Forage Improvement Program Annual Reports (2001-2010) ARC / Shambat - Sudan

Agricultural Research Corporation Shambat Research Station

Forage Improvement Program Annual Report, 2010

By

Maarouf I. Mohammed Plant breeder

Introduction The year 2010 marks the release of the first Sudan forage sorghum hybrid. A proposal to release the locally developed hybrid SHM0022 (Abu Sabin x Sudan Grass) has been submitted to the Variety Release Committee (VRC) in the 1st of March 2010. The VRC approved the release of this hybrid under the name Hagin Garawi1 (1 ). The released hybrid is expected to have a major impact on local hybrid seed industry as it allows, for the first time, production of cheap seed of better adapted hybrids. In the same meeting, the exotic hybrid CFSH30 has been submitted for release but was rejected by the VRC.

The following activities were conducted or ongoing during the year 2010: 1. Dual (forage/grain) sorghum nursery 2. Alfalfa variety trial 2 3. Performance of new forage sorghum and maize hybrids in the Sudan

a. Testing of Egyptian forage sorghum hybrids b. Testing of Egyptian maize hybrids

4. Germplasm maintenance

1-Dual (forage/grain) sorghum nursery Introduction In view of the pressing demand for animal feed coupled with the fact that grain sorghum is the stable diet of the Sudanese peoples, it is imperative to reconsider the present mono-commodity policy of sorghum. The current breeding strategy of strictly adopting grain-yield criteria in evaluating sorghum genotypes has been questioned by some workers. The fodders contribution to the total value of sorghum production has increased considerably, specially in the recent decades. The objectives of this investigation were to develop dual purpose (grain/fodder) sorghum genotypes having the potential of combining (to the maximum possible) improved feed and food attributes.

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Mohammed. Maarouf I. Annual Report, 2010. Shambat Research Station. Agricultural Research Corporation. Wad Medani. Sudan

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Selection Criteria The major selection criteria for developing dual (fodder/grain) sorghum genotypes include:

Earliness with high regrowth ability (to allow for more than one cut), Medium plant height, High tillering capacity, Large panicle size (thick diameter). leafiness, Stay green, Juicy sweet stems, Bold white grains with low tannin content and no testa color

The dual (forage/grain) sorghum breeding nursery A replicated breeding nursery comprising 122 sorghum genotypes was established in 25 November 2010 in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station. The nursery consisted of 34 Sudan Grass, 33 Abu Sabin, 29 grain sorghum, 17 sweet sorghum and 9 Ankolib genotypes (Table 1). The material were evaluated for some morphological characters including (but not limited to) days to flower, plant height, stem diameter, tillering, leafiness, stay green and sugar content. Due but before anthesis, 5 heads from each genotype were bagged, harvested at seed maturity, left to dry in the lab and used to evaluate panicle and grain characteristics. Based on the above attributes, 21 genotypes comprising 7 Sudan Grass, 5 each Abu Sabin and grain sorghum, 2 each Ankolib and sweet sorghum were selected. The 21 genotypes will be evaluated in a preliminary yield trial (PYT) against standard checks.

2-Alfalfa variety trial 2 Four exotic Alfalfa varieties namely SARDI 10, Siriver, SuperCuf and Cuf101 were tested against the local cultivar Hijazi. The treatments were arranged in RCB design of 3 replicates. Sowing date was on the 8th of Jan. 2009. The plot consisted of two ridges each 5 m long and 0.75 m apart. Sowing was done in furrows opened on both sides of the ridges at seeding rate of 30 kg/ha. Starter dose of nitrogen fertilizer (Urea) at a rate of 27 kg n /ha was applied at second irrigation. The initial (zero) cut was taken after 10 weeks from sowing (at10% -25% flowering) after which cutting was done at a fixed interval of 28 days. Weeds were kept at minimum by hand weeding. The green matter yield (GMY) was estimated by harvesting the whole plot. The dry matter yield (DMY) was estimated from 0.5 kg fresh sample taken from each harvested plot and air dried. Days to flower, plant


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height were recorded. Dodder infestation has been encountered in some Hijazi plots and was controlled by hand-removal and burning out before flowering. The trial continued up to the 15th cut and then terminated. Only the results obtained for GMY will be highlighted in this report.

