Effect of temperature on seed setting behaviour in rabi sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench)

Pollen viability is an important parameter of yield as for as interaction of temperature with seed setting is concerned. Rabi sorghum is one of the major cereal crops after rice, wheat and maize. In sorghum seed setting is affected when the flowering period coincides with minimum temperature. In this context comparison was made with pollen fertility percentage and seed setting percentage vs minimum temperature at flowering. The study revealed that the range of pollen fertility percentage was higher than the range of seed setting percentage in all the dates of sowing and temperature regimes. Narrow range of seed set % was observed in BRJ-358, BRJH-129 and R-354. Varieties showed high seed set percentage (79.3) compare to hybrids, R lines, B lines and stay green lines but mean pollen fertility was still higher than this i.e >90%. In other words, seed setting percentage is more affected by temperature at all the six dates compare to pollen fertility.