Response of Sorghum, Sesame, and Groundnuts to Plant Population Density in the Central Sudan

Gerakēs, P. A.; Tsangarakis, C. Z.

Response of Sorghum, Sesame, and Groundnuts to Plant Population Density in the Central Sudan

1969

Gerakēs, P. A. | Tsangarakis, C. Z.

Two varieties of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and one of groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) were grown at different population densities with and without nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, under 578 mm rainfall in a Sand Sheet (“goz”) soil. Sesame and groundnut yields increased when the maximum plant populations presently utilized in the area were increased by 50%. Further density increases were ineffective for those two crops. Grain sorghum did not respond to any increases in the density. The difference in response between sorghum and the other two crops was attributed to differences in type of root system, which in turn affected the pattern of soil moisture depletion in the soil profile. No interaction between varieties, either unfertilized or fertilized, and population densities was noted. Soil moisture rather than soil nutrients seemed the limiting growth factor in these trials.

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