Identification of genomic region associated with rice weevil resistance in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

The rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (L.) is an important pest of stored sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with rice weevil resistance was analyzed using a F10 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the cross 654 (susceptible) × LTR108 (resistant). Grain weight losses (GWL), flour production (FP), and percentage kernels damaged (PKD) were evaluated across two trails. A total of 21 QTLs for GWL, FP, and PKD were identified. The phenotypic variation explained by individual QTL varied from 4.14% to 15.51%. Both parents contributed resistance alleles. Several main effect QTLs affecting GWL, FP, and PKD were mapped to the same regions on chromosome 2. The identification of genomic regions associated with rice weevil resistance will be useful to understand the resistance mechanism and improve rice weevil resistance of sorghum by marker-aided approaches.