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Hessisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Klimaschutz, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz
Hesse
Mainzer Straße 80
65189 Wiesbaden
Website: External link to the authority
Sorghum for grain use in Hesse: Establishment of new locally adapted varieties
To adapt to climate change and increase biodiversity, it is necessary to establish new, robust crops in local agriculture. Sorghum is a drought-tolerant, versatile crop with numerous agro-ecological advantages, which can also represent a risk hedge for Hessian farmers during drought events. The aim of the project is therefore to develop stress-tolerant and locally adapted grain sorghum varieties. These varieties will contribute to increasing biodiversity in agriculture and will be used as represent an important innovation for Hesse, both as high-quality animal feed and as gluten-free food.
The field and cultivation trials were characterised by the strongly contrasting weather conditions of the 2021 (wet and cool) and 2022 (dry and hot) growing seasons. Unfortunately, most varieties in Wetterau did not reach threshing maturity in 2021. In contrast, high yields were achieved in southern Hesse, although the harvest there was also delayed until the end of October. In 2022, good threshing maturity was also achieved in Wetterau, combined with satisfactory yields. In southern Hesse, on the other hand, yields remained significantly lower than in 2021 due to the extreme drought. A large number of new breeding strains were developed and tested for cold tolerance, yield and agronomic characteristics. The newly developed plant material forms the basis for a breeding programme tailored to Hessian conditions, so that improved varieties can be made available to practitioners in the medium term.
Rural development 2014-2020
Professur für Pflanzenzüchtung, Justus-Liebig-Universität-Gießen
Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26
35392 Gießen
Phone: 0641 / 9937443
Email: steffen.m.windpassinger@agrar.uni-giessen.de
2021
completed
399,916