SIMPLE CORRELATION BETWEEN FLAG LEAF AREA AND YIELD CHARACTERS OF SORGHUM UNDER STRIGA INFESTATION DURING THE 2018, 2019 AND 2020 RAINY SEASONS IN BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted for three (3) years during the rainy seasons of 2018, 2019 and 2020 to study the flag leaf area and yield character relationship as influenced by Striga infestation of sorghum in Bauchi state. The research was conducted at Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (10° 22' N and 9°47′ E) in the northern Guinea savanna ecological zone of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of four (4) transplanted age; (2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks after emergence with a control as direct seeded on the field) and five (5) nitrogen levels; (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha). The treatments were factorially combined and laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. In all the three seasons, sorghum seedlings were first raised in the nursery before being transplanted out to the field. Characters measured were flag leaf area, panicle length, panicle weight, number of spikes per panicle, number of seeds per panicle, spike length, spike weight, number of spikelets per spike, number of seeds per spike, seed weight and seed yield per hectare. Simple correlation between flag leaf area and yield characters of sorghum was carried out to determine the relationship. The results indicated a significant and positive correlations exist between the characters measured throughout the study period. This implies as flag leaf area increase, all yield characters increase with a resultant increase in yield. Based on the result this finding, it can be concluded that net increase in flag leaf area resulted to increase in yield of Striga infested sorghum in the study area.