Effect of Panicle Characters and Plant Height on Premature Seed Rot Caused by Fusarium Grain Mold in Sorghum

Fusarium grain mold causes severe losses in quality, viability and germination of sorghum seed. Thirty-six recombinant inbred lines along with grain mold resistant (B58586) and susceptible (296B) parents were evaluated in replicated field trials for resistance to Fusarium grain mold using artificial inoculation. A high degree of variability was observed among the RILs for all the characters (seed rot, plant height and panicle structure, glume color and glume cover) examined. Seed rot varied from 13 to 93% among the RILs. Correlation studies showed that Fusarium induced seed rot had strong negative relationship with glume color (p<0.01) and positive relationship with panicle compactness (p<0.01). Seven RILs (RIL004, RIL166, RIL092, RIL118, RIL161, RIL172 and RIL030) had seed rot resistance at par with resistant B58586 but with less coverage of grain with glume and high panicle compactness. It was summarized that seed rot, glume color and panicle structure are important characters that can play significant role in precise evaluation of grain mold resistance on artificial inoculation.