Stalk Rot Diseases Impact Sweet Sorghum Biofuel Traits
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Stalk Rot Diseases Impact Sweet Sorghum Biofuel Traits Y. M. A. Y. Bandara 1 & D. K. Weerasooriya 2 & T. T. Tesso 2 & C. R. Little 1
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Owing to its sugar-rich stalks and high biomass, sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] has potential as a source of biofuel feedstock for juice and lignocellulosicbased bioethanol production. However, stalk rot-mediated lodging is an important concern. The potential impacts of disease on sweet sorghum biofuel traits are currently unknown. The objectives of this study were to test the effects of Fusarium stalk rot and charcoal rot on sweet sorghum biofuel traits and to assess the combining ability of the parental genotypes for resistance to the two diseases. Nineteen genotypes including 7 parents and 12 hybrids were tested in the field in 2014 (Ashland, Kansas) and 2015 (Manhattan, Kansas) against Fusarium thapsinum (FT) and Macrophomina phaseolina (MP). Fourteen days after flowering, plants were inoculated with FT and MP. Plants were harvested at 35 days after inoculation and measured for disease severity using stalk lesion length. Grain weight, juice weight, Brix (°Bx), and dried bagasse weight were also determined. Total soluble sugars per plant (TSSP) were determined using juice weight and °Bx. On average, FT and MP resulted in reduced grain weight and dried bagasse weight by 17.4 and 17.6 %, respectively, across genotypes. Depending on the genotype, pathogens reduced juice weight, °Bx, and TSSP in the ranges of 11.3 to 25.9, 0.2 to 16.7, and 21.2 to 33.3 %, respectively. Parental line general and specific combining abilities were found to be statistically insignificant. This study revealed the adverse effects of stalk
* C. R. Little [email protected] 1
Department of Plant Pathology, 4024 Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
2
Department of Agronomy, 2004 Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
rot diseases on harvestable biofuel traits and the need to breed sweet sorghum for stalk rot resistance. Keywords Sweet sorghum . Fusarium stalk rot . Charcoal rot . Biofuel feedstock . Bioethanol . Combining ability . Resistance . Tolerance
Introduction The limited supply of fossil fuel and the increasing global demand for clean energy are the key forces behind the trend to produce more eco-friendly and renewable fuel sources. The federal “Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)” program has stipulated that transportation fuel sold in the USA must contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. It calls for an annual production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, out of which 21 billion gallons are expected to come from cellulosic/sugar-based ethanol production [1]. About 29 % of the grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and 40 % of the maize crop harvested in the USA are processed into liquid ethanol every year [2]. Continued use of grain crops for biofuel production could threaten the global food supply and result in fo
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