Mohammed Abdalla Elgorashi BAKHITE, Ghazi Hamid BADAWI, Alfred ODINDO, Lembe Samukelo MAGWAZA

Assessment of The Effects of Winter Condition on Sweet Sorghum Yield and Sugar Content

Sweet sorghum is an important crop which is produced for food, energy and feed (Almodares and Hadi, 2009). The crop prefers warm moist soil for germination and emergence. However, it would be more beneficial if it can be grown in different seasons. A field experiment was carried to evaluate sixteen sweet sorghum genotypes [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] under winter conditions in order to assess the possibility of producing the crop throughout the year since the crop consumes less water and has a short life cycle when compared with sugarcane. The genotypes we recollected from different areas of Sudan. The experiment was planted using a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. There were significant differences among genotypes with respect to the number of days to germination, plant height, number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content, stem diameter, head weight, shoot fresh weight, head to shoot ratio, brix value, juice weight and number of days to maturity. A highly positive correlation (0.92) was observed between juice and shoot weight, and there was a negative correlation (-0.14) between brix value and head weight. The genotypes showed high variability in all mentioned parameters, hence, could be useful genetic resources for breeding winter adaptation.

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