Comparison of F\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e\u27s and Inbreds as Female Parents for Sorghum-Sudangrass Seed Production

Two field studies involving different groups of germplasm were conducted to compare sorghum-sudangrass, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench X S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf, hybrid seed production of male-sterile F1\u27s with their component A-lines. The F1\u27s yielded 45 and 82% more grain than their A-line counterparts in Study 1 and 2, respectively, with the increase attributable to more seeds per panicle and a greater threshing percentage. Mean values of nine traits measured on nine groups of eight F1\u27s in Study 1 and seven groups of six F1\u27s in Study 2 were compared with their respective A-lines. All groups of F1\u27s significantly outyielded their A-line counterparts in both studies except for A-line N35 in Study 1. Phenotypic correlations of yield and seeds per panicle were high in both A-lines and F1\u27s in both studies, as were the correlations of yield and threshing percentage except for the F1\u27s in Study 1. Application of these findings should facilitate the production of higher yields of sorghum-sudangrass hybrid seed at reduced cost per unit of seed. The best F1\u27s to use and the magnitude of their superiority over A-lines will be influenced by the location in which seed is produced