Prospect for Growing Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) at Marginal Dry Land in Coastal Area Retrieved with Organic Soil Amendments

Background and Objective: Sorghum is one of the cereal crops that can be used for food and feed. It has a wide adaptability and tolerant to environmental stress. The objective of this study was to introduce sorghum cultivation at dry land in coastal areas. Materials and Methods: Experiment was conducted in Bengkulu, Indonesia, from May-December, 2016. Sorghum varieties and organic soil amendments were evaluated in field experiment conducted in a split plot design with 3 replications. Sorghum varieties as main plots consisted of var. B-100, Kawali, Samurai and Super-2, while organic soil amendments as sub plots consisted of composted empty fruit bunch of palm oil (EFB), composted wedelia (Wedelia trilobata), chicken and cow manures. Physical and chemical properties of soil were analyzed before and after the experiments. Data of growth and yield parameters of sorghum were subjected to two-way analysis of variance and means of significant differences were separated by the least significant difference test at 5% level. Results: Initial soil analysis showed the pH, C-organic and electrical conductivity (EC) were 5.05, 1.48%, 8.01 dS mG1, respectively. Chemical and physical properties of soil improved after one season treated with of organic soil amendments. Significant interaction of sorghum varieties and organic soil amendments was observed on plant height, number of leaves, yield and length of panicles. Composted EFB, Wedelia, chicken and cow manures increased sorghum yield of var. B-100 by 16.58, 13.51, 8.25 and 13.67%, respectively. Soil amendments of composted chicken and cow manures increased dry biomass weight by 25.44 and 21.12%, respectively. The heaviest 1000 seeds were produced by var. B-100, while the heaviest dry biomass was produced by var. Super-2. Conclusion: It was concluded that sorghum has a potential to be developed for seed and for biomass production at dry land of coastal areas after their retrieval by local organic soil amendments.