Abstract

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is one of the main staple cereal crops grown worldwide. It is used for food, feed, fodder and bio-ethanol. Biotic and abiotic challenges are the major constraints of the crop. Among the biotic constraints, weevil attack is the most devastating causing yield reduction ranging between 15 and 77%. This paper highlights control strategies and progresses of breeding sorghum towards improved yield and weevil resistance. The use of resistant varieties is an economically feasible, technically easy and environmentally friendly alternative to minimize losses due to storage insect pests. Breeding for post-harvest insect pest resistance is the most important component to improve yield and reduce the impact of weevils. Also to combine resistance to post-harvest insect pests with other desirable plant characters such as high yield, and good quality to provide the basic foundation on which to build an integrated pest management system. Estimation of combining ability to resistance to weevils in sorghum helps in selection of good combiners, and the nature of gene action involved. Marker assisted breeding could have a complementary role in sorghum breeding for introgression of resistance genes and their fast enhancement in succeeding generations in the breeding programmes. This review provides theoretical bases on the progress of breeding sorghum for weevil resistance and control strategies.

Key words: Breeding, insect pests, resistance, sorghum, weevils.