Table 1. Dual (forage/sorghum) breeding nursery (Shambat, 2010 )

Entry Name Source Group Grain color

1 SG44 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 2 SG33 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 3 SG23 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 4 SG44(4) Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 5 SG26 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 6 SG4 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 7 SG8 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 8 SG9 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 9 SG54 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 10 SG51 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 11 SG40 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 12 SG21 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 13 SG3 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 14 SG53-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 15 SG12-2 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 16 SG50-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 17 SG32-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 18 SG53 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 19 SG27 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 20 SG34-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 21 SG18 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 22 SG12-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 23 SG18-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 24 SG27-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 25 SG34-2 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 26 SG11 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 27 SG36 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass brown 28 SG51(28) Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 29 SG10-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 30 SG18(30) Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 31 SG32-2A Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass Brown 32 SG32-1 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass White 33 SG34 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass brown 34 SG32-2A (34) Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Sudan Grass brown 35 S.85 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White


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Table 1. Dual breeding nursery 2010, continued 36 S.126 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 37 S.152 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 38 S.140 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 39 S.107 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 40 S.117 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 41 S.25 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 42 S.143 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 43 S.179 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 44 S.24 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 45 S.89 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 46 S.120 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 47 S.22 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 48 S.80 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 49 S.119 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 50 S.26 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 51 S.51 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 52 S.155 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 53 S.63 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 54 S.170 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 55 S.47 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 56 S.81 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 57 S.134 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 58 S.94 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 59 S.41 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 60 S.19 (Kambal) Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 61 S.134 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 62 S.79 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 63 S.3 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 64 S.148 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 65 S.93 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 66 abu70 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 67 S.31 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Abu Sabin White 68 ANKS.S.S.exp Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 69 ANKS.43 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 70 ANKS.16 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 71 ANKS.40 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 72 ANK.CHK Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 73 ANKS.36 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 74 ANKS.42 Forage Improvement Prog Shambat Res. St. Ankolib Brown 75 ANK.Nyala Dr. Abdulrahman Nyala Res. St. Ankolib Brown 76 ANK.Sennar Sennar Ankolib Brown 77 K.S.5 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum White 78 N111 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 79 BlueRibbon USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 80 Brawly USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown


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Table 1. Dual breeding nursery 2010, continued.. 81 Kensas Collis USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 82 N99 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 83 N110 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 84 Atlas USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum White 85 Hastings USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 86 Red-x USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 87 N98 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 88 Fremont USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 89 Waconia USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 90 Colman USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 91 Sugardrip USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 92 N109 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum White 93 N100 USDA-ARS U. of Nebraska Sweet sorghum Brown 94 WadAhmed ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 95 ArfaaGadamak ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 96 Tabat Dept of Botany Fac. of Agric. U. of K. Grain sorghum White 97 Aklamoi Kasala Grain sorghum White 98 Haga Banet Dr. Abdulrahman Nyala Res. St. Grain sorghum White 99 Butana ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 100 Umbinen-7 ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 101 Umbinen-22 ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 102 GadamElhamam ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 103 Bashir ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 104 Milo ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 105 AjabSido ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 106 FakiMustahi ARC-National Program Abu Assar Grain sorghum White 107 Aklamoi UK Dept of Botany Fac. of Agric. U. of K. Grain sorghum White 108 DwarfWhiteMilo Dept of Botany Fac. of Agric. U. of K. Grain sorghum White 109 Geshesh Dept of Botany Fac. of Agric. U. of K. Grain sorghum White 110 ArossElremal Ahmad Ismail El Diwaem Grain sorghum White 111 FatretaBaladi Ahmad Ismail El Diwaem Grain sorghum White 112 Ahmadi 1 Prof. ElAhmadi Grain sorghum White 113 Ahmadi 2 Prof. ElAhmadi Grain sorghum White 114 HemasiAbiad Shendi Turus RiverNileState Grain sorghum White 115 Mugud/Hemasi Ahmar Shendi RiverNile State Grain sorghum Creamy 116 MaregBaladi Asfar Karima Northern State Grain sorghum Yellow 117 DebakaryNile Shendi - Ziedab Area Grain sorghum White 118 DebakaryAtbra Ed Damar UpperAtbara Grain sorghum White 119 MugudTengasi Merowi Tengasi NorthernState Grain sorghum Creamy 120 Abgaro Ed Damar RiverNileState Grain sorghum White 121 DuraAb70 Merowi Manasir NorthernState Grain sorghum White 122 AbgaroAtbra Shendi UpperAtbara Grain sorghum White


