From tradition to trait: stay-green alleles in Sudanese Feterita unlock pathways to climate-resilient sorghum

Substantial phenotypic variation was observed, with particularly high coefficients of variation for flowering stalks per plant (81.25%), senescence (49.09%), and grain number per panicle (43.33%). Genetic diversity analysis revealed moderate marker informativeness (GD = 0.407, I = 0.293, and PIC = 0.592). The AMOVA indicated weak population differentiation (<i>Fst</i> = 0.014), with 94% of the variation occurring within populations and substantial gene flow (Nm = 6.117). Pairwise <i>Fst</i> identified West Darfur and Blue Nile as genetically distinct, whereas Kordofan, White Nile, and Al-Gezira formed a cohesive cluster. Significant marker-trait associations were detected, including <i>snpSB0054</i> (SGR1) with plant height and flowering time, <i>snpSB0072</i> with panicle length, and <i>snpSB0101</i> (SGR3) with grain number and seed yield. These findings highlight <i>Feterita</i> as a valuable reservoir of functional <i>Stg</i> alleles that influence senescence dynamics and drought-related yield traits. This study provides the first targeted characterization of stay-green alleles in Sudanese <i>Feterita</i> and lays the foundation for exploiting this germplasm in marker-assisted breeding to develop climate-resilient sorghum varieties in the future.