Project Number: 6208-21000-017-17
Project Type: General Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jan 01, 2012
End Date: Dec 31, 2012

Objective:
1. To characterize selected germplasm lines for pre- and post-flowering drought tolerance. 2. To accelerate the development of improved germplasm resources for enhanced drought tolerance breeding programs in different types of sorghums; and 3. To understand the genetic and physiological basis of drought and heat tolerance in sorghums.

Approach:
Our newly developed high throughput screening tools will provide, for the first time, a quantative measure of the levels of pre- and post-flowering drought tolerance in germplasm collections, mutant populations, and hybrid combinations. This information will expedite the movement of tolerant germplasm into advanced breeding programs. Modification of plant architecture will be evaluated to determine morphologies that enhance yield with less water consumptions. Genotypes with improved vegetative and reproductive heat tolerance will be identified, and the genetics underlying the tolerance will be determined. We will develop an irrigation management that optimizes the seasonal distributuion of limited water to maximize grain yields of pre-flowering drought-tolerant sorghum lines.