Hybrid Sorghum Product Development and Production

Abstract

There are many moving parts involved in developing and taking a new commercial hybrid to market. Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] hybrid development involves development of parental lines based on a cytoplasmic male sterile system including the pollen parent (R-line) and seed parents (A- and B-lines). New parental lines are developed by recombining existing elite parental lines to create new breeding populations or by adding specific traits of interest to existing parental lines by crossing elite lines with donor parents. Molecular markers are utilized to identify plants with particular traits of interest during parental line development. Newly developed parental lines are crossed together or with other elite parental lines to create new hybrid combinations. New hybrid combinations are evaluated in target geographies for improved yield, good agronomics, and specific traits of interest. Multi-year, multi-location evaluations are used to identify hybrid entries with improved yield, stable performance, and good agronomics. Evaluation of the parental lines involved in these new hybrids helps establish the produce ability and potential cost of goods which have direct impact on the potential commercial release of new hybrid products.