Theme 2-1: Forage Production and Utilization--Oral Sessions

Description

Heavy grazing pressure in Tanzanian semi-arid rangelands coupled with climate change and variability has resulted into severe decline in forage production and changes in vegetation composition. To increase forage biomass production in the face of climate change and variability, climate resilient fodder crops such as early maturing sorghum have been recommended in arid and semi-arid regions. However, paucity of information on the best agronomic practices especially the optimal seeding rate and row spacing fostered the need to carry out research on growth performance and yield of early maturing sorghum. The experiment was conducted at Magadu Dairy Farm to assess the Influence of Seeding Rate on Growth Performance and Yield of Early Maturing Sorghum. The experiment adopted the Complete Randomized Design (CRD), where different seeding rate (such as 8kg/ha, 12kg/ha, 16kg/ha, 200kg/ha) were assigned randomly and replicated three times making a total of 12 subplots. The row spaces were also varied in reciprocal order with seeding rate (60cm in 8kg/ha, 50cm in 12kg/ha, 40cm in 16kg/ha and 30cm in 20kg/ha). Parameters collected include, number of plants germinated, circumference of the plant, Dry matter (DM) yield and height of the plants. The data were subjected to One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using SAS program of 2014 to analyse the effect of seeding rate on growth attributes and yield of early maturing sorghum. The study established the positive correlation of seeding rate and number of plant as well as plant heights. On the contrary, seeding rate was found to be inversely proportion to plant thickness and number of leaves per plant. The above ground biomass was found to increase with increasing seeding rate up to 22.20 tonnes per ha and slightly declined at the highest seeding rate. We recommend further studies on nutritive values and palatability of sorghum to livestock.

Download

Share

COinS
 

Influence of Seeding Rate on Growth Performance and Yield of Early Maturing Sorghum

Heavy grazing pressure in Tanzanian semi-arid rangelands coupled with climate change and variability has resulted into severe decline in forage production and changes in vegetation composition. To increase forage biomass production in the face of climate change and variability, climate resilient fodder crops such as early maturing sorghum have been recommended in arid and semi-arid regions. However, paucity of information on the best agronomic practices especially the optimal seeding rate and row spacing fostered the need to carry out research on growth performance and yield of early maturing sorghum. The experiment was conducted at Magadu Dairy Farm to assess the Influence of Seeding Rate on Growth Performance and Yield of Early Maturing Sorghum. The experiment adopted the Complete Randomized Design (CRD), where different seeding rate (such as 8kg/ha, 12kg/ha, 16kg/ha, 200kg/ha) were assigned randomly and replicated three times making a total of 12 subplots. The row spaces were also varied in reciprocal order with seeding rate (60cm in 8kg/ha, 50cm in 12kg/ha, 40cm in 16kg/ha and 30cm in 20kg/ha). Parameters collected include, number of plants germinated, circumference of the plant, Dry matter (DM) yield and height of the plants. The data were subjected to One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using SAS program of 2014 to analyse the effect of seeding rate on growth attributes and yield of early maturing sorghum. The study established the positive correlation of seeding rate and number of plant as well as plant heights. On the contrary, seeding rate was found to be inversely proportion to plant thickness and number of leaves per plant. The above ground biomass was found to increase with increasing seeding rate up to 22.20 tonnes per ha and slightly declined at the highest seeding rate. We recommend further studies on nutritive values and palatability of sorghum to livestock.