Maturing Varieties Research Articles

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of Ethylene-Insensitive3-Like 1 (ScEIL1) Gene in Sugarcane

Ethylene-insensitive3-like 1 (EIL1) is a transcription factor involving in ethylene signal transduction pathway. In the present study, a ScEIL1 gene encoding EIL1 was cloned from a sugarcane cv. GT 28 (Saccharum hybrid cultivar) using RT-PCR with primers designed based on conserved amino acid sequences of EIL1 from corn and sorghum. The ScEIL1 gene had 2179 base pairs in length and coded for a polypeptide of 639 amino acid residues. The molecular mass of deduced sugarcane EIL1 protein was 71.2 kDa, and the pI was 5.05. The amino acid sequence of ScEIL1 encoded protein was 97, 92 and 91% identical to SbEIL1 (XP 002467935.1) of sorghum, ZmEIL1 (ACG45492.1) of corn and SiEIL1 (XP 004984528.1) of millet, respectively. Real-time PCR analyses results showed ScEIL1 had much higher expression level in the late maturing varieties than in the early maturing varieties, and the expression level of ScEIL1 was higher in the maturing internodes than in the immature and matured internodes, while in leaves it tends to decrease with leaf development and maturation at mature stage. The results from this study may help understand the ethylene regulated sucrose accumulation in sugarcane stalks and leaf development.

Impacts of adaptation strategies of climate change on rice production in Kwara State

The study was to determine the effectiveness of adaptation strategies of climate change on rice production, it specifically identified the adaptation strategies employed and described the determinants of the strategies. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Adaptation strategies employed by the respondents were planting of early maturing variety (89.2 %), planting of improved variety (85.0 %) and change in planting date (76.7 %). Determinants of adaptation strategies were educational attainment, farming experience, age, climate information, cooperative membership, extension contact and farm size. Planting of improved and early maturing variety with a mean score of x꞊3.75 and x꞊3.66 respectively were adjudged the most effective adaptive strategies that could help in the production of rice in the study area. Use of irrigation, mixed farming; soil conservation and off-farm activities were effective as adaptation strategies in mitigating the adverse effect of climate change on rice production. Therefore, it was recommended that government policies should ensure that farmers have access to timely, affordable and adequate credit to increase their ability and flexibility to change production strategies in response to climate change, Similarly, adequate and timely information should be made available to farmers in order to keep them alert about the constant changes in climate.Key Words: Climate change, Effectiveness, Adaption, Strategies

Optimizing organic cover crop-based rotational tillage systems for early soybean growth

Cover crop-based rotational tillage (CCBRT) practices continue to be adopted on organic farms across the globe. In these systems, fall-planted cover crops are mechanically terminated in the spring and used to suppress weeds and eliminate the need for tillage and cultivation in the soybean (Glycine max L.) phase of the rotation. However, challenges remain as to maximization of soybean yields due to later planting dates of soybean and delayed early soybean growth. In this study, soybeans were planted into cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) using two strategies (planting at Zadoks’ stage 45 and 69), with termination with the roller-crimper occurring at Zadoks’ stage 69 for each rye variety which differed in their time to maturity. The impacts of cover crop variety and planting strategies were compared through measurements of (1) cover crop biomass; (2) the regrowth of cover crops; (3) soybean plant populations; (4) weed densities and biomass; and (5) soybean nodulation. Biomass production of each cover crop differed significantly by year, ranging from 7907 kg DM ha−1 to 11,466 kg DM ha−1. Significant differences in weed densities and weed biomass were found between rye varieties and control treatments across the different planting strategies. Soybean nodulation was suppressed by CCBRT management, potentially impacting early soybean growth. Soybean yields were equivalent from both the earlier vs. late maturing varieties of rye. Soybean yields varied across planting strategies of soybeans when cereal rye reached Zadoks’ stage 45 versus stage 69, with greater or equivalent yields of the early planting strategy beans in 2016 and lower or equivalent yields in 2017. Further work must be conducted to understand the benefits and risks of earlier planting of soybeans in the CCBRT system and to develop best management practices to promote early soybean growth.

