The presented research sought to investigate the new types of Sudanese grass (Sorghum × drummondii) from the global gene pool for developing new cultivars with high productivity and economically valuable traits. In breeding of Sudanese grass, the main task was to develop the drought-resistant, highly productive cultivars with good product quality, adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of Kazakhstan. The latest manuscript summarizes the results of many years of research on the local collection and the exotic material of the Sudan grass. Samples selected as valuable starting material for breeding depended on economically important traits, including precocity, seed productivity, plant height, grain quality, and lodging resistance. Based on the research on precocity, the two cultivars Kiz 25 and Kiz 34, placed in the competitive nursery, had their full ripeness phase starting two days earlier (28.09) compared with the standard cultivar Aylana-2017, which reached full ripeness on 30.09. In the competitive nursery of variety testing, the highest grain yield resulted in the Sudan grass cultivars Kiz 4 and Kiz 25. By harvest time, the yield (2.21 t/ha) obtained during the full ripeness phase of grains was higher than the harvest made at the wax ripeness phase (2.27 t/ha).
Sudanese grass (Sorghum × drummondii), local collection, selection, competitive variety testing, seed cultivation technology, yield
In the development of drought-resistant and highly productive cultivars of Sudanese grass (Sorghum × drummondii), 80 out of 100 samples emerged viable, and based on precocity data, the cultivars Kiz 25 and Kiz 34 reached allocation in the competitive nursery. The Sudan grass cultivars Kiz 4 and Kiz 25 were distinct, with higher grain yield.