Grain Sorghum Grown Under Drought Stress at Pre- and Post-flowering in Semiarid Environment

Andrey Antunes de Souza,Arley Figueiredo Portugal,Paulo Sérgio Cardoso Batista,Luciane Gonçalves Torres,Edson Alves Bastos,Marcos Paulo Mingote Julio,Abner José de Carvalho,Cícero Beserra de Menezes,Bruno Henrique Mingote Julio

doi:10.5539/jas.v12n4p97

Andrey Antunes de Souza, Arley Figueiredo Portugal + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v12n4p97

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Abstract

In the current scenario of climate change, sorghum crop has high growth potential, requiring adaptation and selection studies for the various Brazilian production environments. Sorghum is among the most drought-tolerant cereals; however, extended summer can reduce the size and number of grains in the plant, reflecting into poorer yields. Sorghum breeding programs aim to develop hybrids more tolerant to water deficit, to ensure profitable yield even in the face of drought stress. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of water restriction on grain sorghum hybrids in the pre- and post-flowering phases in the Brazilian semiarid. Twenty-five hybrids were evaluated under controlled irrigation conditions in Nova Porteirinha-MG and Teresina-PI. In the Nova Porteirinha, the hybrids were cultivated under conditions of non-drought stress and with drought stress in pre- and post-flowering stage. On the other hand, in Teresina, the experiment took place with non-drought stress and drought stress at post-flowering stage. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks, in factorial scheme, with three replications. Drought stress reduced grain yield by more than 40%, showing that even being resistant, sorghum is affected by drought. Hybrids 1168093, 1167092, 1236020 and 1423007 showed high yields in the various environments, outyielding the commercial controls, what allows the recommendation of these cultivars for the semiarid areas or late off-season in the Cerrado region.

Highlights

Climate change, especially those concerned with availability of water during the crop growing, is among the main problems of world agriculture
The objective of this work was to carry out the phenotypic selection of grain sorghum hybrids when subjected to drought stress in pre- and post-flowering of the plant, aiming to select those best suited for planting in the Semiarid region and at the second crop in the Cerrado bioma
Porteirinha-MG and at the experimental station of Embrapa Mid-North in Teresina-PI. These sites are located in a semiarid region, and present a well-defined dry season, allowing water control to be performed only by irrigation

Summary

Introduction

Especially those concerned with availability of water during the crop growing, is among the main problems of world agriculture. In Brazil, in some regions or growing seasons, such as in the Semiarid and during the second crop in the Cerrado, prolonged period of drought is common, alternating with periods of irregular rainfall distribution, causing significant losses in grain yield of cereals. In Brazil, sorghum is a rainfed crop, always in late plantings, when the risk for the growing of corn increases. Sorghum is the best planting option in the Brazilian semiarid and in the so-called late second crop (Santos et al, 2005; Cysne & Pitombeira, 2012; Tabosa et al, 2013; Menezes, 2016). When planted too late, it can still suffer reduction in its yield

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