Harnessing genetic and genomic resources to transform the production and productivity of sorghum

Tesfaye T. Tesso, Dereje D. Gobena, Dechassa O. Duressa, Kraig Roozeboom and Krishna Jagadish, Kansas State University, USA; Ramasamy Perumal, Agricultural Research Center – Hays, USA; and Desalegn D. Serba and Dilooshi Weerasooriya, Kansas State University, USA

Chapter synopsis: Despite sorghum’s inherent yield potential, its remarkable adaptation to marginal environments and its extensive use in various food applications by smallholders in developing countries, sorghum has never received the attention it deserves and thus its productivity has remained low. This chapter highlights the opportunities for sorghum as food, feed and industrial feedstock and discusses potential focus areas where investment and coordinated research may be needed to transform sorghum productivity. The chapter also examines the major hurdles undermining sorghum productivity including the chronic shortage of financial support to bring about technological breakthroughs, the mistaken public perception of the crop as inferior and the effect that poverty has on the ability of smallholder farmers to benefit from technology. The chapter also provides perspectives on bridging the gap in yield potential to maximize productivity.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2017.0015.09