G.J.B.B., VOL.3 (1) 2014: 100-108 ISSN 2278 – 9103 DUS DISCRIPTOR OF SEVENTEEN FORAGE CULTIVARS OF SORGHUM [Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench] Swapnil Raghuvanshi 1 , Dharanendra Swamy 1 , S. Mahadevakumar 2 , O.P Singh 3 1 Monsanto India Ltd, Bangalore, India. 2 Department of Studies in Botany, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore, India. 3 Department of Horticulture, NDUAT, Kumarganj, Faizabad, UP, India. ABSTRACT In India, the Government enacted the legislation on Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PVP and FR) Act in 2001. The act provides protection of new varieties including extant-notified and farmer’s varieties. Novelty, Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability are the essential requirements for grant of protection to all the new varieties. Under the PVP and FR Act 2001 of India, it requires registration of varieties based on three principles know as DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) criteria. The DUS testing principles are used for the protection of variety and award of Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR), a system of intellectual property protection which is available to breeders of all types of crops. On practical level, DUS assessment of agricultural crops generally involves growing field crops under appropriate ambient conditions, and recording various morphological characteristics of the seed and/or growing plants. Laboratory and green house tests can also be involved (Mauria, 2000) and the new (candidate) varieties are compared with existing varieties that are kept as reference collection. The experimental material consisted of seventeen forage sorghum cultivars. Morphogenetic characterization of varieties based on characteristics of seedling, plant and matured seed were conducted for deriving comparative description of sorghum varieties, as per National Test Guidelines for DUS testing. Morphogenetic characterization based on DUS testing ,to distinguish between seventeen varieties of forage sorghum, twenty six essential morphogenetic characteristics, of seedling, plant (vegetative stage and at maturity) and matured seeds, as per the National Guideline for DUS test of Sorghum, were considered. 3Character wise elaboration of results for distinguishing forage sorghum varieties are done. It was possible to distinguish all the seventeen varieties included in the present study on the basis of grouping characteristics based on physiology of plant its morphology and seed color. KEYWORDS: Sorghum bicolour, PVP & FR, Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability. INTRODUCTION Sorghum [Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) is one of the major crop of the world. It is known under variety of names such as, great millet and guinea corn in West Africa, Kafir corn in South Africa dura in Sudan, mtama in Eastern Africa and jowar in India. It is originated in Africa. The largest diversity of cultivated and wild sorghum is in Africa (Doggett, 1988; De Wet and Harlan, 1971; De Wet, 1977). According to Vavilov, Indian subcontinent is considered to be secondary centre of origin of sorghum (Dorofeev, 1992). It is cultivated on an area of 45.6 mha in the world. India alone accounts for 9.6 mha. Sorghum can be grown in a wild range of ecological conditions and yield well under unfavourable conditions of drought stress and high temperatures. It is mainly grown for food and fodder purpose. It is preferred over other non- leguminous fodder due to its high yielding capacity, better quality and palatability and its utilization in various forms i.e., green fodder, stover, silage and hey. Besides food and fodder it is also used for preparation of alcoholic beverages, fibres, sugar and syrup. In India, the Government in enacted the legislation on Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PVP and FR) Act in 2001. The act provides protection of new varieties including extant-notified and farmer’s varieties. Novelty, Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability are the essential requirements for grant of protection to all the new varieties. The grant of Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) under this Act entitle the breeder/his successor, agent, licensee to exclude others from producing, offering for sale, marketing, distributing, export or import of propagating material of the protected varieties for a period of 15 years for annuals and 18 years for vines and trees. The act provide all researchers the rights to use a protected variety as an initial source for creating another variety without prior approval of holder of Plant Breeders Rights, provided that such use does not involve repeated use of the protected variety as a parental line or multiplication of lilts propagating material for commercial nature. Plant Breeder’s Right will help in stimulating research and developing new varieties of plants facilitating growth of seed industry to ensure high quality seeds to farmers for accelerating agricultural growth. The Act also entitles the farmers to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell farm produce including seed of a protected variety. However, this right does not cover the sale of branded seeds of a protected variety. In India, The intensive crop improvement programmes have resulted in the development of a large number of varieties in all crop species. Under the PVP and FR Act 2001 of India, it requires registration of varieties based on three principles know as DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) 100