Grain quality improvement of rainy season sorghums

Main Article Content

C. Aruna
S. Audilakshmi
C.V. Ratnavathi
J.V. Patil

Keywords

grain moulds, physiological maturity, pearling, grain size, lustre, genetics

Abstract

The grain yield of rainy season sorghum has doubled in India during the 1970s due to the development of high yielding sorghum hybrids. But the area under rainy season sorghum has come down drastically due to a significant reduction in consumption of the rainy season produce. The main reason for this is the poor quality and consequently the low market prices of the grain produced during the rainy season. The high yielding genotypes mature at the time of heavy rains and get infected by grain moulds, which are caused by a complex of fungi. Besides grain moulds, apparent grain quality is another important reason for the lower market price. The grain of rainy season sorghums is usually small, flat and non-lustrous. Post rainy season sorghum grain has higher consumer preference and the market price is about double that of rainy season grain. Grain size, shape, lustre and colour are some of the important grain quality traits that contribute towards consumer preference.

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References

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