Assessment of the resistance and performance of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Huth) cultivars to selected major insect pests of at Bunda, Malawi

A study to evaluate the resistance and performance of six varieties of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Huth) against major insect pests was conducted at Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi during the 2017/2018 cropping season. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Results indicated that cultivars varied in number of days to flowering with ICPL 87105 (82 days) and ICPL 93026 (97 days) flowering earlier than the rest of the treatments. In addition, significant differences (p<0.001) were observed in yield with ICEAP00040 (925.2 kg ha−1) and ICPL 9145 (1009.6 kg ha−1) having higher grain yield (kg ha−1) and less damaged pods than the rest of the cultivars. Cultivars ICEAP 00040 and ICEAP 01514/15 had significantly lower damaged pods 23.08% and 26.55% respectively as compared to other cultivars followed by ICPL 87105, ICPL 9145 and ICEAP 00557 respectively. There is potential of realizing high yields in late maturing varieties such as ICPL 00040 and ICEAP 9145 grown without the application of any pesticide.

Yield, N Uptake and N Utilization of Early Maturing, Drought and Striga-Tolerant Maize Varieties under Low N Conditions

ABSTRACT Performance under sub-optimal nitrogen (N) conditions, of early maturing maize cultivars bred for tolerance to drought and Striga parasitism in the Nigerian savanna is not known. This study evaluated the tolerance of selected early maturing drought and Striga-tolerant maize cultivars to low N conditions in Northern Nigeria. The cultivars were evaluated at 30 and 100 kg N ha−1. The varieties were compared with an improved maize cultivar that is not tolerant to drought and Striga. Maize grain yield was 26% higher at 100 kg N ha−1 than at 30 kg N ha−1 in 2010 and 161% higher100 kg Nha−1 than at 30 kg Nha−1 in 2011. The drought and Striga-tolerant varieties produced consistently higher yields than the non-drought-tolerant variety particularly at 30 kg Nha−1. These cultivars also accumulated higher amount of N, had higher N-uptake efficiency or N-utilization efficiency than the non-drought-tolerant variety ACR 95 TZE-COMP4 C3. Grains yield at low nitrogen rate was associated with high ears m−2, high dry matter accumulation, high grains m−2, suggesting that these traits are linked to low-N tolerance. The good performance of the drought-tolerant maize varieties under low N suggests that varieties developed for drought tolerance may be tolerant to low-N conditions.

PHENOTYPIC DIVERSITY OF FINGER MILLET (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) GENOTYPES

An experiment was conducted at Hill Crops Research Program (HCRP), Kabre, Dolakha under Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal (NARC), during rainy season of 2018 with objective to identify the level of genetic difference present in the finger millet genotypes being cultivated for selecting genotypes in different agroclimatic region in Nepal using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, cluster analysis and principle component analysis. P value of REML procedure revealed that significant variation was observed in 16 finger millet genotypes for baring head, days to 50% flowering, days to 50 % heading, days to 75 % maturity, finger length, flag leaf length, plant stand, plant height, number of finger, peduncle length, no of productive tiller, thousand grain weight, grain yield and straw yield showed selection and development of suitable varieties for different agro-climatic region of Nepal. Traits baring head, finger length, number of finger, flag leaf length, peduncle length, productive tiller, thousand kernel weight, plant stand, straw yield were positively correlated with grain yield revealed that se lection within this is importance for improvement grain yield. Cluster I consists up six early mature genotypes named as KLE-178,GE-0383, ACC#6022,GE-0382,KLE-0150,ACC#0124 can be used to development of early mature genotypes for mountain regions where chilling stress occurs at maturity period whereas similarly cluster II, III and IV consisted up 10 late mature genotypes named as ACC#2843, ACC#2860, ACC#8827-1,Sailung- Kodo-1,NE-1703-34,KLE-236,ACC#2311,GE-0356, farmer’s variety, GE-0480 can be used to develop high yielding late mature varieties for mid hill and terai regions these genotypes may be of interest to researcher for selection of materials for breeding program in different agro-climatic region of Nepal.

