Leaf Dhurrin Content is a Quantitative Measure of the Level of Pre‐ and Postflowering Drought Tolerance in Sorghum

ABSTRACT The presence of preflowering or postflowering drought tolerance has been described in sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Sorghum lines with preflowering drought tolerance tend to senesce under postflowering drought stress while sorghum lines with postflowering drought tolerance (the stay‐green trait) tend to be sensitive to preflowering drought stress. Assessments of these phenotypes have been dependent on the incidence of drought stress conditions at specific developmental stages to achieve meaningful evaluation. Therefore, field‐based evaluations, most of which are visual, are notoriously difficult to perform and require growing lines in multiple locations across several years to achieve efficient selection for these traits. Here we report and demonstrate a correlation between leaf dhurrin [(S)‐p‐hydroxymandelonitrile‐β‐D‐glucopyranoside] contents and the level of stay‐green based on leaf and plant death ratings during postflowering drought stresses. Postflowering drought‐tolerant stay‐green sorghums had elevated dhurrin contents while preflowering drought‐tolerant sorghum lines exhibited lower dhurrin contents. Lines with intermediate leaf and plant death ratings exhibited intermediate dhurrin levels. Finally, dhurrin levels determined before flowering from sorghum grown under irrigated or dryland conditions were related to the degree of pre‐ or postflowering drought tolerance.