Strengthening sorghum and pearl millet hybrids delivery in East and Southern Africa

Published May 30, 2022

Tridge summary

The East and Southern Africa Sorghum and Pearl Millet Hybrid Parents Research Consortium (SPMHPRC) recently selected parents for their hybrid development programs at a biannual field day hosted by ICRISAT in Kenya. The consortium, which includes National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners and seed companies, is interested in traits like grain yield and agronomic performance. The growing interest in sorghum and millets in East and Southern Africa, along with rising demand, has led to private investment in hybrid sorghum and pearl millet. The government of Zimbabwe has also initiated a future grains initiative to boost small grains production.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

ICRISAT recently hosted the East and Southern Africa Sorghum and Pearl Millet Hybrid Parents Research Consortium (SPMHPRC) members at a biannual field day at the KALRO-ICRISAT Kiboko, Kenya research field station on the 20th April 2022. The consortium members from Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe represented four National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners and 8 seed companies, including the CEO of the Seed Traders Association of Kenya. The delegates received an overview of sorghum and pearl millet hybrid parents nurseries and advanced OPV trials prior to selecting parents for use in their hybrid development programs. A total of 88 A/B pairs and 24 R-lines of sorghum and 44 A/B pairs and 102 R-lines of pearl millet were available with consortium members considering grain yield, agronomic performance, plant height, maturity, uniformity, flowering synchronization, seed set, insect pest damage and foliar diseases, among other important traits. ...

Source: Icrisat