Characterizing sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) varieties diversity to identify those with contrasting traits of interest for intercropping systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa

Sorghum is an important staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa, sorghum is mainly intercropped with cowpea, but these intercropping systems are facing low-productivity problems. The overall aim of this research was to identify sorghum varieties with different agro-morphological and physiological traits that could improve the performance of the intercropping systems. We followed a two-step methodology comprising (i) identification of varieties and plant traits of interest in intercropping systems, using participatory methods, and (ii) agro-morpho-physiological characterization of 50 sorghum varieties, to examine the range of variation in traits of interest. The results show that landraces are the varieties most widely used by farmers, and that 82.5% of farmers consider the variety type they choose for intercropping to be important. Farmers mentioned plant height, number of leaves and stem diameter as important traits to consider. Analysis of variance showed significant differences between varieties for half of the 24 agro-morpho-physiological traits studied. Hierarchical clustering identified three main groups of varieties, distinguished by morphological traits such as stem diameter, total number and size of leaves (group 1), root traits (depth, growth angle, dry matter) and relative chlorophyll content (groups 2 and 3). Based on this classification, we recommend several varieties from each of the three groups, exhibiting contrasting traits, for an assessment of their performances in intercropping systems.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ganeme, Aminata, Pulcherie Kondombo, clarisse, Raboin, Louis-Marie, Dusserre, Julie, Kaboré, Roger, Adam, Myriam, Traoré, Salifou
Format: article biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:F30 - Génétique et amélioration des plantes, F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture, choix des variétés, performance de culture, amélioration des cultures, morphologie végétale, système de culture, culture intercalaire, Sorghum bicolor, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_36085, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_35199, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_331560, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_13434, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1971, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3910, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7247, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8081, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_32605,
Online Access:http://agritrop.cirad.fr/602997/
http://agritrop.cirad.fr/602997/7/602997.pdf
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