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Results The results are presented in Tables 2 and 3. The contrast analysis (Table 2) indicated that- on the average of the 15 cuts - the local cultivar Hijazi significantly out-yielded the exotic cultivars averaging GMY of 7.4 t/ha. The best performing exotic cultivar (CUF101) averaged 6.6 t/ha. The interaction of cultivar x cutting frequency was highly significant (Table 3) however; the cultivar Hijazi - starting from cut 6- consistently out-yielded the exotic cultivars across cuts.

Table 2. Green matter yield of Alfalfa varieties averaged over 15 cut (Shambat, 09/10) Cultivar GMY/ha Contrast vs Hijazi (P. Value) SARDI 10 6.3


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3-Performance of new forage sorghum and maize hybrids in the Sudan Introduction

Two maize hybrids: HYTECH2031, HYTECH2055 and one forage sorghum hybrid: Mabrouk were received from Misr HyTech Seed Int. Cairo- Egypt, via Ala eldin Works for Agricultural Inputs, Khartoum North - Sudan. The introduced materials were tested against standard checks in 9 environments (for maize) and 7 environments for forage sorghum. Table 4 shows the introduced hybrids and the standard checks used in the study. Table 5 shows the test-environments and the progress achieved up to Sept. 2011. The major part of this report highlights the agronomic performance (mainly yield) of the studied materials as observed in the field trials conducted during 2010 / 2011 growing seasons. The names of scientists contributing in this study and their institutions are presented in Appendix 1. Table 4. The introduced plant materials and the standard checks used in the study

Cultivar Crop Description Source HYTECH2031 Maize Hybrid White seed Newly introduced Misr HyTtech Co.

HYTECH2055 Maize Hybrid- Yellow seed Newly introduced Misr HyTtech Co.

PAN6966 Maize Hybrid-Yellow seed Released (Check) Pannar Co.

Hudieba2 Maize OPV*- Yellow seed Released (Check) ARC/Sudan

Hudieba1 Maize OPV- White seed Released (Check) ARC/Sudan

Mabrouk Forage sorghum Hybrid Newly introduced Misr HyTtech Co.

PAN888 Forage sorghum Hybrid Released (Check) Pannar Co.

Kambal Forage sorghum OPV Released (Check) ARC/Sudan

Abu70 Forage sorghum OPV Traditional (Check) Farmer

*: OPV = Open pollinated variety


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Table 5. Environments (location/year)*under which the introduced materials have been tested and the progress achieved up to Sept. 2011 Location Year Crop Sowing date Achievement Shambat 2010 Maize

Sorghum 25 Oct 7 Nov

Trials conducted, data collected & analyzed

Suba West 2010 Maize Sorghum

30 Oct 27 Oct


Shendi 2010 Maize Sorghum

25 Oct 25 Oct


Merowi 2010 Maize Sorghum

28 Nov 28 Nov


Sururab 2010 Maize Sorghum

28 Oct 28 Oct


Shambat 2011 Sorghum 3 April Trials conducted, data collected & analyzed

Sennar 2011 Maize 12 July Trials conducted, data collection ongoing

Gedarif 2011 Maize 12 Aug Trials conducted, data collection ongoing

Damazin 2011 Maize 27 July Trials conducted, data collection ongoing

El dowim 2011 Maize & Sorghum

20 Sept Trials conducted, data collection ongoing

Suba West 2011 Sorghum Planned during Oct-Nov 2011

*; All irrigated except Damazin and Gedarif (Rain-fed) 3.a. Forage Sorghum

The first cut

Tables 6 and 7 show the results of forage yield obtained for the first cut by the hybrid

Mabrouk and 3 standard checks in 5 environments. The hybrid Mabrouk significantly

outyielded the standard checks averaging 31.7 t/ha (fresh yield) and 7.3 t/ha (dry yield).