Comparison of the retrieving precision of potato leaf area index derived from several vegetation indices and spectral parameters of the continuum removal method

ABSTRACT Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the important variables for crop growth monitoring and yield estimating. In this article, the potato LAI was retrieved by several vegetation indices (VIs) and spectral parameters of the continuum removal method (SPCRM) to provide accurate estimates. A comparison of the two methods of retrieving precision was completed. The data source for computing VIs and SPCRM was hyperspectral reflectance data for the life cycle, derived from two potato cultivars, Favorite (early maturing variety) and Yanshu 4 (late maturing variety), through field experiments. Sensitive bands were identified to indicate seven VIs by correlation analysis. Additionally, seven SPCRM were computed. Based on these methods, the potato LAI was retrieved and tested. Meanwhile, a comparison of the retrieving precision was implemented. The results showed that compared with the filtered spectral reflectance and VIs, the correlation between the potato LAI and the continuum removal spectral reflectance and its retrieved SPCRM were higher. The determination coefficients (R 2) of the retrieving models of four parameters, the total area (S), the left area (Sl), the right area (Sr) and the depth area ratio (W), derived from the continuum removal method were all above 0.801, and their fitting coefficients (r) were all above 0.868, with the mean relative errors (MRE) all <0.14. It was identified that W was the most suitable parameter for retrieving the potato LAI. Although the effectiveness of SPCRM requires further research, this study manifests that SPCRM have the potential to accurately retrieve the potato LAI.

English

Principal component analysis is a multivariate statistical technique used to observe the variance and to assess the relative influence of various traits for aggregate variability. In this study, ten advance uniform rice lines were grown for two consecutive years and morphometric data on eight yield and yield related attributes were collected. The principle component analysis was performed on the means of two years’ agronomic data to identify the patterns of variation and to determine the selection criteria. The first five principle components accounted for 97.9% of total variation, with the first three components explaining the cumulative variability of 82.7%. The individual contribution of PC1, PC2 and PC3 were 46.8, 20.7 and 15.2%, respectively. The PC1 and PC2 projected more towards yield contributing traits such as panicle length, number of grains per panicle and 100 grain weight. Days to 50% flowering and days to maturity were grouped under PC3 which regarded as earliness component, as it had the traits which allowed for developing early and late maturing varieties. Panicle length & 100 grain weight showed negative direction to each other, however, both traits grouped under PC2 and genotype under this component were good for further yield improvement. Thus, the prominent traits grouped together in different principal components were causal to describe the variability and breeding consideration. The results of this study will be greatly helpful for the development of early maturing and higher yielding varieties in future breeding programs. Key words: Oryza sativa, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), rotated component matrix, Biplot, Loading plot.

Intermediate Maturing Soybean Produce Multiple Benefits at 1:2 Maize:Soybean Planting Density

A study was conducted to identify the most suitable intercropping arrangement in smallholder farms in Western Kenya. Biomass and N (nitrogen)-accumulation, N2 fixation and grain yield of maize and soybeans grown as intercrops at three planting densities were assessed. The study was conducted in four seasons. Three soybean varieties, Namsoy 4m, SC Squire and TGx1987-18F, were used in the experiment. Maize: soybean planting densities 1:1 (D1), 1:2 (D2), 1:3 (D3) as well as sole soybean (SS) and sole maize (SM) were tested. Higher biomass, N-accumulation, and N-fixed in the order 3.8 Mg ha-1, 260 kg ha-1 and 161 kg ha-1 respectively, were recorded in D3 with long maturing variety TGx1987-18F. Conversely, higher soybean grain yield &amp;lt; 2.4 Mg ha-1 was achieved by intermediate maturing SC Squire in D3. The highest maize yield in the intercrop was obtained in D1. N balance calculations indicated that planting TGx1987-18F resulted in an addition of 6 to 67 kg N ha-1, while SC Squire and Namsoy 4 m removed 3 to 89 kg N ha-1 when soybean grain was removed from the field. The differences in N balances between the intercrops depended on the N-fixed and the amount of N in harvested soybean and maize grain. Greater land equivalent ratio &amp;lt; 1.75 were obtained with SC Squire and Namsoy 4m in D2. We concluded that intermediate maturing soybean have multiple benefits for farmers in Western Kenya at 1:2 maize: soybean planting density provided that the practice is accompanied with good soil and crop management practices.

