Short communication. Screening of sorghum genotypes for resistance to damage caused by the stem borer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe)

Abstract

Twenty sweet sorghum and three grain sorghum - Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench - genotypes were tested for resistance to the damage caused by the sorghum stem borer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) under infested field conditions in the Dharwad region of northern Karnataka, India. Five different types of damage were taken into account: leaf scraping, dead heart, pinhole, peduncle and stem tunnelling damage. Genotype SSV-7073 was found to be the most resistant with respect to all the damage types studied. In addition, the genotypes Nandyal, SSV-53, SSV-6928, HES-4 and IS-2312 showed little peduncle and stem tunnelling damage. These genotypes might be considered potentially resistant varieties and may serve as material of interest in sorghum improvement programmes.