Cereal Chem. 73 (5):613-617  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Nonwheat Grains and Products

Physical and Chemical Kernel Properties Associated with Resistance to Grain Mold in Sorghum.

A. Menkir (1), G. Ejeta (1,2), L. Butler (1), and A. Melakeberhan (1). (1) Postdoctoral fellow, professor of agronomy, professor of biochemistry, and research associate, respectively, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. (2) Corresponding author. E-mail: <gejeta @ dept. agry. Purdue. edu> Accepted June 28, 1996. Copyright 1996 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Identification of kernel properties associated with resistance to grain mold would be useful in screening germplasm in a breeding program. We screened and characterized a large and diverse collection of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) accessions for physical and chemical kernel properties, as well as for resistance to grain mold in the field. We identified sorghum accessions with a high level of grain mold resistance originating from diverse geographical areas and belonging to different botanical races. We found that resistance to grain mold in these sorghums was strongly associated with high concentration of phenolic compounds (apigeninidin, flavan-4-ols, and tannin), kernel hardness, and pericarp color. Each of these kernel properties contributed to grain mold resistance differently in white, red, and brown pericarp sorghum accessions. We developed a numerical index that integrated the more important kernel attributes, and this index effectively differentiated resistant and susceptible sorghum genotypes.