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Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research

The response of rabi sorghum yield to different management treatments in a Vertic Inceptisol soil

E.A. Elasha1, F.R Bidinger2 and B. Bhaskar Reddy.
 

Abstract:

This experiment was carried out during two consecutive seasons 1995 and 96 to investigate the response of rabi sorghum yield to different management treatments which may affect its productivity when studied together in a Vertic Inceptisol soil. The study compared the main effects of two planting dates, (early and normal separated by a month), two fertility levels (FYM at 10 t/ha (F1) and FYM + 20kg N + 9 kg P (F2) and three genotypes. The genotypes were M35-1, a traditional landrace, Swathi, an improved rabi cultivar and a rabi hybrid IC 94004. The study revealed that early planting of rabi sorghum had little effects on crop total dry weight (TDW), its resource use (light interception, water, nitrogen and phosphorous uptake), but had significantly larger effects on crop use efficiencies (radiation use efficiency (RUE), water use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). This had resulted in significantly greater stover, grain and biomass yields in early than in normal planting. Fertilization with (F2) increased both the dry matter accumulation and the resource use utilization of the crop compared to fertilization with (F1). With F2 fertilization, TDW increased by 27%, radiation use by 9%, RUE at flowering by 32% and the stover and the grain weights by 12% and 14% respectively. On the other hand, fertilization had little effect on crop evapotranspiration. Differences in crop TDW, resource and input use efficiencies as well as yields of stover, grain and biomass in IC 94004 were significantly enhanced when it was sown early, but effects of these parameters were little in M35-1 and Swathi whether they were sown early or normal, suggesting that the hybrid needed timely inputs as compared to the other two genotypes. The study also showed that the rabi crop could intercept about 75% of the available incident radiation between heading and flowering time and used about 50% of its total water requirements from 0-60 cm soil depth.

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Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 4(2004) PP. 43-51