Genetic variability and plant character association of grain Fe and Zn in selected core collection accessions of sorghum germplasm and breeding lines

Sorghum is the third most important food crop in India after rice and wheat and is the staple food in Central India. It is also the staple for large tribal populations across the country. The poor and vulnerable groups in the society depend upon sorghum for their calorie and micronutrient requirement and in the absence of access and affordability to nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, fruits and animal products, biofortification of sorghum helps in enhancing the nutritional security of this group. Research efforts at ICRISA T and elsewhere showed that there is considerable genetic variability and high heritability for grain Fe and Zn contents and it is possible to genetically enhance the grain micronutrient content (Fe and Zn) in sorghum and other major staples. However, limited information is available on the extent of variability in the sorghum germplasm accessions and breeding lines and the character association between grain Fe and Zn contents and with other agronomic traits. The main aim of this study was to identify promising donors in the core collection of sorghum germplasm accessions and breeding lines with the objective to use those with high grain Fe and Zn contents in the genetic enhancement program to develop biofortified sorghum cultivars. Significant positive correlation was observed between grain Fe and Zn contents (r=0.75) in the study. The five accessions, IS 5427. IS 5514, IS 55, IS 3760 and IS 3283, identified from the study with high grain Fe (>50 mg kg l) and Zn (>37 mg kg l) contents can be utilized to increase the diversity and micronutrient density of sorghum hybrid parents in the future.