VIEW ARTICLE

Resistance

The Association of Genes Controlling Caryopsis Traits with Grain Mold Resistance in Sorghum. J. P. Esele, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2132, Present address: Serere Research Station, P.O. Soroti, Uganda; R. A. Frederiksen(2), and F. R. Miller(3). (2)Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2132; (3)Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2132. Phytopathology 83:490-495. Accepted for publication 27 January 1993. Copyright 1993 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-83-490.

Four parental cultivars with distinct characteristics and gene markers for caryopsis traits were used as a base population to generate F₁, F₂, and BC₁ populations at College Station, TX. These populations were evaluated for grain mold resistance at College Station, TX, in 1990, and at Namulonge and Serere Research Stations in Uganda, in 1991. The presence of a pigmented testa (B₁-B₂-), a red pericarp (R-Y-), a thin mesocarp (Z-), and an intensifier gene (I-) were all dominantly inherited. A pigmented testa was the single most important trait conferring grain mold resistance. The red pericarp trait also conferred grain mold resistance, though not as greatly. The effect of a red pericarp was enhanced by the presence of the intensifier gene. The effects of both a pigmented testa and a red pericarp were additive. Mesocarp thickness did not play a significant role in grain mold resistance. College Station and Serere were suitable locations for grain mold evaluation.