Performance of sorghum varieties in moisture stress areas of South Omo Zone

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolour (L.)] is one of the most important cereal crops in Ethiopia. The low productivity of sorghum has been partly attributed to the use of low-yielding varieties and/or landraces. Field experiments involving four improved (ESH-1, Teshale, Dekeba, Melkam) and one local sorghum variety were carried out at Dasenech, Gnygatom, and Hammer woredas in 2019 under irrigation to identify the best performing varieties. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Parameters such as plant height, panicle length, 1000 seed weight, and seed yield were studied. The combined analysis of variance results showed that there were significant variations among the varieties for all the studied parameters. The mean values for plant height ranged from 172.33 cm for the improved variety Melkam to 263.44 cm for the local check. The mean values for panicle length ranged from 23.89 cm for the local check to 33.78 cm for the improved variety ESH-1. The mean values for 1000-seed weight ranged from 31.67 g for the variety Dekeba to 36.00 g for Melkam. The overall mean values for grain yield ranged from 1312.4 kg ha-1 for the local check to 4050.7 kg ha-1 for the improved variety Melkam. The grain yield advantages of 67.60, 64.54, 62.95, and 56.67% were obtained from the improved varieties Melkam, Dekeba, Teshale, and ESH1, respectively over the local check. The effect of varieties on grain yield was significant and therefore; the best performing varieties of sorghum namely Melkam (4050.7 kg ha-1) and Dekeba (3701.4 kg ha-1) are advisable and could be appropriate for sorghum production in the study areas and similar agro-ecologies even though further testing is required to put the recommendation on a strong basis.