Performances of early and late maturing oat varieties in cold regions

Oats are widely used in cold regions as forage and grain crop, with early maturing oat varieties having long planting history. More attention is paid to variety maturity, including both naked and hulled types, for production in cold regions. Despite wide planting of early maturing oat in the cold regions in China, no systematic evaluation on yield and quality of the oat varieties in these regions has been conducted. Qinghai and Inner Mongolia are typically cold regions in China due to high elevation and high latitude respectively, and are representative areas for experimentation on growing oats in cold regions. In this study, we tested production and quality of early and late maturing oat varieties at five locations in Qinghai Province and one location in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions. We measured several growth, yield and quality parameters of four early maturing and three late maturing oat varieties in the former locations and six early maturing and one late maturing oat varieties at the latter locations. Parameters measured included leaf length, leaf width, panicle length, dry forage yield, seed yield crude protein and others. Attention was primarily paid to oats maturity due to the emphasis on forage and crop productivity without cons derma for to what the varieties were naked and hulled. The results showed that, in the regions of Qinghai Province with high altitude, forage yield and quality parameters of the early maturing varieties were not significantly different from those of the late maturing varieties. However, seed yield of the early maturing varieties (3702 kg/hm2) was significantly higher than that of the late maturing varieties (2759 kg/hm2) ( P <0.05). In the regions of Inner Mongolia with high latitude, the dried forage yield (3209 kg/hm2) and seed yield (8110 kg/hm2) of the early maturing varieties were significantly higher than those of the late maturing varieties. But the crude protein content in the early maturing varieties was not significantly with late maturing varieties. Our study shows that production and properties of early maturing oats used for forage and grain is similar to normally higher yielding late maturing oats, indicating that early maturing oats are better than late maturing varieties to the short grow season in cold regions. Therefore, early maturing oat varieties should be used as both cereal and forage in the cold regions.

Effect of row spacing on physiological characteristics and yield of intercropped peanut with wheat.

Using two peanut varieties Shanhua108 (early-maturing variety) and 780-15 (late maturing variety), a field experiment was conducted to investigate the influences of row-spacing of wheat (25 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm+20 cm) and two peanut cropping patterns (intercropped peanut with wheat, summer-sowing peanut) on yield components, photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant system, and dry matter accumulation and transportation. The results showed that wide spacing form of wheat and wide-narrow row planting pattern increased the pod yield, kernel yield, leaf area index, total dry matter accumulation and photosynthetic capacity, as well as SOD, POD and CAT activities, but decreased the MDA content. There are no obvious differences of wheat yield between the two row-spacing. Intercropping system increased peanut yield compared with summer-sowing peanut, which were much higher for wide-narrow row planting pattern than row spacing of 25 cm or 30 cm. The wide-narrow row planting pattern increased the pod yield and kernel yield by 6.3%, 13.3% and 7.7%, 16.5% for Shanhua108 and 780-15 than those of row spacing of 30 cm, respectively. Wide-narrow row planting could enlarge photosynthetic area, improve the net photosynthetic rate, and increase total dry matter accumulation. Meanwhile, it could alleviate the contradictionbetween the plant individual and group, delay the senescence, and increase peanut yield.

Results of potato varietieis for drought tolerance in vitro conditoin

The laboratory’s experiment conducted at IPAS in 2017. The goal of this study was to evaluate drought stress tolerance of released potato varieties using PEG-6000 in-vitro condition. Middle maturing variety Gala, early maturing Solist and Quarta were used experiment. The objectives were to determine how osmosis pressure affected potato plantlet height, root length, total weight of biomass, and stem diameter using their index comparing to normal condition. The screening experiment used three different treatments. The water stress treatments 0 MPa (control), -0.05 MPa and -0,15 MPa were created by PEG-6000. 6 weeks’ year’s old plantlets were measured by 5 features. The variety Gala showed significant high index by 5 performances among the stressed condition compared to Quarta and Solist. The variety Quarta also showed high performance compared Solist. As a result of this study found out that cultivar Gala more tolerant to drought than Quarta and Solist.

EVALUATION OF THE COMMON HOP VARIETY SAMPLES ACCORDING TO THE PHENOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

The results of study of the 12 year cycle of studies on the only in Russia collection of hops ordinary (Humulus lupulus L.), which contains 250 samples from different regions of Russia and 17 foreign countries. The number of process varieties, composition and origin, it is unique and corresponds to world level. A collection of accessions of hops is a population of female plants with a set of phenological, morphological and economic importance of signs. In the article, the estimation of the collectible varieties of hops at different ripeness groups according to phenological and morphological characteristics according to the method of test for distinctness, uniformity and stability. As the result of the research the Common Hop (Humuluslupulus) sorts were classified in accordance with their maturity time as early maturity (less than 100 days) – 10%, middle-early (101…110 days) – 14, middle duration (111…120 days) – 40, middle-late (121…130 days) – 10% and slow-maturing (more than 130 days) – 26%. Each group has a phenotypic and morphologies features. The early maturity, middle-early and middle duration varieties with vegetative season approximately 120 days are more adaptive to the conditions of the Chuvashia and central part of the Russia and provide obtaining high yield of the hop cones.

