Male sterility induction of sorghum using chemical hybridizing agent TFMSA, trifluoromethanesulfonamide

In sorghum, male sterility has been induced mainly using mechanical and genetic means with minimal use of chemical methods. Mechanical sterility induction is limited to producing small quantities of seed and genetic male sterility is limited to specific germplasm. An effective chemical hybridizing agent could be used to produce large amounts of seed and would not be limited by genotypes. The chemical trifluoromethanesulfonamide (TFMSA) was evaluated as a male gametocide in sorghum. In greenhouse conditions, TFMSA induced varying degrees of male sterility contingent on the dosage, timing of application, and sorghum genotype. If applied at or after the flag leaf emergence, panicles were male fertile but male sterile when applied at least 2 d before the flag leaf emerged. In terms of dosage, 2 mg of TFMSA rendered a BTx623 male sterile if applied 2–6 d prior to flag leaf emergence. However, 30 mg of TFMSA applied as much as 34 d before the flag leaf emerged also induced complete sterility of the panicle. The...