Agricultural and Biological Research

Role of Plant Breeding in Nutritional Quality Improvement of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

Solomon Abebe*, Agegnehu Mekonnen, Ahmed Hassen and Nuru Seid

Malnutrition, a continuing problem, results from inadequate intake of nutritious, high quality food. In particular, micronutrient deficiencies are a continuing health problem worldwide, especially in poor rural areas. Various measures are taken to combat this hidden hunger. Biofortification is a sustainable option for addressing micronutrient malnutrition, and dietary diversification, food fortification, and supplementation are currently used to address micronutrient deficiencies in the human diet.

Sorghum is one of the top five cultivated grains in the world. It has the potential for high photosynthetic efficiency and high biomass yield. It is also very resilient to drought and waterlogging, and very tolerant of high temperatures and problematic soils. Sorghum is one of the cheapest sources of micronutrients. Therefore, Sorghum biofortification is a top priority. This review will go over the value of Sorghum as a food and energy source, as well as how its grain structure encourages maximum utilization of accumulated micronutrients. Additionally, there are genetic controls/genes, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for Fe and Zn concentrations, studies on the heterosis of Fe and Zn in Sorghum, genetic variability in grain trait associations between Fe and Zn and other agronomic traits, and the potential to forecast Fe and Zn hybrid performance based on parental line performance. It was also given a brief update on product development and the prospects for consuming bio-enhanced Sorghum in the near future.