Prominent winter wheat varieties response to post-flowering heat stress under controlled chambers and field based heat tents

Post-flowering heat stress shortens grain filling duration and limits resource allocation to grains leading to lower productivity in wheat. Wheat grown in Kansas and US Great Plains, often experiences temperatures of 30 °C during grain filling, leading to lower productivity. Thus, characterizing Kansas prominent and newly released varieties for post-flowering heat stress will define the gap in heat tolerance that will need to be addressed through breeding. In the present study, seven Kansas varieties were phenotyped for heat tolerance under a controlled chamber study and two field experiments. To impose heat stress in the controlled chambers, plants grown at 25 °C were transferred to high day temperature (35 °C) chambers, 10 days after first sign of anthesis. Under field conditions, custom built “heat tents” were placed over the plots ten days after 50% flowering and remained until maturity. Plants grown under heat stress exhibited early senescence indicating a shorter grain filling period compared to control. Early maturing varieties recorded higher percent reduction in grain yield under heat stress. Post-flowering heat stress induced significant reduction in thousand kernel weight, grain number, harvest index and grain yield over control. Percent reduction in yield ranged from 6 to 51% under severe heat stress exposure in controlled environments and 2–27% with heat stress exposure using field based tents. Among the varieties tested SY Monument and Larry performed well under both conditions suggesting that they are relatively better suited for locations that face consistent heat stress exposure during the post-flowering stage. Our findings highlight the need to explore wider genetic diversity including wild wheat to infuse greater heat stress resilience into ongoing wheat breeding programs.

An Empirical Study on the Linkage Between Offshore and Onshore Interbank Offered Rate

This article uses Granger causality test and vector autoregression model to investigate the linkage between SHIBOR and CNH-HIBOR. The results showed that the existence of linkage between two short-term varieties, long-term varieties did not show linkage, and the offshore market has an impact on the onshore market, short-term maturity varieties respond more rapidly to impacts, while long-term maturity varieties respond to impacts that take a long time to digest. The results show that the linkage between China’s inter-bank lending rate and the onshore market is gradually increasing, it’s need to further strengthen SHIBOR’S s the basic position, and constantly improve the quotation mechanism and relax offshore market restrictions.

An Empirical Study on the Linkage Between Offshore and Onshore Interbank Offered Rate

This article uses Granger causality test and vector autoregression model to investigate the linkage between SHIBOR and CNH-HIBOR. The results showed that the existence of linkage between two short-term varieties, long-term varieties did not show linkage, and the offshore market has an impact on the onshore market, short-term maturity varieties respond more rapidly to impacts, while long-term maturity varieties respond to impacts that take a long time to digest. The results show that the linkage between China’s inter-bank lending rate and the onshore market is gradually increasing, it’s need to further strengthen SHIBOR’S s the basic position, and constantly improve the quotation mechanism and relax offshore market restrictions.

PROMISING WATERMELON VARIETY ‘METEOR’

Watermelon is one of the most common crops of medium melons. Biological peculiarities of cultivation of watermelon allow using global warming as a factor expanding the area for cultivation. Breeding work is carried out to develop new varieties and hybrids of watermelon suitable for cultivation in more Northern areas of the Russian Federation with a shorter vegetation period In Bykovskaya Melons and Gourds Experimental Breeding Station. To accomplish this goal the creation of new varieties of watermelon, early maturity with excellent taste, friendly fruit ripening, drought-resistant, suitable for intensive cultivation technology is carried out. Currently, the new early maturing variety of watermelon ‘Meteor’ with a growing period for 65-70 days and dry matter content to 12.0% has been transferred to the State Variety Trial. According to research results, comparative characteristics between new promising variety ‘Meteor’ and control variety ‘Zenith’ were given. The ‘Meteor exceeded the standard variety in yield ability by 19.0 сwt/ha. According to pathogen tests for complex resistance the ‘Meteor’ exceeded the control by 6.4 % for Fusarium, and scored at 0.8 against Anthracnose attack.

