Agronomic evaluation of 32 sorghum cultivars in the Brazilian semi-arid region

Abstract

-The objective of this study was to evaluate agronomic characteristics of 32 sorghum cultivars (Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench) in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The experimental design was set up in randomized blocks with three replications. Treatments were the 32 sorghum cultivars. The evaluated variables were: plant height, stem diameter, tiller density, number of green leaves per tiller, average leaf length, dry matter content, fresh matter production and dry matter production (DMP) in kg/ha, and the percentage of the components panicle, leaf blade and stem. To avoid associative effects due to the presence of positive correlation with DMP, the variables plant height, number of plants per hectare and fresh matter production were excluded for being part of the discriminatory variables of the cluster. Based on the cluster analysis and subjective cutting in 20% dissimilarity, five groups were hierarchically set up. It was not possible to find groups with higher values of panicle and DMP simultaneously; however, group number 5 met significant values for both variables, with mean values of 15,037.63 kg/ha of DMP and 11.36% of panicle, besides 13.65% of leaf. Groups 3, 4 and 5 show high potential for dry matter production, especially group 5. The presence of evident variation among cultivars allows for a selection of more productive and, thus, more suitable cultivars for silage production in semi-arid regions.

Organic matter sources in the composition of pelletized organomineral fertilizers used in sorghum crops

“…Other studies also reported similar correlations between sorghum dry mass and plant height (Abubakar and Bubuche, 2013;Perazzo et al, 2014;, suggesting that the use of organomineral fertilizers affects favorably sorghum plant development. The dry mass of plants is an indication of plant development.…”

Crop Upgrading Strategies and Modelling for Rainfed Cereals in a Semi-Arid Climate—A Review

“…Change of cultivars Ethiopia [92], Iran [84,93,94], India [95], China [96,97], Italy [98], Brazil [99], Tanzania [100] Reduce the risk of complete production failure…”

Performance of confined sheep fed diets based on silages of different sorghum cultivars

“…Importantly, some authors like Cabral Filho et al (2013) indicate sorghum cultivars with high grain production (grain sorghum) as being primordial in the formulation of diets for confined sheep. Perazzo (2017) and Silva et al (2011) found that forage sorghum are more productive than grain sorghum when grown in the semiarid Paraiba, with same crop treatments, concluding that the forage sorghum would have a lower production cost, expressed per kilogram of dry matter produced. Correlating with the present study, in which the animals had similar gains when receiving diets of silage from different cultivars, without changes in the amount of concentrate supplied, the use of forage sorghum cultivars could be more economically viable, due to its highest potential yield, reducing production costs and increasing the capacity of a forage support in cultivated areas.…”

“…Thus, the use of crops that make better use of rainfall as well as store water in their tissues may be of great value to minimize the damaging effects of water shortage. Sorghum is well adapted to such environments, optimizing the water use efficiency and productivity ratio (PERAZZO et al, 2014). In addition, it has high nutritional value, and its use in animal feed is a cheap option of additional and quality roughage, and which may be used as the sole source of forage.…”