Sorghum tolerance to low-phosphorus soil conditions

Description

Many sorghum growing areas in Africa are affected by phosphorus (P) scarcity. In these areas small-scale farmers depend on sorghum for food security and income, but have difficulty accessing or paying for P fertilizer. With the expected future price increases for P fertilizer, this problem is likely to increase. Enhancing sorghum tolerance to low P soil conditions is therefore of great importance both now and for the future. This chapter first gives an overview of the worldwide P challenge, and then focuses on the challenges of breeding sorghum for low soil P conditions, taking breeding for smallholder farmers in West Africa as a case study. We summarize the implications for applied sorghum breeding in West Africa, and review the future trends and challenges (both breeding and agronomic/socioeconomic) in bringing benefits of sorghum low-P tolerance to West African farmers.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Phosphorus: a worldwide future challenge 3 Breeding sorghum for low-P soil conditions 4 Plant adaptation to low-P conditions 5 Summary: implications for applied sorghum breeding in West Africa 6 Future trends and challenges in bringing benefi ts of sorghum low-P tolerance to West African farmers 7 Where to look for further information 8 References