Adoption of Improved Sorghum and Pearl Millet ... - Icrisat

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Crop Varieties Many farmers grow local landraces that are tall and late-maturing. Late maturity is a serious concern in the drier regions (the main production areas), where frequent drought spells occur, resulting in very low grain yields. The National Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program (NSMIP), in collaboration with the SADC/ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program (SMIP), have developed several new varieties that mature earlier and give higher yields than landraces – the yield advantage is more pronounced in seasons of poor rainfall. SMIP has taken the major responsibility for providing improved germplasm, while NSMIP has led country-wide efforts for multilocational evaluation of this germplasm, compiling and presenting the data to the national variety release committee. This has led to the release of three sorghum varieties – Tegemeo (1986), Pato (1995), and Macia (1999) – and two pearl millet varieties, Okoa and Shibe (1994, see Annex 1). These were the first new releases in over a decade. Only three improved varieties had been released earlier: sorghums Lulu and Serena in the 1970s, and pearl millet Serere 17 in the late 1960s. Results From On-Station and On-Farm Trials On-station trials, sorghum Table 3 shows the results of on-station testing. The three new released varieties were compared to other elite germplasm, across two seasons: 1992/93 (poor rainfall, low yields) and 1993/94 (good season with generally high yields). The new varieties gave grain yields ranging from 1.5 to 4.6 t ha -1 , with Macia giving the highest. Recommendation for release was based on data from onstation trials at Ilonga, Hombolo, Ukiriguru, Tumbi, Gairo, Ifakara, and Naliendele. Supplemental data were also available from on-farm testing sites from villages in Same district. On-farm trials, sorghum The varieties were evaluated at ten unreplicated sites in Same district (Table 4). During these evaluations farmers were most impressed by the earliness and yield of Macia and Pato; both varieties are similar in duration to Tegemeo, with which farmers are already familiar. Farmers invariably ranked Macia first because it combined earliness and a much shorter plant type, which is preferred because of the ease of bird scaring. The three varieties are considerably earlier than local landraces: 64-68 days to reach half bloom, compared to 85 days for landraces. Table 3. Sorghum grain yields in on-station trials, 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons. Yield advantage over Yield (t ha -1 ) No. of sites local variety 92/93 93/94 Mean* Macia 1.70 4.60 2.34 9 139% Pato 1.60 4.40 2.22 9 126% Tegemeo 1.50 4.20 2.10 9 114% Local variety* 0.98 * Long-term average for respective area 5
On-station trials, pearl millet The new pearl millet varieties have been widely tested and compared with the released variety Serere 17 and local varieties across several sites in the country (Table 5). Recommendation for release was based on data from 17 on-station trials at Ilonga, Hombolo, Ukiriguru, and Lubaga. Supplementary data were also available from on-farm testing sites from villages in Dodoma and Singida regions. On-farm trials, pearl millet The varieties were evaluated at 21 unreplicated sites across five villages in three districts – Dodoma Rural, Singida Rural, and Iramba (Table 6). During these evaluations farmers were most impressed by the earliness, head length, and yield of Okoa. All farmers ranked Okoa and Shibe first and second respectively, because both were visibly superior to the local varieties used as controls. Okoa gave the highest grain yield (2.31 t ha -1 ), followed by Shibe (1.85 t ha -1 ). Serere 17 and the local variety gave 1.62 t ha -1 . Okoa and Shibe have the same tillering ability; the former’s yield superiority is likely due to its greater average ear length. Table 4. Sorghum variety performance in on-farm trials, Same district, 1995/96 season. Yield advantage Days to flowering Plant height (cm) Mean grain yield (t ha -1 ) over local variety Pato 68 179 2.13 117% Tegemeo 67 162 1.97 101% Macia 64 130 1.50 53% Local variety 85 0.98 Pato, Tegemeo: data from 2 seasons, 10 unreplicated environments. Macia: data from 1 season, 3 unreplicated environments Local variety data are long-term average for respective area Table 5. Pearl millet grain yields (t ha -1 ) in on-station trials, 1991/92 to 1994/95. Yield advantage 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 Mean No. of sites over local variety Okoa 1.91 2.61 2.12 1.92 2.14 14 48% Shibe 1.69 2.15 1.90 2.07 1.98 17 37% Serere 17 1.17 1.67 1.29 1.59 1.43 17 – 1.4% Local variety 1.20 1.68 1.24 1.67 1.45 17 Table 6. Pearl millet variety performance in on-farm trials, Dodoma, Singida, and Iramba districts, 1993/94 season. Plant height Panicle length Mean grain yield Yield advantage Days to flowering (cm) (cm) (t ha -1 ) over local variety Okoa 62 198 43 2.31 42% Shibe 67 214 39 1.85 14% Serere 17 53 175 24 1.62 0% Local variety 67 211 36 1.62 Flowering, plant height, panicle length, and yield based on average of 17, 11, 16, and 21 unreplicated environments respectively 6
Page 1 and 2: International Crops Research Instit
Page 3 and 4: Adoption of Improved Sorghum and Pe
Page 5 and 6: Contents Sorghum and pearl millet p
Page 7 and 8: Table 1. Sorghum area (‘000 ha) i
Page 9: Sources: Crop Monitoring and Early
Page 13 and 14: Fluctuations in planted area Survey
Page 15 and 16: In the 2000 season, the schools con
Page 17 and 18: Adoption of Improved Pearl Millet V
Page 19 and 20: two seasons: 1998/99 (poor season,
Page 21 and 22: Serena is a high-tannin variety. Th
Page 23 and 24: Priority Areas for Sorghum and Mill
Page 25 and 26: Annex 1. Improved Varieties Release
Page 27 and 28: susceptible to kernel smut. Has the
Page 29: About ICRISAT The International Cro

Adoption of Improved Sorghum and Pearl Millet ... - Icrisat

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