FORMATION OF SORGHUM HYBRIDS FOR GRAIN. l. ASSESSMENT PROGENITOR LINES1

Abstract

An increasing import of sorghum (Songhum bicolor (L.) Moench) grain makes necessary to expand this crop to new Mexican areas. As part of an strategy that may allow, in the short term, to satisfy seed needs, and in the medium term, to identify proper parental lines te obtain hybrids with adaptation to those areas. a methodology is proposed. The first phase of this methodology involves the evaluarían of the parental lines. With this purpose, in the summer of 1981, 38 B lines and 43 R lines were evaluated in 3 locations in the State of Morelos. Results showed that 19 B lines and 7 R lines had grain yields equal or higher than 90% of that produced by the
cultivar Master Gold (the most common commercial hybrid sown in that State in that year); these elite lines showed similar agronomic characteristics than those cbserved in the hybrid checks. Furthermore, the best three lines (Tx 623, 35 B and R-3-13)
yielded 20% or more than Master Gold. The importance of these results is discussed in a breeding program context, assuming that the program is located in areas where sorghum is being considered as a promising crop.