The best yield averaged by the standard checks was 26.7 and 5.79 t/ha for fresh and dry

yield, respectively. Across environments, the yield obtained by Mabrouk consistently

excelled that of the standard checks in most cases. Its yield was specifically high at Shendi

amounting to 40.1 t/ha for fresh yield (= 11.4 t/ha dry yield). The yield levels obtained at

Shambat (2011) were low and the observed differences between entries were not

significant at 0.05 probability level


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The 2nd cut

Tables 8 and 9 show forage yield of the 2nd cut obtained by the hybrid Mabrouk and the

standard checks in different environments. The hybrid Mabrouk significantly outyielded

the checks Kambal and Abu70 averaging 17.92 t/ha (fresh yield) and 3.83 t/ha (dry yield).

The check hybrid PAN888 gave 16.72 and 4.02 t/ha fresh and dry yield, respectively. Its

yield was not significantly different than that of Mabrouk.

Table 6. Fresh yield of the first cut (t/ha) obtained by the introduced forage sorghum hybrid (Mabrouk) and the standard checks under 5 test-environments (Sudan, 2010/11)

Cultivar Environment

Abu70 Kambal Mabrouk PAN888

Merowi 17.7 24.5 36.7 28.8 Shambat (Nov 2010) 26.1 29.2 32.4 25.2 Shendi 29.5 37.3 40.1 30.6 Suba West 20.3 22.6 27.3 19.2 Shambat (Mar 2011) 20.7 19.9 21.8 18.7

Cultivar Mean

22.8 26.7 31.7 24.5

P.value SE LSD (0.05) CV (%)


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The introduced hybrid Mabrouk was tested against two standard checks (Abu70 and

PAN888) in the farmers field at Sururab site (Khartoum State) in an area of 1050 m2. The

crop was established and managed by the farmer under direct supervision of the research

scientists. Table 10 shows the fresh yield of the first and the 2nd cut. Mabrouk

outperformed the standard checks in the first and the second cut with respective yield of

35.4 and 21.25 t/ha. The best yielding check (PAN888) gave 26.7 and 14.82 t/ha,

respectively. Table 8. Fresh yield of the 2nd cut (t/ha) obtained by the introduced forage sorghum hybrid (Mabrouk) and the standard checks under 3 environments (Sudan, 2010/11)

Cultivar Location

Abu70 Kambal Mabrouk PAN888

Merowi 9.78 12.49 25.59 19.74

Shambat 8.49 8.03 14.62 11.66

Shendi 10.93 10.69 13.54 18.76

Mean 9.73 10.4 17.92 16.72

P.value SE LSD 0.05 CV (%)


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Table 10. Fresh yield of the first and the 2nd cut (t/ha) obtained by the forage sorghum hybrid (Mabrouk) and two standard checks in the demonstration plot conducted at Sururab site (Sudan, 2010/11) Cultivar First cut 2nd cut

Abu 70 19.45 8.85

Mabrouk 35.40 21.25

PAN888 26.70 14.82

Mean 27.18 14.97

SE 1.594 1.042

LSD 0.05 4.871 3.161

3.b Maize

Table 11 shows seed yield obtained by the two introduced maize hybrids and the standard

checks. Tables 12 and 13 show the results obtained for plant height and days to flower,

respectively. Table 14 shows the seed yield obtained at Sururab demonstration plot. The

hybrid HYTECH2055 significantly surpassed the standard checks in seed yield averaging

5.41 t/ha. Its yield was leading at all environments, specially in Merowi (7.37 t/ha) and

Shendi (6.90 t/ha). The best check (PAN6966) gave 4.35 t/ha yielding higher than

HYTECH2031 (3.69 t/ha), however the difference in yield was not statistically significant

(p = 0.05). The low yield levels obtained at Suba Site (1.38-2.88 t/ha) could be attributed

to salinity and sodicity problems known to exist in Suba soils.

The introduced hybrids were taller than Hudieba 1 and 2 showing plant height of about

240cm but the latter two were the earliest to tassel (61-62 days). The hybrid

HYTECH2055 tasseled in 64.8 days, earlier than the check PAN6966 (68.2 days).

