Field Determination on Anthracnose-resistance of Sorghum Cultivars in Guizhou

  Objective  Resistance of local sorghum varieties in Guizhou to anthracnose was determined by artificially infecting the plants in the field.

  Method  Using both crushed straws and diseased leaves to induce the anthracnose infection on 283 cultivars of sorghum in Guizhou, a field experimentation was conducted in two separate years to examine and classify the disease resistance of the crop plants.

  Result  Among the cultivars, B39-2 and F41 showed a high, Grade 2 resistance to anthracnose. Seven cultivars were moderately resistant to the disease in varying degrees depending upon the environmental conditions. E36 and F4 exhibited resistance that varied greatly. A few were of heterozygous genotypes displaying multiple grades of resistance. And the remaining 266 specimens were susceptible to the disease.

  Conclusion  Two outstanding local sorghum cultivars in Guizhou were highly and consistently resistant to anthracnose that were to be further studied for breeding programs. This study showed the combined use of crushed straws and diseased leaves to artificially infect sorghum plants to be more effective than applying crushed straws alone in determining the degree of the disease resistance.