TITLE:
Breeding Sorghum Using Induced Mutations: Future Prospect for Namibia
AUTHORS:
Maliata Athon Wanga, A. Ashok Kumar, Grace Nandesora Kangueehi, Hussein Shimelis, Lydia N. Horn, Fatma Sarsu, Jahanna F. N. Andowa
KEYWORDS:
Breeding, Induced Mutation, Namibia, Sorghum
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.13,
December
24,
2018
ABSTRACT: In arid and semi-arid
regions of the world sorghum stands out as a climate change-ready crop with
high potential for the production of food, feed, fodder, fiber and fuel in the
face of increasing human population. The present review highlights induced
mutation breeding technique as a potential tool for improving sorghum in
Namibia. The review discussed the following issues; crop improvement using
mutagens, mutant screening, selection and evaluation, impact of induced
mutation breeding, factors for declining production and future implication of
sorghum mutation breeding. In Namibia, severe drought stress resulting in total
crop failure has become
frequent. This is partly a consequence of farmers growing crop varieties which
cannot withstand impact of drought. As such Namibia has limited drought tolerant
varieties available for the diverse agro-ecologies. Farmers keep growing the
familiar landraces which performs well in good rainfall years but fails to
produce stable yield with irregular and erratic rainfall. Thus, breeding new
sorghum varieties of high yield and quality combined with multiple agronomic
traits including pest and disease resistance and high efficiency in nutrient
and water use is needed. Induced mutation is one of the breeding methods
utilized worldwide to supplement conventional breeding for developing superior
varieties with desirable traits in different crops. Development of high
yielding, drought tolerant, and dwarf
sorghums with early maturity enables effective utilization of available soils
moisture and in optimizing plant density for achieving higher yield in farmers’
fields. Recombination breeding through exploitation of natural genetic
variability and mutation breeding to reduce the plant height without disturbing
agronomic superiority of elite lines is recommended
for sorghum improvement in Namibia.