Productivity and Water Use Efficiency of Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] Grown under Different Nitrogen Applications in Sudan Savanna Zone, Nigeria

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for sorghum growth and development but often becomes limiting due to low availability and loss. The effects of N fertilization on water use efficiency (WUE) and physiological and yield traits of sorghum were investigated in two locations over two cropping seasons (2014 and 2015) in the Sudan Savanna zone of Nigeria. Three sorghum varieties were evaluated under six (6) N-levels (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 kg ha−1) at a constant phosphorus and potassium level of 30 kg ha−1. Results showed that N increased grain yield by 35–64% at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) and 23–78% at Minjibir. The highest mean grain yield in the N-fertilizer treatments (2709 kg ha−1 and 1852 kg ha−1 at BUK and Minjibir, resp.) was recorded at 80 kg N ha−1. ICSV400 produced the highest mean grain yields (2677 kg ha−1 and 1848 kg ha−1 at BUK and Minjibir, resp.). Significant differences were observed among the N-levels as well as among the sorghum varieties for estimated water use efficiency (WUE). The highest mean value coincided with the highest mean grain yield at an optimum application rate of 80 kg ha−1. N-fertilizer treatments increased WUE by 48–55% at BUK and increased WUE by 54–76% at Minjibir over control treatment. Maturity and physiological trait have a significant effect on WUE. The extra early maturing variety (ICSV400) recorded the highest mean WUE while late maturing variety (CSR01) recorded the lowest WUE.

Effect of humus preparations on chlorophyl content in leave and potato plant productivity on sandy soil in Moscow distric

Results on evaluation of effect of organic preparations LFSC-HA (Life Force Soil Conditioner Natural Humic Acids for soil fertility) and LFSC-HB (Life Force Soil Conditioner Humate Balance for soil enrichment) on productivity of potato plant of early maturing variety arizina. Two preparations have been provided by firm Life Force Ltd (Moscow). A field experiment was carried out on a potato plantation of the firm Agriko-Eurasia in Moscow district on sandy soil with low humus content. Organic preparations were applied in to soil by hand in powder form in 50 g/sq. m dosage. Reaction of potato plants on the experimental treatment was assessed by measurement of chlorophyll a and b content in potato leaves, and number and mass of tubes per plant at harvest. Positive effect of preparation used on chlorophyll content in leaves and number of tubes peer plant was found. Prevailing number of tubes of small sizes (less than 30 mm) - 38% may be considered as negative effect for early maturing variety. Number of tubes greater than 50 mm may be assigned to stimulative effect of organic preparation LFSC-HA on tube formation may and to additional amount of phosphorus and potassium containing in the preparation as well. Additional evaluation of organic preparation produced by Life Force Ltd are needed to separate positive effects of organic substances and additional amount of mineral elements in it. Having in mind positive effect tested preparations on formation of bigger number of tubes there it is advisable to carry out experiments with late maturing varieties.

Screening Non-Improved Zimbabwean Sorghum Land Races for Resistance to Witch Weed

Sorghum is an important cereal for food security in semi-arid regions of the world (Mukarumbwa and Mushunje 2010). Semi-arid regions are characterized by frequent droughts leading to crop failure. In addition to drought, sorghum production in the smallholder farming sector in Sub-Saharan Africa can be undermined by the parasitic witch weed Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze (Stroud, 1993). S. asiatica parasitism can cause cereal yields to drop by as much as 60% hence it poses a threat to food security (Mabasa, 1993). The aim of this study is to screen sorghum landraces for S. asiatica resistance and test the escape hypothesis through a controlled in a pot experiment. A pot experiment was established on 1 March 2013 at the Henderson Research Station in Zimbabwe. It is situated in agro-ecological region II of Zimbabwe. The annual average rainfall is 864 mm. Mean annual temperature is 21 oC (Mujere and Mazvimavi, 2012). The dominant soil type is red clay loam belonging to the fersiallitic group (Wulff et al. 2002). Four sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) landraces consisting of two early maturing and two late maturing varieties were obtained from the National Genebank in Harare for this experiment. The early maturing landraces were Tsveta and Nhongoro while the late maturing landraces were Musoswe and Khaki. The biological characteristics of these landraces including days to 50% flowering is shown in Table 1.Bangladesh Agron. J. 2017, 20(1): 106-108