Red sorghum variety: A dual solution for functional food and grain mold resistance

Abstract

Functional and nutraceutical foods provide additional health benefits and the demand for such foods is increasing rapidly. Sorghum grain has received increased research attention for its functional and nutraceutical properties. Sorghum is a genetically diverse crop and the diversity extends to the presence of phenolic content and composition, which varies with the pericarp color. Many colored sorghums are available in germplasm including red, which is preferred by consumers. Available red sorghums lack high yield and their functional properties are not characterized. We developed a red sorghum variety, CSV 50Red that has high yield and is rich in antioxidant properties and mineral nutrition. Presence of special compounds like coumaric acid, ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, catechin, quercetin etc which are not found in the white grain variety is an additional advantage. The variety CSV 50Red is derived from a cross between a popular white grain sorghum variety, CSV 15 and a red germplasm line IS 23514 from Sudan belonging to the race, Caudatum. CSV 50Red was tested in multi-location trials during 2018-22 under the All India Co-ordinated research project on Sorghum (AICRP-Sorghum) and showed average grain yield advantage of more than 10% over the white variety, CSV 20. It showed higher level of grain mold resistance over the white variety in the grain mold nursery. Presence of higher levels of antioxidants and minerals in the new variety, CSV 50Red, coupled with its higher grain yield and grain mold resistance encourages its utility in the pharmaceutical and functional food industries.