Abstract
Field trial was carried out during the 2019 rainy season (June to October) at the Dryland Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto to determine the growth and yield of sorghum varieties in the study area. The treatments consisted of five (5) sorghum varieties (Samsorg 45, Samsorg 46, Janjari, Yartawa and Jardawa), the treatments were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three (3) times. Data were collected on the growth and yield of the crop. Janjari and Jardawa varieties were higher in plant height. Jardawa and Yartawa varieties were higher in number of leaves. Janjari and Yartawa varieties were higher in total dry weight. Janjari, Jardawa and Yartawa varieties were higher in harvest index. Yartawa variety was higher in leaf area, leaf area index and 1000-grain weight. Jardawa variety was higher in panicle length. Janjari variety was early in number of days to heading, flowering, and maturity and was higher in dry stalk weight. The grain yield (249 – 1506kg ha-1 ) was higher in Janjari and Yartawa varieties (1268 – 1506 kg ha-1). Based on the findings of this research, it could be concluded that Janjari and Yartawa varieties performed better than other varieties in the study area.
Highlights
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) belongs to the family Poaceaee
In Asia and Africa, sorghum grain is consumed by human or as animal feed, stalks are used as animal fodder or as housing material (Doggett, 1988)
Leaf area index (LAI) which is the ratio of the leaf area to the ground area occupied by the plant and was measured by dividing the leaf area obtained by the Samsorg and Samsorg (179.7 – 184.9 cm)
Summary
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) belongs to the family Poaceaee. The crop originated in Africa and is the fifth largest and most important cereal crop in the world after wheat, maize, rice and barley (Ejeta and Grenier, 2005). The biofuel industry produces ethanol from the sugars accumulated in the stalks of sweet sorghum varieties and from the starch in the seeds of grain sorghum (Almodares and Hadi 2009). Despite this Nigeria yield is low (1192 kg ha-1) compared to Ethiopia (2617 kg ha-1) and the world (1461 kg ha-1) (FAOSTAT, 2017). Sorghum will continue to play a key role in providing food security in Nigeria and Africa, as a whole. The research was undertaken to provide information on the growth and yield of sorghum varieties in the study area and identify a suitable variety for the study area
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