How to plant and grow Sorghum in Uganda

Ecological requirements for sorghum growing in Uganda

When we say ecological from ecology we mean the interrelationships of organisms and their environment. So, here we are going to look the natural requirements from Sorghum growing in Uganda. Let's look at the below

• Sorghum is adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions, surviving in the tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions of the world.

• It is planted in areas considered to be too dry and hot for other cereals to survive because of its tolerance to drought and heat stress.

• The adaptability enables sorghum to grow from sea level to above 2000m above sea level.

• However, sorghum performs well under optimum conditions of deep well-drained fertile soils, moderate to high relatively stable rainfall distribution most of which should be received during the vegetative phase and temperate to warm weather (20-30°C).

• These conditions result in a yield potential of 3000-5000 Kgha-1 if improved cultivars are used.

• Unfortunately, the high yield potential is not realized in Uganda because farmers grow low yield potential sorghum under low-input semi-arid conditions

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Soils suitable for sorghum growing in Uganda

• Sorghum grows well in a wide range of soils except in water logged places.

• It grows best on well drained fertile soils with moderate amount of organic matter at soil pH values between 6 and 7.5.

• At this pH range most nutrients are more easily assimilated by the plant roots.

• It has some tolerance to salt and aluminum toxicity.

• However, in Uganda sorghum is mainly grown on low potential, shallow soils with high clay-loam or sandy-loam texture.

• The soils are deficient of nitrogen and phosphorous and mainly acidic.

• Thus there is need to ameliorate the soils with by liming to lower the acidity in order to attain optimum productivity of sorghum.

Temperature needed for sorghum growing while in Uganda

• Sorghum is a warm-weather crop, which requires high temperatures for good germination and growth.

• Low temperatures may prevent successful production of grain sorghum.

• Soil temperature at planting time is critical for grain sorghum.

• The recommended temperature for germination is 17-18°C while lower temperature prolongs germination.

• The best time to plant is when there is sufficient moisture in the soil.

• Temperature is important for normal growth and development of sorghum after germination.

• A temperature of 27 to 30°C is required for optimum growth and development though the crop can still survive below 21 °C, without a dramatic effect on growth and yield.

• Fortunately the temperature in most sorghum growing areas of Uganda is above 200C except in the southwestern regions with <200C, indicating that temperature is not a constraint to production.

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Day length for proper sorghum growing while in Uganda

• Sorghum is a short-day plant requiring long night hours before the reproductive stage.

• Thus varieties introduced from the temperate regions into tropical regions fail to develop seed because of photoperiodism.

• The optimum photoperiod, which will induce flower formation, is between 10 and 11 hours.

• Photoperiods longer than 12 hours stimulate vegetative growth.

• Sorghum plants are most sensitive to photoperiod during flower initiation.

• However, most of the improved varieties developed for Uganda’s conditions are not sensitive to photoperiodism and can thus perform well in almost all parts of Uganda.

Rainfall needed for Sorghum growing while in Uganda

• Sorghum is known to be drought tolerant and can do well in areas with little rainfall but performs better in conditions where water is available.

• It can be grown under hot and dry conditions with its roots penetrating a greater volume of soil to obtain moisture.

•Water requirement increases and reaches its peak during flowering.

• In Uganda, sorghum grows under fluctuating rainfall conditions of approximately 82-130 mm per month.

• Some varieties have physiological mechanisms, such as stay green, for avoiding the effects of droughts.

• Stay green trait promotes adaptation to drought by producing waxy leaves and stems that protect the plant form desiccation.

• The leaves fold up and stomata close rapidly to limit water loss during warm and dry conditions.

• The stay green mechanism involves reducing tillering, increasing the size of lower leaves and constraining the size of the upper leaves and decreasing the number of leaves per culm.

• This results in reduced pre-flowering water demand, thereby increasing water availability during grain filling and, ultimately, grain yield.

• Sorghum also has the ability to remain in a virtually dormant stage and resume growth as soon as conditions become favorable.

• Even though the main stem can die, side shoots can develop and form seed when the water supply improves.