Effects of manure types on the growth and yield of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in dryland

Abstract

Sweet sorghum is one of the superior commodities to increase the production of food and energy. Sweet sorghum seeds produce carbohydrates that can be processed into food ingredients, while the sap from the stems and starch in the seeds can be converted into bioethanol through fermentation processes. Sweet sorghum crops tolerant to drought and stagnant water can produce on marginal land and relatively resistant to pests and diseases. This research aims to determine the interaction between sweet sorghum varieties and kinds of organic fertilizer on the growth and yield of sweet sorghum in dryland. The research method is a factorial experiment using Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD), which consists of two factors, which is sweet sorghum varieties and manure types. The varieties which were used are Kawali and Numbu. The second treatment used is without manure, chicken manure, goat manure, cow manure, and vermicompost. The total treatment combination is ten units, and each combination is repeated three times. The research variables are plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index, fresh stover weight, dry stover weight, sap content, panicle length, number of seeds per panicle, and production per hectare. Data were analyzed using the F test with a 95% confidence level if there is significantly a difference and then followed by the DMRT method at the 5% level. This research shows that the highest production per hectare is sorghum treatments by chicken manure equal 2.64 ton/ha, and this yield is higher than all other treatments.

Response of sorghum variety growth in the first ratoon with liquid organic fertilizer application

“…The fresh stove weight or total biomass of plant is a parameter often used to study the plant growth. The fresh stove weight is an indicator of water and nutrition absorption rate by the plant for metabolism process [18] and an indicator of the development and the increase of network tissues like plant height and leaf width [19]. It is also supported by [13] stating that the fresh stove weight represents the net return of harvest yield.…”

“…Leaf as a photosynthesis organ is closely related to LAI. LAI is used as an indicator of canopy density and an estimator of plant productivity [18]. Considering the result of polynomial regression test (Figure 3), the optimum dose is obtained in Numbu, 3.8 L.ha -1 , providing the highest LAI.…”