Development of bird damage-tolerant white sorghum varieties
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) has been an under-utilized crop and one of the most important cereal crops in semi-arid tropics (Mukri, et al, 2010). However, food insecurity which has been accelerated by decline in maize production due to climate change stresses and MLN, and the increased use of sorghum by industrial processors has led to high demand for sorghum grain. Sorghum, which is well adapted to drought and diverse weather conditions (Takuji and Baltazar, 2009) could be an alternative staple food crop (Muui et al, 2013). Despite its suitability, its production area in Kenya is still low at 184,654 ha in 2016 (National Sorghum Production Statistics, 2016). Bird damage, which is a major constraint, is the main reason why farmers shy away from sorghum. Availing bird tolerant high yielding sorghum varieties for food, feed and brewing that are adapted to all the sorghum growing regions will be the main solution. During the ASAL APRP, 10 white sorghum cultivars with bird tolerance traits were identified; among them are Makueni local and TZ Mchawi. More sorghum lines with bird tolerance and ability to brew have been bred in collaboration with ICRISAT. Further evaluation of these lines will lead to release of bird tolerant lines. The following sub-activities are proposed:
- Participatory evaluation and selection of Makueni local, TZ Mchawi and other bird escaping open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrid lines
- National Performance Trial (NPT) for the best performing lines with KEPHIS
- Registration and release of varieties