Response of Sorghumto Abiotic Stresses: A Review

Sorghum [(Sorghum bicolor L.) Moench] is a highly productive crop plant, which can be used for alternative energy resource, human food, livestock feed or industrial purposes. The biomass of sorghum can be utilized as solid fuel via thermochemical routes or as a carbohydrate substrate via fermentation processes. The plant has a great adaptation potential to drought, high salinity and high temperature, which are important characteristics of genotypes growing in extreme environments. However, the climate change in the 21st century may bring about new challenges in the cultivated areas. In this review, we summarize the most recent literature about the responses of sorghum to the most important abiotic stresses: nutrient deficiency, aluminium stress, drought, high salinity, waterlogging or temperature stress the plants have to cope with during cultivation. The advanced molecular and system biological tools provide new opportunities for breeders to select stress-tolerant and high-yielding cultivars.