STORAGE OF NONSTRUCTURAL CARBOHYDRATES IN SWEET SORGHUM [SORGHUM-BICOLOR (L) MOENCH] - COMPARISON OF STERILE AND FERTILE LINES

The accumulation of soluble carbohydrates in vegetative parts of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) represents an intermediate res erve pool for grain filling as well as an irreversible storage up to m aturity. In order to study the effect of sterility on soluble sugar ac cumulation in vegetative parts, two cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lin es of sweet sorghum were compared with their corresponding fertile mai ntainers for non-structural carbohydrate concentrations in shoots. Pla nts were harvested at four different physiological stages. The lines s howed significant differences in the yield of non-structural carbohydr ates. At maturity, the yields of soluble carbohydrates from vegetative parts of the two sterile lines were 93 % and 43 % higher than the yie ld of the two corresponding fertile lines. Ar that stage, sucrose repr esented about 80 % of total soluble carbohydrates and the higher yield of soluble carbohydrates of sterile lines was mainly due to the highe r yield of sucrose. This indicates that the yield of extractable carbo hydrates, especially sucrose, in vegetative parts of sweet sorghum cou ld be considerably improved by using sterile lines which are utilized in hybrid production.