Under the farmers field conditions, the hybrids HYTECH2055 and HYTECH2031

significantly outyielded the standard checks showing seed yields amounting to 4.81 and

4.27 t/ha, respectively. The best check (PAN6966) yielded 3.15 t/ha (Table 14). The

percentage of lodging was only evaluated at Shambat trial (data not presented). The hybrid

HYTECH2031 incurred the highest lodging percentage (14.3 %). This hybrid has been


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also observed to have tendency to lodge in the demonstration plot conducted at Sururab

site.

4-Maintenance of germplasm A seed maintenance plot was established on 14/ Oct/ 2010 in the Experimental Farm of Sudan University. The germplasm maintained included the following: Abu 70 females (A & B lines): S.3, S.134, S.148 and S.93 Sudan Grass male parents and elite genotypes: SG51, SG34, and SG32-2A (Sudan-1)

Table 11. Seed yield (t/ha) of two introduced maize hybrids (HYTECH2031, HYTECH2055) and three standard checks obtained under four environments (Sudan, 2010/11)

Cultivar Location

HYTECH2031

HYTECH2055

Hudieba1

Hudieba2 PAN6966

Merowi 4.30 7.37 4.06 4.20 6.22 Shambat 3.80 4.49 2.73 3.35 3.42 Shendi 4.77 6.90 4.25 5.41 5.17 Suba West 1.88 2.88 1.38 2.25 2.60

Mean 3.69 5.41 3.10 3.80 4.35 P.value SE LSD 0.05 CV (%)


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Table 13. Days to 50% tasseling of two introduced maize hybrids (HYTECH2031, HYTECH2055) and three standard checks obtained under three environments (Sudan, 2010/11)

Cultivar Location

HYTECH2031

HYTECH2055

Hudieba1

Hudieba2 PAN6966

Merowi 80.5 77.8 71.0 70.8 79.5 Shambat 64.5 60.5 62.0 59.3 65.8 Shendi 61.5 56.3 54.3 53.3 59.3 Mean 68.8 64.8 62.4 61.1 68.2 P. value SE LSD 0.05 CV (%)



By

Maarouf I. Mohammed Plant breeder

Introduction The year 2009 has witnessed the release of the first improved Garawi (Sudan Grass) cultivar. The Variety Release Committee (VRC) in its meeting held on the 3rd of March 2009 at Khartoum has approved the release of the line SG32-2A selected from the local land race Garawi under the name SUDAN 1. In the same meeting, the VRC rejected the release of the lines SG51 from Garawi and ANKSSS from Ankolib populations.

The following activities were conducted or ongoing during the year 2009: 1. Alfalfa variety trial 1 2. Alfalfa seed production trial 3. Effect of sowing date and variety on the yield of the 2nd cut of forage sorghum 4. Germplasm maintenance

1.0 Alfalfa variety trial 1 This is the second year for this experiment. Materials and methods were reported in the annual report 2008. The results are presented in Tables 1 and 2. In the overall average of cuts, the local cultivar Hijazi, averaged green matter yield (GMY) amounting to 5.3 t/ha outyielding the best exotic cultivar Siriver (4.5 t/ha). The same is true for dry matter yield (DMY). Table 2 shows the GMY obtained by the three cultivars for the 28 cut. The interaction of cultivars with cuts was significant indicating inconsistency in their yield performance across cuts. In most of the 28 cuts, the local cultivar Hijazi showed significant increase in forage yield over the exotic ones.

2.0 Alfalfa seed production trial This is the second year for this trial. Materials and methods are presented in the previous report. The experiment is still going on. The data collection has been interrupted by some unfavorable administrative events. Only the main and significant interaction effects on seed yield will be highlighted. Results are presented in Tables 3 and 4. The local cultivar Hijazi significantly out-yielded the exotic cultivar Siriver in seed yield. However, the interaction


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between picking frequency and cultivar in seed yield was highly significant. In the first pick, the seed yield of Hijazi was 417 kg/ha, significantly well above that of Siriver (107 kg/ha), nonetheless the opposite is true in the second pick in which both cultivars displayed low seed yield. The effect of seed rate and row spacing on seed yield was not significant. Table 1. Forage yield of 3 Alfalfa cultivars averaged over 28 cuts (Shambat, 2008-09)

Cultivar

Green matter yield (t/ha)

Dry matter yield (t/ha)

Cuf101 4.01 1.25 Hijazi 5.33 1.76 Siriver 4.47 1.45 Mean 4.91 1.61 s.e.d. 0.1440 0.055

