Sorghum is an important staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone of
West Africa, sorghum is mainly intercropped with cowpea, but these intercropping systems
are facing low-productivity problems. The overall aim of this research was to identify sorghum
varieties with different agro-morphological and physiological traits that could improve the
performance of the intercropping systems. We followed a two-step methodology comprising
(i) identification of varieties and plant traits of interest in intercropping systems, using participatory
methods, and (ii) agro-morpho-physiological characterization of 50 sorghum varieties,
to examine the range of variation in traits of interest. The results show that landraces are the
varieties most widely used by farmers, and that 82.5% of farmers consider the variety type
they choose for intercropping to be important. Farmers mentioned plant height, number of
leaves and stem diameter as important traits to consider. Analysis of variance showed significant
differences between varieties for half of the 24 agro-morpho-physiological traits studied.
Hierarchical clustering identified three main groups of varieties, distinguished by morphological
traits such as stem diameter, total number and size of leaves (group 1), root traits
(depth, growth angle, dry matter) and relative chlorophyll content (groups 2 and 3). Based
on this classification, we recommend several varieties from each of the three groups, exhibiting
contrasting traits, for an assessment of their performances in intercropping systems.

Crop performane intercropping morphological trait root system sorghum variety varietal selection