Four new sorghum varieties fast-tracked to release in Uganda
Friday, 2017/08/11 | 07:48:16
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Figure: Mr Daniel Ajaku (ICRISAT Research Technician) with a student at a seed multiplication plot of sorghum variety IS 8193. Photo: ICRISAT
ICRISAT News
July 2017 saw the release of four new sorghum varieties in Uganda by the National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI), one of the implementing partners of the Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement of Sorghum and Millets (HOPE) project. The varieties IESV 92043 DL, IS 8193, ICSR 160 and GE 17/1/2013A, (of which the first three were developed at ICRISAT Nairobi, while the last was acquired from Purdue University, USA) possess critical traits such as resistance to drought, diseases and pests.
Uganda is one of the three countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) that are implementing the second phase of the HOPE project (HOPE 2). One of the key mandates of HOPE 2 is to fast-track the release of varieties developed during the previous phase of the project
IESV 92043 DL is a variety of medium maturity, has grey seed color, and is drought tolerant and midge resistant. Bred by the ICRISAT-Nairobi program, it is an open pollinated pure line variety developed through pedigree selection from cross KARI Mtama 1 x Seredo. This variety is also released in Somalia and Zimbabwe (by Progene Seeds Limited for chibuku beer brewing).
IS 8193 is a red-seeded, early-medium landrace from East Africa reintroduced from the ICRISAT Genebank in India and preferred for blending with cassava to make ugali. The variety has also been released in Kenya and Rwanda. With the harmonized seed regulations in the region, these varieties are likely to get into the regional variety release catalog, making seed production and marketing easy.
ICSR 160, a white-seeded variety from ICRISAT India, was introduced as a Restorer or Male Parent (R-Line) for hybrid development. However, it has adapted well as a variety with very good brewing qualities for lager beer (no tannin and high extracts).
GE 17/1/2013A is a Striga-tolerant variety obtained from the sorghum improvement program at Purdue University, Indiana, USA.
See http://www.icrisat.org/four-new-sorghum-varieties-fast-tracked-to-release-in-uganda/ |
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