National Research Centre for Sorghum, All India Coordinated Sorghum Improvement Project, IARI Regional Station, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500 030, A. P., India
1Present address: National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad 500 007, India.
2Present address: Vice-Chancellor, Maralhawada Agricultural University, Parbhani-431 402 (India)
*This contribution is the XXXII part of the series on “Genetic analysis of some exotic X Indian crosses in Sorghum”.
The genetic behaviour of protein, lysine and leucine was examined from F1 to F8 generations in crosses involving shrivelled high lysine Ethiopian sorghums and some agronomically desirable types. In F1, the plump opaque fraction was marginally superior to the plump translucent fraction for lysine; the shrivelled opaque was, of course, the most superior. There was very low level of recombination between plump and shrivelled fractions of the same ear head in the segregating generations. The shrivelled types exhibited superiority over plumps with respect to both protein and lysine in F1 as well as in advanced generations. The lack of association between protein and lysine content in shrivelled seed indicates the possibilities of recovering high lysine with high protein.
Selection in crosses resulted in the isolation of dwarf photo-insensitive agronomically desirable shrivelled types like N 82, N 93 and N 94 with high protein (13-6%) and high lysine (2–73%). Among plump selections, N 49, N 55 and N 59 have moderately high lysine at normal protein level. Their progenies do throw plants with more than 3 percent lysine. The frequency of occurrence of high lysine plants in F6-F8 generations indicated greater possibility of stabilising lysine between 2 • 5 to 2 • 8 percent in plump back ground.
