Effects sorghum bicolor traits on resistance to foliar anthracnose (colletotrichum sublineolum) in the lake basin regions of Kenya

Colletotrichum sublineolum is the most destructive sorghum disease in Kenya. This pathogen is genetically and morphologically diverse. It evolves continuously into new strains to overcome resistance. Various traits exhibited by newly bred varieties also have great bearing on the level of disease resistance. Therefore, the study aimed at determining how commonly desired traits influence resistance to sorghum anthracnose. Advanced Sorghum bicolor previously screened for Striga, drought, midge aluminium cation toxicity and phosphorous-use-efficiency were screened for anthracnose resistance under anthracnose inoculated soils. The design used was randomized complete block design with four replicates under long and short rains in two different sites. One-to-five severity scales was used to assess response between and within groups. The phosphorous-efficient and Striga resistant genotypes were resistant to foliar anthracnose while phosphorous-inefficient and Striga susceptible genotypes susceptible to the disease. Aluminium group exhibited mixed reactions to the disease while majority of the genotypes in the drought and midge groups were resistant/ tolerant to the disease. This study concludes that response to anthracnose in sorghum varies from one genotype to the other but such responses are dependent on the traits exhibited by genotypes.