Some of the Main Sweet Sorghum Varieties

Anna Fragkidou
July 12, 2012

Some of the most important sweet sorghum varieties released at international level are Rio, Dale, Brandes, Theis, Roma, Vani, Ramada and Keller.

BJ 248, RSSV 9, NSSV 208, NSSV 255 and RSSV 56 are the sweet sorghum cultures identified by the "All IndiaCoordinated sorghum improvement project at National level". Hybrid Madhura was developed by "Nimkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan, Maharashtra".

Dale is a mid-season variety developed at the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station. Seeds are small, reddish brown, and germinate well. Dale is resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot. Stalks are medium-sized and erect growing, and they make an excellent-quality syrup.

Della, a mid-season variety with good disease resistance, was developed by Bob Harrison, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and released in December 1991. Della matures about one week earlier than Dale and about 6 days later than Sugar Drip. Della is a backcross of Dale to an earlier maturing line. It is resistant to anthracnose and maize dwarf mosaic and is moderately susceptible to bacterial stripe. Della does not resist lodging as much as Dale and is more variable in plant height. It is similar to Dale in syrup quality. The biggest advantage of Della is that it matures one week earlier than Dale and thus would let you start cooking a little earlier in the fall.

Brandes was released in 1968 from the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station. It is a late-maturing variety with an excellent root system and stiff stalks that usually remain erect. It is resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot. It has good syrup quality, but it is more susceptible to drought than some varieties. The seed are small and white and have good germination.

Georgia Blue Ribbon, a variety of uncertain origin, lodges badly and is susceptible to major sweet sorghum diseases. Stalks are shorter and juicier than those of Tracy. Syrup quality is excellent. The seed are medium-sized and brown. It matures about the same time as Tracy.

Honey is a variety grown by the USDA before 1900; it is also called Honey Drip and Texas Seeded Ribbon. The stalks grow 7 to 10 feet tall and tend to lodge badly. It yields well and makes excellent-quality syrup, but it is susceptible to most major sorghum diseases. It is a few days later than Tracy in maturity.

M8IE is a late-maturing variety which matures a few days later than Dale. It was released from the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station, Meridian, Mississippi. It is similar to Dale in height and lodging resistance. M8IE is resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot, but it is susceptible to maize dwarf mosaic. The yield of syrup from M8IE is generally superior to Dale. The syrup has a mild sorghum flavor, amber color, and excellent quality. It appears to be more susceptible to a light frost than the other varieties.

Simon is a very early-maturing variety of unknown origin. It matures about 7 days earlier than Sugar Drip. It has a fairly small stalk, low juice yield, and is susceptible to most sorghum diseases. The only advantage for Simon in Kentucky is for very late plantings where Sugar Drip will not mature. Simon is better adapted to areas north of central Indiana and Ohio. It has performed well in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York. It does produce a high quality syrup.

Sugar Drip is an early mid-season variety of unknown origin. It tends to lodge and is very susceptible to many diseases. Seed are medium-sized and brown. This variety is one of the earliest-maturing varieties for the South, and so it is useful for early syrup production. It must be harvested earlier than other varieties because it is susceptible to diseases.

Theis is a variety developed at the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station, Meridian, Mississippi, and released in 1974. It has late maturity similar to Brandes and Wiley. Theis may grow to 12 to 16 feet tall, but it has good lodging resistance. Theis produces large, brown seed. Syrup quality is usually excellent. It is highly resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot, has moderate resistance to downy mildew, and is tolerant to maize dwarf mosaic virus.

Tracy is a mid-season variety developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and released in 1953. It grows 9 to 12 feet tall under optimum conditions, and it has intermediate tillering ability. The stalks are erect and juicy. The syrup quality can be excellent, but under some conditions the juice may contain too much starch for proper boiling. Tracy is susceptible to anthracnose, red rot, zonate leaf spot, and rust. It yields a high tonnage of stalks, but the syrup yield per ton of stalks is low.

Original source: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr122/agr122.htm

Our source: http://esse-community.eu/articles/some-of-the-main-sweet-sorghum-varieties/