Evaluation of suitable varieties and spacing of rabi sorghum under north-eastern plateau region of Odisha Mohanty Akash, Maitra Sagar, Sahoo Upasana*, Gaikwad Dinkar J., Sairam Masina Department of Agronomy, M. S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi-761 211 (Odisha), India *(e mail: upasana.sahoo@cutm.ac.in)
Online published on 2 August, 2023. Abstract Currently, agriculture is facing a huge trouble which includes depletion of air, water, soil quality and threats of climate change. Under such circumstances, an ecologically hardy crop can be an alternative option to withstand all the limiting factors. Among all the cereals, millets can be considered as a hardy crop which can thrive under any stressed condition. Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is known as the great millet and is considered a vital cereal crop in Asia and Africa. The choice of suitable variety and proper planting geometry is important to obtain potential yield of sorghum. To evaluate the planting geometry of sorghum varieties, an experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2022-23 at Post Graduate Research Farm of M. S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design which consisted of three sorghum varieties, namely, M 35-1, SPV-2217 and CSV-29R under four different planting geometries i. e. 30 × 15 cm, 45 × 15 cm, 45/30 cm × 15 cm and 60/ 30 cm × 15 cm and it was replicated thrice. This experiment was carried out in sandy loam soil conditions which were slightly acidic in nature and having an electrical conductivity of 0.60 dS/m. Among all the treatments under comparison, the variety SPV- 2217 expressed superior performance to other varieties in terms of growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, dry matter accumulation and leaf area index, yield attributes and yield. The spacing of 45 × 15 cm performed better than the other treatments in all the aspects in terms of growth, yield attributes except 1000-grain weight as well as yield. The results concluded that in order to get a higher production with a lucrative economic benefit, the variety SPV-2217 can be cultivated with a spacing of 45 × 15 cm in north eastern plateau region of Odisha. Top Keywords Plant geometry, Sorghum, Spacing, Suitable variety. Top |