Multi-Trait Improvement in Sorghum to Optimize Livelihoods from Mixed Crop Livestock Systems and the Impact of Augmented New Cultivar Release Criteria

Crop residues form an important feed resource in smallholder mixed livestock systems of Asia and Africa. Targeted improvement of crop residue fodder value by plant breeding is a feasible option to upgrade the quality of crop residue as crop residue management technologies were not adopted in these regions. Differential pricing of sorghum stover in fodder markets of India could be correlated to their quality in terms of digestibility when tested in laboratory. Premium type of sorghum stover possessed higher digestibility. The analyses of new sorghum cultivars developed in Indian sorghum improvement programme revealed that stover yields cannot be predicted based on grain yield. No trade-offs between grain and stover yield could be recorded. Considerable variations among cultivars exist in these traits which can be largely exploited without comprising on grain yield. Stover digestibility and stover yield were either not related or positively associated indicating that cultivars with high stover yield as well as superior stover quality can be developed. However, protein content and stover yield had inverse associations especially in water-limiting rabi season sorghum produce. The findings support the need and feasibility to usher in a general improvement in stover traits by incorporating stover quality improvement as a major objective in crop improvement programmes. Further, the impact of cultivars with improved fodder quality on the productivity of mixed crop livestock systems in the target domain needs to be undertaken.