Effects of Sowing Time and Growing Density on Agronomic Traits, Grain Yield, and Grain Quality of Waxy Sorghum Cultivar Hongliangfeng 1

Can Wang,Mingbo Shao,Yan Xu,Ne Jiang,Liyi Zhang,Guobing Zhang,Xu Gao,Lingbo Zhou

doi:10.5539/jas.v11n6p12

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of sowing time and growing density on the yield and quality of grain in waxy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). The main plots were two sowing time: early sowing (5 April) and late sowing (20 April), and the subplots were three growing densities: 0.8 &times; 105, 1.1 &times; 105, and 1.4 &times; 105 plants/ha. Results showed that sowing time and growing density had significant effects on grain yield and grain quality of waxy sorghum cultivar Hongliangfeng 1. Grain yield, plant height, spike length, culm diameter, grain number per spike, grain weight per plant, 1000-grain weight, protein content, starch content, and amylopectin content were reduced by a delay of sowing time, while the tannin content and amylose content were increased by a delay of sowing time. Grain yield, plant height, spike length, culm diameter, grain number per spike, grain weight per plant, 1000-grain weight, protein content, starch content, and amylopectin content increased and then decreased with the increase of growing density, while the tannin content and amylose content decreased and then increased with the increase of growing density. These results hinted that appropriate sowing time and growing density are key cultivation measures to ensure high yield and good quality&nbsp;in waxy sorghum production.

Highlights

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of sowing time and growing density on agronomic traits, grain yield, and grain quality and to determine the suitable sowing time and growing density for high yield and good quality in waxy sorghum
Grain yield was significantly influenced by sowing time and growing density, but the interactions were not significant in the two years (Table 1)
Amylopectin content is the most critical factor for quality assessment of waxy sorghum cultivars grown for liquor production (Cao, 2016; Wang et al, 2017a)

Summary

Introduction

Moench) is the world’s fifth-largest food crop after corn, wheat, rice, and barley, which is widely planted in tropical and semi-arid regions of the world (Awika et al, 2003; Borrell et al, 2014). It is one of the earliest cultivated cereal crops in China (Ding et al, 2015). How to improve the grain yield and quality of waxy sorghum is the key to the development of the Moutai flavor liquor industry

Objectives

Results

Conclusion