Participatory variety selection and stability of agronomic performance of advanced sorghum lines in Zimbabwe

Traditional variety selection practices rarely involve end-users of breeding products, which is regarded as a major factor for the continued reliance by farmers on unproductive landraces and old varieties. Here, we report on a participatory variety selection (PVS) approach involving on-farm trials established across five drought-prone districts of Zimbabwe during the 2018–19 summer season. The objective of this study was to evaluate nine prereleased sorghum lines developed by ICRISAT against three commercial check varieties to identify the high-yielding, stable sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) improved breeding lines, with desirable agronomic attributes as per farmers’ perceptions. Results demonstrated that although there was a positive and significant relationship between the across-location grain yield (GY) and the overall genotype performance score (OGPS, ranking by farmers), farmers’ choices were related to locality (i.e., resident districts) and grain color. Arid locations were the most ideal for sorghum evaluation. Advanced lines IESV91070DL (1.41 t ha−1) and ASARECA 12-3-1 (1.9 t ha−1), as well as a commercial variety (Macia, 1.73 t ha−1) were high-yielding, stable and most preferred by farmers. Although the selection criteria of both the farmers and researchers pointed to selection for high yield performance, red sorghum genotypes (e.g., IESV99061DL and SDS3472), which showed high GY performance and stability were not among the most preferred by farmers. Overall, results demonstrated that PVS approaches should be combined with traditional varietal selection tools as this may increase adoption of new varieties.

传统品种选育实践极少涉及育种产品的终端用户，这被视作农民持续依赖低产地方品种与老旧品种的核心诱因。本研究报道了一种参与式品种选育（Participatory Variety Selection, PVS）方法，该方法于2018-2019年夏季在津巴布韦五个易受干旱影响的地区配套开展了田间试验。本研究的目标为，评估国际半干旱热带作物研究所（ICRISAT）选育的9个未审定高粱品系，并以3个商业对照品种为参照，筛选出契合农民认知中优良农艺性状的高产、稳定改良高粱（Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench）育种品系。研究结果表明，尽管跨地点籽粒产量（Grain Yield, GY）与综合基因型表现评分（OGPS，即农民对品种的排名评分）呈显著正相关，但农民的品种选择偏好与所在地区（即农户常驻的县区）及籽粒颜色密切相关。干旱地区是开展高粱品种评价的最优场地。高级选育品系IESV91070DL（产量1.41吨/公顷）、ASARECA 12-3-1（产量1.9吨/公顷）以及商业品种Macia（产量1.73吨/公顷）不仅高产稳定，还最受农民青睐。尽管农民与科研人员的选育标准均以高产性状为核心，但红粒高粱品系（如IESV99061DL与SDS3472）虽具备较高的籽粒产量与稳定性，却并未入选农民最偏好的品种行列。综合来看，本研究结果表明，应将参与式品种选育方法与传统品种选育工具相结合，此举或可提升农户对新品种的采用率。