The dhurrin-free sorghum will be developed at Purdue University using traditional breeding and non-GMO mutations

S&W Seed Company

S&W Seed and Ag Alumni Seed to develop less-toxic forage sorghum. (Credit: Pixabay/Bishnu Sarangi.)

S&W Seed and the Agricultural Alumni Seed Improvement Association (Ag Alumni Seed) have signed an exclusive agreement to collaborate and jointly develop dhurrin-free sorghum to be used in S&W’s grain, sweet, forage sorghum and other sorghum species.

Dhurrin is a precursor of prussic acid, a highly toxic compound to animals feeding on fresh sorghum forage.

Through the collaboration, the two companies expect to bring new innovations in sorghum production, which can expand crop management options to optimise livestock grazing, harvest timing and forage quality.

S&W Americas executive vice president Don Panter said: “At S&W Seed we look at sorghum as one of our key product lines and have prioritized our R&D efforts to bring improvements in genetics and technology to sorghum growers.

“The dhurrin-free technology is another example of our commitment to bring innovative traits to the sorghum industry, like the Double Team weed control system we announced earlier this year.

“We expect to be able to offer a broad-spectrum line of dhurrin-free sorghum hybrids to the marketplace through our Sorghum Partners brand in the coming years.”

S&W has licenced to sell the new dhurrin-free sorghum trait

Through the agreement, Ag Alumni Seeds has also granted S&W a worldwide licence to the new dhurrin-free trait and provide dhurrin-free parent and hybrid seed developed at Purdue University using traditional breeding and non-GMO mutations.

S&W will help in developing products, production and marketing to deliver the dhurrin-free sorghum hybrids to sorghum growers.

Ag Alumni Seeds president and CEO Jay Hubert said: “In bringing advanced research technology from our university partner Purdue University to the marketplace, this collaboration between Ag Alumni and S&W will provide the first dhurrin-free sorghum in the market to support better forage management techniques for sorghum growers.

“This new cropping solution is expected to simplify pasture and forage management by providing sorghum growers with an effective management system to get the most from every production acre.”

The collaboration is planning to conduct extensive field trials between this year and next year to verify the performance of the hybrid traits and to fine-tune the feeding benefits of the dhurrin-free sorghum system.

The two organisations are also developing regulatory data to obtain global approvals for the new trait and to help ensure that the new grain can be traded and exported through regular commercial channels.