Discover our field trials

In order to show farmers the genetic progress of sorghum, Sorghum ID implemented 9 field trials in different countries, from Austria to Iran. They were implanted thanks to local partners and visits are organised in each of them. The table hereunder shows dates and locations.

Country	Partner	Address	Visit date
Austria	Agricultural Chamber of Styria	Styria	To be determined
Austria	Staphyt	Gerhaus	24 September
Bulgaria	Shumen Institut	Shumen	26-27 September
Hungary	University of Saint Istvan	Martonvasar	To be determined
Hungary	Staphyt	Algyo	To be determined
Iran	IACT Iran Agricultural Cooperatives Trading Company + Partners	Qazvin	To be determined
Iran		Moghan	To be determined
Iran		Esfahan	To be determined
Romania	Caracal Institut	Caracal	14 August 2018

On each platform, 20 to 25 hybrids (grain and silage) from the European variety selection are presented. The genetic progress presented by seed producers focus on several research criteria:

• productivity
• earliness, to be able to harvest early with maximal yields
• tolerance to apical sterility for early sowing
• tolerance to drought, especially on non-irrigated land
• tolerance to macrophomina and fusarium
• resistance to lodging
• clearing of the panicle to facilitate harvesting
• low-tannin varieties to facilitate assimilation by animals, which is a topic seed breeders have been working on for the past 20 years. Varieties on the European catalogue have tannin content lower than 0.3%, which has become a rule to register a new variety. This low tannin content guarantees an optimal digestibility of sorghum, in comparison to other cereals.

It is the second year in a row that Sorghum ID implements such field trials. This year, in addition to the field trials, a weeding trial was implemented in Gerhaus in Austria. In total, 6 different modalities are tested, which were scored in early June and early July. The results will be communicated in the next newsletter and will be available on the Sorghum ID website.


The field days create opportunities for exchanges between producers and seed companies.


For more information: charles-antoine.courtois@fnpsms.fr