ABSTRACT:Effects of water stress applied at different stages of development on the quantity and quality of autochthonous sorghum seed ecotype (Sorghum bicolor) Objective: The effects of water stress applied at different stages of development on the quantity and quality of seeds were studied in native grain sorghum ecotype.
Methodology and Results:The trial was conducted in plant pots. The irrigation of the plants was made together with the successive weighing pots. During each weighing, the control was returned to the same weight corresponding to 70% of the UWR (useful water reserve), whereas stress treatment (SI, S2 and S3) maintained the water content to 30% of the UWR for 10 days. At the end of the cycle of water shortage, irrigation was taken Effets d'un stress hydrique applique a différents stades de développement des semences chez un écotype autochtone de sorgho grain 6150 as the control. Stages affected by water stress were the floral initiation stage (S1), the swelling phase-heading (S2) and the flowering phase -grain filling (S3). The results showed that the yield and seed quality drop significantly when stress is applied at S2 and that the rate of germination and seedling vigour (seeds from S2) fall accordingly. Conclusion and application: these results lead to affirm that the most sensitive water stress phase is that of swelling-heading. The importance of this study is its application in the governance of irrigation. Indeed, under conditions of water scarcity, we must develop t scenarios to deliver water to plants only at critical stages of growth in order to avoid waste.