Genetic Analysis and Adaptability of Sorghum Germplasm in Semi-arid Zimbabwe

This BSc thesis was supported through the project “Exploring wide crosses derived crop biodiversity (sorghum x maize) for climate resilience and food and nutrition security in Eastern and Southern Africa” funded in the 4th cycle of the Benefit Sharing Fund (BSF) of the International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

This study seeks to determine the extent of diversity among forty-nine sorghum genotypes/accessions and evaluate their adaptability to some semi-arid parts of Zimbabwe using quantitative traits and identify sorghum accessions that are superior in desirable characteristics.

Sorghum is a very diverse crop that can easily adapt to drought prone and marginal environments. Studying the genetic diversity of sorghum germplasm collections from Zimbabwe and other areas attracts special interest because a large amount of genetic variation is present in cultivated and wild sorghum germplasm in Zimbabwe and this diversity has not been fully investigated. Over the years studies have dealt with evaluating the diversity in sorghum based solely on morphological traits using smaller collections of exotic grain material. Although these provide useful information about the genetic variability among accessions, the genotype of some available sorghum germplasm still remains unknown. It has therefore been reported that using quantitative morphological traits using bigger collection of both exotic and indigenous germplasm could be more effective in evaluating the genetic diversity of accessions. However,to to date, a few studies have assessed sorghum’s genetic diversity using morphological traits under Zimbabwean conditions