TRIDI breeding new sorghum varieties using innovative breeding technologies

Tropical Institute of Development innovations (TRIDI), has embraced innovative breeding technologies for sorghum varieties, to produce sorghum, tolerant to drought and resistant to Striga weed.

Innovative breeding integrates traditional selection, hybridization, introduction, polyploidy, induced mutation, marker assisted selection breeding, transcription selection, genomics rapid cycling, high throughput phenotyping (HTP, phenomics), and historical descriptions of environmental relatedness (enviromics).

TRIDI, a research, extension and training based institution, anticipates that using these innovative breeding tools, this research will give off plant varieties that are resistant, give off high yield and can be grown in the shortest time possible.

The crop, Sorghum, in its advanced stages is known for its wide application as both an industrial and food security crop.

Sorghum selection, is ongoing and after this, first products known as, the breeders seed, will be multiplied for multi-environmental trials.

Breeder seed is produced by or under the direction of the plant breeder, which pre-determines the particular variety to be selected.

The selection is also ongoing for the different environments, for which the new traits are being developed..

Clet Wandui Masiga, PhD, TRIDI’s Principal Investigator, a conservation biologist and geneticist, says, the crops are being developed so as to realize which varieties are capable of surviving and producing many grains for consumption or trading, in the shortest cultivation time, when exposed to the harsh conditions of dry weather.

“Every field is using scientific innovation to advance and there should be no exception in plant breeding. So we are developing this breed of crops that have been improved to tolerate drought, but also resist to diseases and the notorious witch weed – Striga.” Masiga said.

While looking through the different experimental varieties, it is noticed that some crops have so many insects stuck to their stems, while others have none.

The explanation, Masiga gives, is that, these varieties all have different glucose saturation levels, as sorghum being one of these plants that have high sugar levels like sugarcane, so it attracts sugar ants or insects that come to suck at the glucose produced by the plant.

He adds that, this is the actual reason why the research is being conducted so as to also realize other benefits sorghum too.

“There are varieties whose stems can be used for extraction of ethanol, a form of fuel, which later can be processed into sanitizer or spirits,” Masiga added.

Sorghum is a multi-purpose plant, which besides production of grain, can produce ethanol, through fermenting its grain or even distilling stem juice extracted from the plant. 

TRIDI continues to perform the same genetic studies for other crops like bananas, coffee, mangoes, cassava, maize, tomatoes and bamboo.

TRIDI envisions that this research will produce crops that will give farmers, not only great yields but also highly resistant crops in response to climate change.

TRIDI carries out research, extension and training in various spheres, among these include research in agrobiodiversity, salts,   production of phosphate fertilizers from rocks, sericulture, and apiculture.

story by Mercy Scarlet Kigai and Clet Wandui Masiga, PhD