Shoot Fly Resistance in Sorghum: An Overview

Sorghum is an annual diploid C4 plant largely grown for food, fodder and feed purposes. Several insect pests pose major challenges to sorghum production from the seedling stage to maturity, among which the sorghum shoot fly Atherigona soccata (Rondani) is a major pest across Asia, Africa and Mediterranean Europe. Infestation by the pest is prevalent both during rainy and postrainy seasons. The exploitation of host-plant resistance can play a vital role in breeding for resistance to shoot flies. The shoot fly causes significant grain and fodder yield losses in sorghum in semi-arid regions. An integrated approach for host-plant resistance that combines morphological, genetic/molecular and agronomic approaches is key for the management of shoot fly infestations and the subsequent increase in sorghum productivity. To complement traditional breeding approaches, intervention in genomic approaches is required to enhance breeding efficiency. This review focuses on genetic approaches in sorghum for integrating shoot fly resistance and exploring genetic inheritance, variability and trait associations, including shoot fly resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs).