High-Throughput Phenotyping and Elemental Mapping Identify Biomarkers for Yield and Biofuel Purity in Sweet Sorghum

High-Throughput Phenotyping and Elemental Mapping Identify Biomarkers for Yield and Biofuel Purity in Sweet Sorghum | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article High-Throughput Phenotyping and Elemental Mapping Identify Biomarkers for Yield and Biofuel Purity in Sweet Sorghum Mastu Patel, Prasann Kumar, Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay, Debjani Choudhury This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7734272/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The increasing demand for sustainable biofuels necessitates high-yield, processable feedstocks; nevertheless, sweet sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is underutilized due to a lack of understanding of the interactions among its morphological, physiological, biochemical, elemental, and thermal characteristics. This research employs a comprehensive, high-throughput phenotyping and multi-omics approach to identify reliable biomarkers for predicting production and biofuel quality across various fertilizer management systems. Ten treatments, comprising conventional NPK, nano-NPK, zeolite, press mud, and bio-neem, were assessed using a randomized block field design. The evaluated traits encompassed plant phenology (height, root biomass, and chlorophyll index), yield components (grain yield, ear head weight, and girth), juice quality (TSS, sucrose, purity, and ethanol concentration), elemental composition (EDX), and thermal stability (TGA). Treatment T6, which integrates 75% of the required fertilizer with zeolite (1.5 t ha⁻¹), press mud (15 t ha⁻¹), and bio-neem (5 kg ha⁻¹), consistently surpassed all other treatments, enhancing grain production by 56%, ethanol concentration by 30%, and extract weight by 74% compared to the control group. EDX indicated increased nitrogen levels and diminished trace metals, whereas TGA demonstrated improved thermal stability, with a breakdown temperature of around 294°C and a structured, multistage degradation profile. Multivariate studies (PCA, k-means, hierarchical clustering, and chord correlation) validated robust correlations of T6 with essential yield- and quality-related variables, underscoring the synergistic potential of integrated nutrition management. These findings establish a scalable framework for the early identification of superior bioenergy phenotypes and demonstrate that integrating organic amendments with reduced inorganic inputs can simultaneously enhance agronomic performance, juice quality, and biomass processability, indicating a strategic progression toward a sustainable bioeconomy. Sweet sorghum Morphology Yield TSS Biofuel Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplementaryfile1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7734272","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":525965929,"identity":"cbffff94-8abd-4418-abd0-78d932d57cbf","order_by":0,"name":"Mastu Patel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lovely Professional University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mastu","middleName":"","lastName":"Patel","suffix":""},{"id":525965930,"identity":"4c4eb3e2-53d6-4f56-b51e-a39690a6cace","order_by":1,"name":"Prasann 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11:20:48","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1489589,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptSweetSorghum.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7734272/v1_covered_8536588e-d5cc-4d99-9936-0dc8c0aafb7a.pdf"},{"id":94134600,"identity":"a3f60073-7267-4280-93f8-a62f6b78ee79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-22 18:43:02","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":15885,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplementaryfile1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7734272/v1/1b11890ace91576af26b532a.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"High-Throughput Phenotyping and Elemental Mapping Identify Biomarkers for Yield and Biofuel Purity in Sweet Sorghum","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sweet sorghum, Morphology, Yield, TSS, Biofuel","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7734272/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7734272/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe increasing demand for sustainable biofuels necessitates high-yield, processable feedstocks; nevertheless, sweet sorghum (\u003cem\u003eSorghum bicolor\u003c/em\u003e L. Moench) is underutilized due to a lack of understanding of the interactions among its morphological, physiological, biochemical, elemental, and thermal characteristics. This research employs a comprehensive, high-throughput phenotyping and multi-omics approach to identify reliable biomarkers for predicting production and biofuel quality across various fertilizer management systems. Ten treatments, comprising conventional NPK, nano-NPK, zeolite, press mud, and bio-neem, were assessed using a randomized block field design. The evaluated traits encompassed plant phenology (height, root biomass, and chlorophyll index), yield components (grain yield, ear head weight, and girth), juice quality (TSS, sucrose, purity, and ethanol concentration), elemental composition (EDX), and thermal stability (TGA). Treatment T6, which integrates 75% of the required fertilizer with zeolite (1.5 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), press mud (15 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), and bio-neem (5 kg ha⁻\u0026sup1;), consistently surpassed all other treatments, enhancing grain production by 56%, ethanol concentration by 30%, and extract weight by 74% compared to the control group. EDX indicated increased nitrogen levels and diminished trace metals, whereas TGA demonstrated improved thermal stability, with a breakdown temperature of around 294\u0026deg;C and a structured, multistage degradation profile. Multivariate studies (PCA, k-means, hierarchical clustering, and chord correlation) validated robust correlations of T6 with essential yield- and quality-related variables, underscoring the synergistic potential of integrated nutrition management. These findings establish a scalable framework for the early identification of superior bioenergy phenotypes and demonstrate that integrating organic amendments with reduced inorganic inputs can simultaneously enhance agronomic performance, juice quality, and biomass processability, indicating a strategic progression toward a sustainable bioeconomy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"High-Throughput Phenotyping and Elemental Mapping Identify Biomarkers for Yield and Biofuel Purity in Sweet Sorghum","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-22 18:42:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7734272/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d6d04d6a-8d06-4ba0-baac-77dd2675538e","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 22nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-22T18:43:00+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-22 18:42:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7734272","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7734272","identity":"rs-7734272","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}