Effect of Striga Trap Crops and Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Yield and Yield Related Traits of Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] at Fedis District, Eastern Ethiopia
Striga causes a serious threat to successful cultivation
of sorghum in areas of low and erratic rainfall and poor soil fertility.
Therefore, to reduce yield losses and severity of Striga, a field experiment
was conducted during the cropping season of 2015 on heavily Striga-infested
field in Fedis District, Boko site to determine the effect of trap crops
(cowpea, soybean, desmodium, control) and N fertilizer rates (0, 46, 92 and 138
kg N ha﹣1) on management
of Striga, yield related traits and yield of sorghum. The experiment was laid out in a factorial
arrangement in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications.
Moreover, LAI, plant height, head weight plot﹣1 and aboveground dry
biomass yield of sorghum were significantly (P <
0.05) increased by 4%, 9%, 28% and 33%,
respectively, by use of cowpea as a trap crop over the control.
Likewise use of cowpea as a
trap crop significantly (P <
0.01) increased kernel weight head﹣1 by 6% and
grain yield by 23% over the control. Similarly, the main effect of nitrogen showed that increased nitrogen rate up to 46 kg ha﹣1 significantly reduced Striga number
at sorghum emergence by about 49.8% over control. Days to heading, flowering
and maturity on sorghum were significantly (P < 0.01) affected by nitrogen fertilizer rate
and the application of 46 kg N ha﹣1resulted in earlier heading
by 6% over138 kg N ha﹣1. Application of 138 kg N ha﹣1 delayed days to flowering by 6 days over 46 kg N ha﹣1. Plots that received 46 kg N ha﹣1 attained
90% physiological maturity earlier (127.1 days) than other treatments. Application of 46 kg N ha﹣1 significantly increased kernel weight
head﹣1 by 12% and aboveground dry biomass yield by 33% over the control. LAI and grain yield were significantly (p <
0.01) affected by main effect of N where the
highest (2.387) leaf area index and the
highest (3116 kg ha﹣1) grain
yield were obtained with 46 kg N ha﹣1.
Cite this paper
Tadesse, F. , Tana, T. , Abdulahi, J. and Abduselam, F. (2018). Effect of Striga Trap Crops and Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Yield and Yield Related Traits of Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] at Fedis District, Eastern Ethiopia. Open Access Library Journal, 5, e3978. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1103978.
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