Herbicide tolerance of Rabi sorghum varieties and germplasm

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted during Rabi 2010-11 at the Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad (Telangana) to screen the Rabi sorghum germplasm and varieties tolerant to quizalofop-ethyl, metsulfuron-methyl and carfentrazone-ethyl herbicides. The crop was infested mainly with Parthenium hysterophorus (43.36%), Cyperus rotundus (19.91%), Celosia argentea (20.38%), Euphorbia geniculata (12.42%) and others (E. hirta and Digitaria sanguinalis) (3.93%). Of the 68 genotypes evaluated for herbicide tolerance, none was tolerant to quizalofop-ethyl. ‘Phule Maulee’, ‘PEC 22’, ‘PEC 2’, ‘PEC 5’, ‘PEC 15’, ‘EP 97’, ‘EP 105’, ‘EC 34’, ‘EP 117’, ‘EP 78’, ‘EP 59’, ‘EP 82’, and ‘EP 57’ showed tolerance to metsulfuronmethyl (3.27 - 48.32% increase in grain yield over control) with very good control of all broad-leaved weeds. The promising genotypes showed tolerance to both metsulfuron and carfentrazone were ‘PEC 2’, ‘PEC 5’, ‘EP 97’, ‘EP 105’ and ‘EC 34’. Carfentrazone-ethyl, however, showed initial leaf phytotoxicity but crop recovered within 15 days of herbicide application.