Examining the Inheritance Patterns of Fertility Restoration in Early‐Generation Sorghum ( <scp> <i>Sorghum bicolor</i> </scp> L.) Crosses Utilizing the <i>Maldandi</i> Male Sterile Source

ABSTRACT The discovery of CMS in sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.) enabled hybrid breeding, with milo cytoplasm forming the base of India's programme. Although milo ‐based hybrids outperform local varieties, exploiting rabi ‐season heterosis is still a challenge. To overcome this, new CMS sources and diverse restorers are needed. Assessing the restoration potential and genetic patterns of these CMS sources is also crucial for hybrid development across diverse environments. In this light, this study investigated inheritance of fertility restoration in crosses on maldandi cytoplasm using stable restorers during early segregating generations. The evaluation of hybrids was carried out at F 2 and F 3 generations. Segregating pattern analysed in F 2 indicated 12:3:1 (fertile:partial:sterile) pattern for all the three crosses (M 31‐2A × BRJ 62, M 31‐2A × IC 308614 and M 31‐2A × Hidkal local ). This indicated oligogenic inheritance with epistatic gene interaction. Further F 3 was raised to ascertain the stability and pattern of restoration in all the crosses and segregated pattern was consistent with the F 2 ratio. These results suggest that fertility restoration is governed by two genes exhibiting a dominant epistatic interaction, and selection for fertile plants in subsequent generations is likely to result in the development of stable restorer lines.