Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon
Dry season transplanted sorghum is grown on Vertisols in the Lake Chad Basin at approximately 10,000 plants ha-1. Increasing plant density was hypothesised to be one way of increasing yields in this cropping system. To test this hypothesis, a trial was conducted in four environments near Maroua in n...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés Francés |
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African Journals Online
2002
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92752 |
| _version_ | 1855538062461763584 |
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| author | Carsky, R.J. Ndikawa, R. Singh, L. |
| author_browse | Carsky, R.J. Ndikawa, R. Singh, L. |
| author_facet | Carsky, R.J. Ndikawa, R. Singh, L. |
| author_sort | Carsky, R.J. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Dry season transplanted sorghum is grown on Vertisols in the Lake Chad Basin at approximately 10,000 plants ha-1. Increasing plant density was hypothesised to be one way of increasing yields in this cropping system. To test this hypothesis, a trial was conducted in four environments near Maroua in northern Cameroon (one year at Yoldeo and three years at Salak) examining densities ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 plants ha-1. Grain yields were not significantly increased by increasing planting density in any of the environments because of reduced panicle size. For example, as planting density was doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 ha-1, the mean density of panicles harvested was increased by 85% but mean grain weight per panicle was decreased by 45%. Thus, in all environments, mean grain yields increased by 100 kg ha-1 (9%) at the transplant density of 20,000 ha-1 and 150 kg ha-1 at 26,667 plants ha-1. A comparison of results from three years at Salak suggests that the fraction of plants bearing panicles is influenced by the annual rainfall and, especially, the amount of rain during August and September. However, even after a season of adequate rainfall, panicle grain weight decreased with increasing panicle density, suggesting that there is little scope for increasing dry season sorghum transplant density without supplemental irrigation. Considering increases in labour input for nursery establishment, transplanting and harvest, the increased revenue from increasing planting density does not compensate for increased costs. The economic optimum is around 10,000 ha-1, which is similar to the current farmers' practice. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace92752 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés Francés |
| publishDate | 2002 |
| publishDateRange | 2002 |
| publishDateSort | 2002 |
| publisher | African Journals Online |
| publisherStr | African Journals Online |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace927522024-05-15T05:12:09Z Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon Carsky, R.J. Ndikawa, R. Singh, L. economic optimum environment irrigation partial budget analysis sorghum bicolor optimum économique environnement analyse du budget partiel Dry season transplanted sorghum is grown on Vertisols in the Lake Chad Basin at approximately 10,000 plants ha-1. Increasing plant density was hypothesised to be one way of increasing yields in this cropping system. To test this hypothesis, a trial was conducted in four environments near Maroua in northern Cameroon (one year at Yoldeo and three years at Salak) examining densities ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 plants ha-1. Grain yields were not significantly increased by increasing planting density in any of the environments because of reduced panicle size. For example, as planting density was doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 ha-1, the mean density of panicles harvested was increased by 85% but mean grain weight per panicle was decreased by 45%. Thus, in all environments, mean grain yields increased by 100 kg ha-1 (9%) at the transplant density of 20,000 ha-1 and 150 kg ha-1 at 26,667 plants ha-1. A comparison of results from three years at Salak suggests that the fraction of plants bearing panicles is influenced by the annual rainfall and, especially, the amount of rain during August and September. However, even after a season of adequate rainfall, panicle grain weight decreased with increasing panicle density, suggesting that there is little scope for increasing dry season sorghum transplant density without supplemental irrigation. Considering increases in labour input for nursery establishment, transplanting and harvest, the increased revenue from increasing planting density does not compensate for increased costs. The economic optimum is around 10,000 ha-1, which is similar to the current farmers' practice. La densité de plantation pour des sorghos repiqués en saison sèche sur les Vertisols dans le basin du lac Tchad environne 10000 plantes ha-1. L'augmentation de la densité semble être un moyen d'augmenter son rendement dans ce systeme agricole. Pour tester cette hypothèse, un essai comportant cinq densité variant entre 10000 et 50000 plantes ha-1 a été conduit pendant trois ans à Salak et un an à Yoldeo dans le nord du Cameroun près de Maroura. Le rendement en grains n'a pas significativement augmenté avec la densité des plantes à cause de la réduction de dimensions de la panicule. Par exemple, en doublant la densité de 10000 plantes ha-1, la densité moyenne de penicules récoltées a augmenté de 85%, mais le poids moyen de grains par penicule a dimunué de 45%. Pour différents environnements, le rendement en grains a été augmenté de 100 kg dans le traitement de 20000 plantes ha-1 et 150 kg dans le traitement de 26666 plantes ha-1. Les résultats suggèrent que à Salak la fraction de plantes avec penicules est influencée par la pluviométrie des mois d'Août et Septembre. Toutefois, malgré un regime pluviométrique adéquate, le poids de grains des penicules a diminué avec l'augmentation de la densité de penicules faisant transparaitre moins d'espoir d'augmenter la densité de repiquage du sorgho sans irrigation, pendant la saison sèche. Considérant le coût du travail pour l'installation des pépinières, le repiquage et la récolte, le revenue généré ne couvre pas les dépenses engagées. L'optimum économique est autour des 10000 plantes ha-1 actuellement utilisé par les agriculteurs. 2002 2018-05-17T09:03:24Z 2018-05-17T09:03:24Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92752 en fr Limited Access African Journals Online Carsky, R., Ndikawa, R. & Singh, L. (2002). Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on vertisols in the semi-arid zone of cameroon. African Crop Science Journal, 10(1), 23-30. |
| spellingShingle | economic optimum environment irrigation partial budget analysis sorghum bicolor optimum économique environnement analyse du budget partiel Carsky, R.J. Ndikawa, R. Singh, L. Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title | Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title_full | Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title_fullStr | Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title_short | Establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on Vertisols in the semiarid zones of Cameroon |
| title_sort | establishment of optimum plant densities for dry season sorghum grown on vertisols in the semiarid zones of cameroon |
| topic | economic optimum environment irrigation partial budget analysis sorghum bicolor optimum économique environnement analyse du budget partiel |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92752 |
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