Environmental effect on sorghum fodder yield and its related traits.

A study was made in Sorghum bicolor with line × tester (6 females × 4 males) to estimate the fodder yield and its component traits of different hybrids and parents under different environments. For this purpose, 24 specific cross combinations were developed by using 10 diverse parents during kharif season in 2014-15. These hybrids along with 10 parents and two standard checks (SSG 59-3 and MFSH 4) were evaluated at two locations (Hisar and Karnal) with early and late sowing during kharif season in 2015-16. The analysis of variance indicated the presence of variability among hybrids and their parents. Among male parents (HJ 541 and G 46), among female parents (467A and 56A) and crosses 467A × G 46 (222.1 g) and 465A × HJ 513 (220.8 g) showed higher green fodder yield on the basis of overall mean. This hybrid was also good for plant height (141.9 cm) and leaf length (81.7 cm). Other hybrids that showed better green fodder yield were 9A × IS 2389 (193.8 g), 56A × HJ 513 (190.0 g) and 31A × HJ 513 (185.9 g). Hybrid 56A × G 46 recorded higher leaf length (86.3 cm) and was also better for green fodder yield (178.3 g) and plant height (159.4 cm).