Dr Rao has made important contribution in the field of sorghum breeding, leading to the release of the first commercial sorghum hybrids, CSH-1 and CSH-2 in India. Subsequently, a high yielding variety, Swarna, that equalled the commercial hybrid CSH-1 in yield levels, was developed and released for general cultivation. The performance of the first hybrids, following their release, demonstrated that the average yields of this rain-fed crop could be stabilized at 2000-2500 kg/hectare as against the national average of only 400-500 kg/hectare. Maximum yields of the order of 7000 kg/hectare were recorded under optimum conditions. These hybrids also performed well in several African, South East Asian and Latin American countries. The advent of the hybrids has given rise to an organized hybrid sorghum seed industry in both public and private sectors.