Manhattan, Kansas
November 17, 2008
 Ethiopia
and Kansas may seem a world apart, but Tesfaye Tesso has found
there are commonalities between the two. One of them is a need
to improve plants grown for food, feed, and fuel - in this case
- grain sorghum.
Tesso, who was born in rural western Ethiopia, is the new
sorghum breeder for Kansas State
University Research and Extension.
His interest in genetics began while he was working toward
bachelorīs and masterīs degrees at Alemaya University in
Alemaya, Ethiopia.
"Although I always liked genetics, I truly became interested
when I was doing my masterīs research, where I was comparing the
relative reaction of teff varieties to moisture stress
treatment," Tesso said.
Teff is a tiny, round grain used as a food grain in Ethiopia.
After several years of research and teaching at Alemaya, Tesso
came to K-State to work toward a Ph.D. in sorghum breeding,
which he completed in 2002. He then went to Purdue University as
a postdoctoral student to work on sorghum improvement for
nutritional quality with an emphasis on protein digestibility.
After a year at Purdue, he took a position back in Ethiopia as a
sorghum breeder and leader of the Ethiopian National Sorghum
Research Program with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural
Research.
Tesso returned to K-State in 2008 to become the sorghum breeder.
"My research focus at K-State is to continue building on the
existing sorghum breeding initiatives," Tesso said. They include
developing elite parent lines that produce high-yielding hybrids
that are resistant to drought and stalk rot-induced lodging and
continuing work in progress in incorporating traits that are
resistant to certain herbicides.
He also plans to develop high-quality food-grade sorghum,
adapted to temperate growing conditions.
In 2007, Kansas produced 212 million bushels of grain sorghum -
46 percent more than a year earlier. That kept the state in its
long-term place as the No. 1 sorghum producer in the United
States. In turn, the United States is the No. 1 sorghum producer
in the world.
"Although much of the sorghum produced in the United States goes
to the (livestock) feedlot, special markets are emerging for
sorghum as gluten-free food," Tesso said.
That work will also help African countries where sorghum is
already used as an important food staple, he said. Soon he also
plans to work on developing high biomass sorghum to be used in
biofuels.
"All these initiatives significantly benefit the sorghum
industry in Kansas, the United States and in other countries,"
he said. "Our plan is to work toward ensuring maximum yield and
to offer more effective and flexible weed management options.
The development of food-grade hybrids will benefit both farmers
and consumers with special needs and will provide a safe food
source for people with celiac disease and a special market
outlet for sorghum products."
Other K-State researchers are also working with scientists from
several universities and agencies to improve sorghum that is
grown domestically and overseas. Much of that work has been
funded by the International Sorghum and Millet Improvement
Program (INTSORMIL), a U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) program.
K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas
State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative
Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute
useful knowledge for the well being of Kansans. Supported by
county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county
Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and
regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the
K-State campus in Manhattan. |
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