Dekalb introduces two sorghum hybrids with improved lodging resistance and pest protection

Dekalb has announced the release of two new grain sorghum hybrids—DKS43-76 and DKS49-76—set to be commercially available in limited quantities for the 2025 planting season. The company says the hybrids represent significant advances in resistance to lodging and key pests, following notable field performance in 2024.

Both hybrids were developed through Dekalb’s Sorghum Product Evaluators testing and commercialization program and are non-GMO products derived from conventional breeding methods. The company emphasizes that the new releases offer double-stacked trait protection against sugarcane aphid (SCA) and sorghum downy mildew (SDM), two of the most economically significant threats to sorghum production.

“These hybrids mark a step forward in both stalk and root strength,” said Bryan Thomas, Dekalb’s specialty crops portfolio manager. He noted that the hybrids remained upright following a 2024 derecho with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour at a test plot near El Campo, Texas.

In addition to improved pest and disease tolerance, Dekalb reports the hybrids meet internal thresholds for four core performance criteria: yield potential, year-to-year stability, drought tolerance, and disease resistance. Thomas indicated that products not meeting all four criteria are withheld from commercial release.

DKS49-76, classified at 70 days to flowering, is positioned at the upper end of the medium maturity range. Dekalb states that this hybrid offers a longer flowering window, which could appeal to growers in regions requiring additional harvest flexibility. In field trials, DKS49-76 matched or outperformed other hybrids in the medium-full maturity class. It is expected to perform well in eastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and southern Indiana, particularly in areas where stalk lodging is a recurring concern.

DKS43-76 flowers at 66 days and falls squarely within the medium maturity class. It is designed for environments such as western Kansas and parts of Texas, where it is likely to replace the DKS45-60 hybrid. Dekalb reports that in internal yield trials, DKS43-76 outperformed the previous standard by two bushels per acre. It also shows strong tolerance to head smut and general foliar disease pressure.

Though sugarcane aphid pressure has been relatively low in some production areas, Thomas suggested growers are increasingly reluctant to use hybrids lacking resistance to the pest. The inclusion of pest and disease resistance traits is expected to contribute to broader plant health and agronomic resilience.

Dekalb anticipates a limited commercial release of both hybrids in 2025, with wider availability projected for 2026.