Agriculture accounts for 70% of the global use of available freshwater. Projections show that demand for water will increase significantly due to climate change, population growth and development of agricultural enterprises globally. There is a need to develop water-use efficient crop cultivars for sustainable agricultural production. Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] is a powerhouse crop in drier regions supporting more than 500 million people. It is a relatively drought-tolerant crop adapted to grow and yield in marginal environments where other dominant crops such as maize and wheat fail to survive. However, the mean yield of sorghum in the semi-arid regions has stagnated around 1.0 ton/ha compared with the global average of 2.5 ton/ha, mainly due to recurrent droughts and heat stress. Breeding for drought-tolerant cultivars is an economic and sustainable mitigation strategy against the current and projected drought stress. Therefore, the objectives of this review were to document the impact of drought stress and the key mitigation strategies under drought-prone semi-arid sorghum production systems. The first section of the review highlighted the impact of drought and its mitigation strategies emphasizing on the use of drought-tolerant cultivars as the best strategy. This is followed by perspectives on aspects of drought-response mechanisms, breeding methods and complementary technologies for drought tolerance. Integration of the conventional and molecular breeding technologies with rapid generation advancement methods could reduce the breeding cycle and increase the efficiency of deploying new varieties. Information presented in this review will guide agronomists and breeders to develop and deploy drought-tolerant sorghum cultivars that are adapted to the changing production environments in the semi-arid regions.

中文翻译：

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高粱干旱胁迫：缓解策略、育种方法和技术——综述

农业占全球可用淡水使用量的 70%。预测表明，由于气候变化、人口增长和全球农业企业的发展，对水的需求将显着增加。有必要为可持续农业生产开发用水效率高的作物品种。高粱 [ Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench.] 是干旱地区的重要作物，为超过 5 亿人口提供支持。它是一种相对耐旱的作物，适合在玉米和小麦等其他主要作物无法生存的边缘环境中生长和增产。然而，与全球平均水平 2.5 吨/公顷相比，半干旱地区高粱的平均单产停滞在 1.0 吨/公顷左右，这主要是由于经常发生的干旱和热应激。培育耐旱品种是一种经济和可持续的缓解策略，可应对当前和预计的干旱压力。因此，本次审查的目的是记录干旱胁迫的影响以及在易受干旱影响的半干旱高粱生产系统下的关键缓解策略。审查的第一部分强调了干旱的影响及其缓解策略，强调使用耐旱品种作为最佳策略。其次是对干旱响应机制、育种方法和抗旱互补技术等方面的看法。将传统和分子育种技术与快速的世代推进方法相结合，可以缩短育种周期，提高新品种的部署效率。本综述中提供的信息将指导农艺师和育种者开发和部署适应半干旱地区不断变化的生产环境的耐旱高粱品种。其次是对干旱响应机制、育种方法和抗旱互补技术等方面的看法。将传统和分子育种技术与快速的世代推进方法相结合，可以缩短育种周期，提高新品种的部署效率。本综述中提供的信息将指导农艺师和育种者开发和部署适应半干旱地区不断变化的生产环境的耐旱高粱品种。其次是对干旱响应机制、育种方法和抗旱互补技术等方面的看法。将传统和分子育种技术与快速的世代推进方法相结合，可以缩短育种周期，提高新品种的部署效率。本综述中提供的信息将指导农艺师和育种者开发和部署适应半干旱地区不断变化的生产环境的耐旱高粱品种。