‘Cheongpungchal’, a High-Yielding Short-Culm Waxy Sorghum Cultivar with Adaptability for Mechanized Harvesting

‘Cheongpungchal,’ a waxy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cultivar, was bred to improve the adaptability of mechanized harvesting, yield potential, and cultivation stability for labor-saving production. It was developed through pure-line selection from a genetic resource (K269609) introduced in 2009, selected in 2019, and registered in 2021. This cultivar is medium-maturing, with a heading time of 68 days. It has an elliptical dense panicle with red-brown grains and a waxy endosperm. The culm length was 109 cm, which is suitable for mechanized harvesting. The panicle length (27.1 cm), number of panicles per plant (1.4), and panicle weight (95 g) were greater than those of the standard cultivar ‘Sodamchal.’ ‘Cheongpungchal’ showed strong lodging resistance and tolerance to major diseases and insect pests, indicating stable field performance. In replicated yield trials (2015-2016), the mean grain yield was 4.42 MT/ha, 22% higher than ‘Sodamchal’. In regional yield trials at seven locations (2017-2018), the mean yield was 3.57 MT/ha, representing a 48% increase. Nutritional composition, functional components, and antioxidant activity were not significantly different from those of the standard cultivar, indicating that ‘Cheongpungchal’ maintained equivalent nutritional quality. This cultivar has been widely adopted in Jecheon and Danyang, accounting for more than 40% of the region’s cultivation area, indicating its high adaptability and farmer preference. These results demonstrate that ‘Cheongpungchal’ maintains nutritional and functional properties equivalent to previously developed waxy sorghum cultivars, while exhibiting superior yield potential and adaptability for mechanized harvesting, contributing to labor-saving sorghum production (Registration No. 8656).