Abstract
In sorghum, milo source of male sterility has been used for developing all the hybrids so far and it created the narrow cytoplasmic base. In addition, it also narrows down the nuclear diversity which may be the invitation for the outbreak of pests and diseases in the near future. To handle this hazard new diverse sources like A2, A3, A4, maldandi, VZM and G1 have been discovered. The availability of restorers on these sources is very difficult hence their utilization is also a challenging task. The present study was, therefore, carried out to test different sorghum lines for restoration behavior on two milo lines (104A and 401A) and one maldandi (M31-2A) with more emphasis on maldnadi source because of its added advantage of enhancing grain size and pest tolerance. In rabi-2017, 125 genotypes were tested for the restoration behavior on these sources, and five restorers viz., IS 19389, IS 995, IS 28389, IS 26046 (BRJ 67 − 8) and DSMR-8 restored fertility on 104A, two lines viz., IS 29335 and IS 26046 restored on 401A, while on M31-2A six lines viz., IS 19975, BRJ-67-4 (DSMR-4), BRJ 67 − 8 (DSMR-8), BRJ 67 − 16, BRJ 67 − 19, BRJ 67 − 21 restored the fertility. only two lines DSMR-8 and DSMR-4 exhibited stable, consistent and strong restoration (> 90% seed set) across the seasons (rabi-2017 and kharif-2017) and years (2017 and rabi-2018). All the used MS lines exhibited the restoration complexity in the following order − 104A < 401A < M31-2A.
Combining ability and heterosis as influenced by male-sterility inducing cytoplasms in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]