Sorghum Genetic Resources: Conservation and Diversity Assessment for Enhanced Utilization in Sorghum Improvement

World collection of sorghum consists of 235,711 accessions, housed in national and international genebanks, of which, ICRISAT genebank holds 37,949 accessions, predominantly landraces from SAT regions. Biologically, this collection represents all basic and intermediate races, and geographic regions. Core/mini core, genotype-based reference set or in some cases trait-based diversity panels have been developed. These reduced subsets are in demand to discover new sources of variation, dissect population structure and diversity, estimate linkage disequilibria, map marker-trait associations, and mine allelic variations associated with agronomically benefi cial traits. More emphasis should also be to discover germplasm with novel seed quality traits imparting health benefi ts. Few germplasm, such as IS 18758, IS 1054, and IS 33844, have proved to be an excellent source of desirable plant type, high grain yield, good grain quality, resistant to leaf diseases, and used extensively in breeding programs at ICRISAT and elsewhere. New sources such as IS 26962 and IS 23680 identifi ed as having high Fe and Zn serve as potential parents for developing improved nutrient dense cultivars. In addition, 34 germplasm lines have been directly released as cultivars in 17 countries. There is a continuous need to identify germplasm lines with multiple resistances to abiotic and biotic stresses and those with novel seed quality traits to develop sorghum cultivars and hybrids adapted to diverse agroclimatic conditions. A better understanding of available genetic resources, genomic tools and resources including sequenced variation in sorghum genome will assist germplasm curators/breeders effi ciently conserve and utilize diverse germplasm in sorghum improvement.