A survey of problem weeds of sorghum and their management in two sorghum-producing districts of Zimbabwe

Abstract

Sorghum is an important staple food crop in dry areas of Zimbabwe but yields are reduced due to inefficient weed management strategies that largely rely on hand weeding. A study to establish weeds associated with sorghum and their management was conducted in two sorghum-growing districts, Insiza and Chipinge, during the 2016/17 cropping season. Physical weed sampling in farmers' fields was done to identify weeds infesting sorghum. A questionnaire was used to collect survey data from 80 respondents who were randomly selected. Physical weed sampling established that the dominant weeds that infested sorghum in the two districts were Amaranthus hybridus, Richardia scabra, Tagetes minuta, Striga asiatica, Commelina benghalensis, Eleusine indica, Datura stramonium and Panicum spp. Many of the weeds are broadleaf species, offering opportunity to harness sorghum allelopathy for weed control. Allelopathic compounds exuded by sorghum, such as ABOUT THE AUTHORSHandsen Tibugari is a PhD student studying sorghum allelopathy at the

Unanswered questions and unquestioned answers: the challenges of crop residue retention and weed control in Conservation Agriculture systems of southern Africa

“…This paper partly draws lessons from recently completed large on-farm surveys conducted in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe from March to June 2021 by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the 'Understanding and Enhancing Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Smallholder Farming Systems of Southern Africa (ACASA)' project which was funded by the Royal Norwegian Government. The methodology, sampling procedure and part of the data from this study have already been published by Tufa et al (2023). We also synthesized other published literature to support any propositions.…”

Major Achievements and Challenges of Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor [L.] Moench) Breeding and Production in Southwestern Part of Ethiopia-Review Article

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Incorporated Sorghum Residues Reduce Emergence and Seedling Growth of Some Crops

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