production. The proposed training activities will
strengthen sorghum breeding programs across the region and
contribute to institutional development in host-country
programs. The proposed germplasm enhancement program will
result in technology transfer that contributes to
development of sorghum varieties and hybrids with enhanced
food- and feed-quality traits that can be grown in WA and/or
the U.S. Selection of these varieties will promote
acceptance and production. Strong linkages with the private
seed industry will lead to rapid commercialization of new
cultivars in developed and developing countries. Increased
production of high-quality grains will stimulate and support
development of new markets. The fundamental genetic research
proposed in this project focuses on use of the nearly
completed sorghum genome sequence as a tool to identify or
develop allelic variation in genes that influence specific
grain quality or crop production traits. These studies will
lead to a better understanding of the genetic bases for
variation in economically important traits and contribute to
more efficient use of the germplasm collections.
Objectives:
Develop sorghum
varieties and hybrids having improved grain quality and
production characteristics.
Deploy traits that
contribute to resistance or tolerance to biotic stresses
into locally adapted varieties and hybrids with excellent
grain quality.
Identify and mine
genes and alleles associated with improved sorghum
performance from the natural sorghum gene pool. |
