Abstract
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] grown under rain-fed conditions is usually affected by moisture stress at different stages, resulting in reduced yield. The assessment of variation in agronomic traits contributing towards drought escaping at these stages is of vital importance. This study was conducted during 2014 and 2015 cropping seasons using a randomized complete block design with three replications to evaluate 12 sorghum hybrids (one standard check) for their better performance under moisture stress conditions at Abergelle Agricultural Research Center on station. The data of 9 different agronomic traits were subjected to combined analysis of variance, estimation of genetic variability and heritability. Data was analyzed for variance for number of seeds per panicle, panicle length, plant height, days to flowering and maturity, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, biomass yield and harvest index under moisture stress conditions. The combined analysis of variance result for grain yield of the hybrids evaluated over seasons was highly significant at p< 0.001. Relatively high magnitude of phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variations (>20%) for grain yield, biomass yield and harvest index as well as high heritability (>80%) for biomass yield were recorded. Generally, the present study entails the presence of significant variations among sorghum hybrids. Therefore, the hybrid sorghum genotypes Enforce (3263 kg ha-1), NGC22319 (3113 kg ha-1) and NGC76319 (3068 NGC76319 kg ha-1) were identified as superior for grain yield under moisture stress conditions of Abergelle district. Key words: Agronomic traits, grain yield, heritability, hybrid, moisture stress.
Highlights
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] belongs to the grass family, Poaceae which is among the dominant staple cereals for the majority of Ethiopians
The combined analysis of variance revealed that the studied hybrids were significantly different in most traits measured
The tallest mean plant height (155.2 cm) was attained in H6 (NGC05304) and the difference in height with the other hybrids was significant at p
Summary
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] belongs to the grass family, Poaceae which is among the dominant staple cereals for the majority of Ethiopians It forms the most important dry land cereal crop for the semi-arid tropics together with maize and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.). Under these stress conditions, the uptake of water by roots may be insufficient to meet the transpiration in such dry air and soil environments. The low land areas of Ethiopia are climatically characterized by high temperature and insufficient amount of rainfall during the crop-growing season. A number of constraints have been standing on the way of sorghum production
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