I recently became aware of work being done to introduce sugar cane aphid resistance into sweet sorghum. George Kuepper wrote a brief article outlining the work for those interested.
Kuepper writes, “The second edition of Sweet Sorghum: Production and Processing includes a discussion of the sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) – formerly, a minor pest that became a major one in 2013. We address several means for controlling, or attempting to control it. Notably missing is any mention of resistant or tolerant varieties. At that time – spring 2019 – there weren’t any available.
More recently, however, we’ve reason for optimism. USDA plant breeding research has released new sweet sorghum lines that carry resistance to sugarcane aphid….”
