The effects of endosperm characteristics on seed and grain quality of sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench

Abstract

Standard germination, cold temperature germination, and field emergence tests at two locations were used to determine the effects of endosperm type and texture on quality of sorghum seed. Endosperm types selected were normal, waxy, yellow, and yellow waxy. Endosperm texture ranged from essentially all corneous to all floury. Lines and hybrids with normal endosperm had higher germination and emergence than those with waxy or yellow endosperm. Use of normal endosperm A-lines improved the germination and emergence of heterowaxy and heteroyellow hybrids. Lines with corneous endosperm texture had higher germination and emergence than lines with intermediate or floury texture. Hybrids derived using pollinator lines with corneous endosperm texture had improved germination and emergence potential. Lines and hybrids with normal endosperm generally had higher yields than those with waxy or yellow endosperm. Heteroyellow endosperm hybrids had the highest yields, and several heterowaxy hybrids had high yields. Differences in yields among lines and hybrids may have been due to maturity effects and combining ability rather than the effect of endosperm characteristics. Endosperm texture in the sorghum lines tested was simply inherited with corneous texture being partially dominant to floury. Variation in texture of sorghums classified as intermediate may be influenced by several modifying genes, assuming that most of the variation was genetically induced. ...