Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T00:14:26.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Plant Population, Rainfall and Sorghum Production in Botswana. I. Results of Experiment Station Trials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

M. J. Jones
M. J. Jones
Affiliation:
Dryland Farming Research Scheme, Agricultural Research Station, Sebele, P/Bag 0033, Gaborone, Botswana
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

General mathematical relations between yield parameters, plant populations and rainfall were developed for an indigenous sorghum from the results of 28 population/row spacing trials conducted at four sites over five seasons. Populations maximizing yield increased from 25 000 to 69 000 plants ha−1 over the rainfall range 200–700 mm (pre-planting to harvest total). Tillering partly compensated for low populations but yields from 10000 plants ha−1 at 300 and 600 mm rainfall were only 80 and 61% of potential maximum, respectively. Row spacing at constant population affected tiller numbers and eventual panicle weights but not panicle numbers, and any yield differences were unrelated to rainfall.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , July 1987 , pp. 335 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

DLFRS (1985a). Spacing Studies of Sorghum and Maize. Dryland Farming Research Scheme, Phase III. Final Report, Volume 1. Sebele, Botswana: Agricultural Research Station.Google Scholar
DLFRS (1985b). Microenvironment and Crop Physiology. Dryland Farming Research Scheme, Phase III. Final Report, Volume 2. Sebele, Botswana: Agricultural Research Station.Google Scholar
Jones, M. J. (1984). Sorghum Tillering. Bulletin of Agricultural Research in Botswana, No. 2, 35–46. Sebele, Botswana: Agricultural Research Station.Google Scholar
Myers, R. J. K. & Foale, M. A. (1980). Row spacing and population density in Australian grain sorghum production. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 46:214–220.Google Scholar
Myers, R. J. K. & Foale, M. A. (1981). Row spacing and population density in grain sorghum – a simple analysis. Field Crops Research 4:147–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willey, R. W. & Heath, S. B. (1969). The quantitative relationships between plant population and crop yield. Advances in Genetics 21:281–321.Google Scholar