Understanding the importance of matching sorghum hybrids and agronomy to site and seasonal conditions

Abstract

Multi-environment trials (MET) (n = 15 environments, E) combining most commercially available sorghum hybrids (G), and managements (M) (i.e. plant density and configuration combinations), were run across the Northern Grains Region of Australia during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons to (i) characterise the yield potential and yield stability of the different hybrids; and (ii) derive simple crop design (G x M) rules that maximise yield across different environments. Irrespective of the environment yield, most modern hybrids out-yielded the industry standard (MR-Buster). There were a small number of hybrids whose yield stability indicated they were more responsive than MR-Buster to changes in the environment. However, many hybrids had a lower yield stability, suggesting their yield is less likely to change across environments relative to the industry standard. Recursive partitioning showed that in all sites high initial soil water and narrow row spacing led to greater yields. In low yielding sites hybrid characteristics, especially high yield potential, lead to improved productivity. The main conclusion from this work is that in sorghum what really matters is not just agronomy, but to understand how to match hybrids and agronomy to site and seasonal conditions.