Development of improve, high-yielding sorghum cultuivars; final report

Insect pests attacking sorghum in Puerto Rico are: webworms, corn earworms, fall army worms, sugar cane borers, lesser cornstalk borers, corn aphids, chinch bugs, sorghum midgets, and sucking insects such as scales and plant bugs. Birds constitute the most serious problem since they are very destructive and there is no means of control. High tannin sorghums have resistance to birds, but they also have lower digestibility of protein. The most important diseases attacking sorghum in Puerto Rico are Helminthosporium blight, anthracnose, rust, stalk rot, the zonate leaf spot, and the oval leaf spot. Nematodes are very important pests in sorghum production. Resistant sorghum lines have been identified. Data on weed control showed that Metribuzin, Atrazine + Terbutrin, and Atrazine + Propachlor give good control of weeds on sorghum. The main objective of the project was to develop and make high yielding sorghum cultivars available to LDC"s improved nutritional value and multiple resistance to prevalent diseases and insects. An auxiliary objective was to develop improved cultural practices for sorghum in the tropics and sub-tropics. The results of all the plantings are included. Forage sorghum hybirds were evaluated at two locations. The best yielders were SX-16, SX-17, Grazer A, Pioneer 988, Pioneer 979, NK318s, and NK 367.