3.0 Effect of winter sowing dates and variety on the yield of second cut of forage sorghum (in collaboration with Dr. Lako Posk Logali, Agronomist, Shambat Research Station)

Introduction The yield of forage sorghum is usually depressed during winter season due to thermo and/or photoperiod effects. This can be manipulated through either sowing date or variety choices. Sowing in the appropriate date might maximize the yield of the 2nd hence, compensating for the poor yield obtained in the first cut. On the other hand, it is well known that sorghum varieties differ in their response to temperature and day length effects. The objectives of this study were to identify winter sowing dates (using different genotypes) that might result in a 2nd cut having higher yield than the first one.

Materials and Methods The treatments comprised 3 cultivars (Kambal, SafedMoti and Abu70) and 6 sowing dates effected in the beginning of each month starting from Nov through May excluding March. The trial started in Nov 2007 in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station. The treatments were factorialy arranged in RCB design with 3 replicates. The plot consisted of 3 ridges each 5 m long and 0.75 m apart. The seeds were sown in furrows opened on both sides of the ridges. The experiment was watered every 10 to 15 days and weeded twice. Nitrogen fertilizer (Urea) at the rate of 55kgN/ha was added at second irrigation. The same dose was added following the first cut to evaluate the yield of second cut. Harvesting was


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practiced when each treatment in each plot has completed 50% flowering. The whole plot was harvested to estimate the green matter yield (GMY) of the first and the second cut. The dry matter yield (DMY) was estimated from a sample of 0.5 kg taken from GMY of each harvested plot and air dried. Plant height and days to heading were recorded. The results of the 6th sowing date (May sowing) will not be highlighted in this report. Table 2. Forage yield of Alfalfa cultivars by cut (Shambat, 2008-09)

Cultivar Cut

Cuf101 Hijazi Siriver Green Mater yield (t/ha)

cut1 7.58 8.22 7.99 cut2 5.33 7.72 7.06 cut3 3.83 6.24 5.23 cut4 3.54 5.15 4.85 cut5 3.15 5.52 5.30 cut6 4.33 5.80 4.85 cut7 1.97 3.14 2.58 cut8 3.59 4.86 4.72 cut9 6.14 8.11 7.59 cut10 6.09 8.59 7.10 cut11 7.74 10.3 7.73 cut12 6.67 7.77 6.49 cut13 7.33 8.33 6.76 cut14 4.89 5.76 4.71 cut15 3.93 4.41 3.42 cut16 2.67 3.26 2.44 cut17 2.11 2.24 1.88 cut18 1.73 2.38 1.85 cut19 1.10 1.88 1.48 cut20 0.67 1.12 0.73 cut21 1.22 1.93 1.37 cut22 2.10 3.49 2.23 cut23 4.55 6.18 4.81 cut24 3.94 5.93 3.99 cut25 6.33 7.11 5.75 cut26 4.39 5.16 3.88 cut27 3.99 4.52 2.60 cut28 1.23 1.74 1.47 Mean Sig. L. (cut x cultivar) s.e.d. CV (%)

4.91 **

0.7588 25.4


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Table 3. Effect of interaction of picking frequency with variety on Alfalfa seed yield (Shambat, 08-09) Harvest Cultivar

Pick 1 (kg/ha) Pick 2 (kg/ha)

Hijazi 417 53 Siriver 107 92 P. value SE


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Table 5. Effect of interaction of sowing date with cutting frequency on the yield of forage sorghum (Shambat, 08-09) Cutting frequency Sowing date

Green matter yield (t/ha) First cut Second cut Cumulative

1st week of Nov 36.2 23.9 60.1 1st week of Dec 24.4 24.7 49.1 1st week of Jan 28.7 26.9 55.6 1st week of Feb 27.1 31.4 58.5 1st week of April 33.8 12.3 46.1 P. value SE LSD (0.05)



By Maarouf I. Mohammed

Plant breeder

The following activities were conducted or ongoing during the year 2008: 1. Rhodes Grass trial I (ongoing) 2. Rhodes Grass trial II (ongoing) 3. Advanced local x local forage sorghum hybrids multi-location yield trial 4. Introduced forage sorghum hybrid (CFSH30) multi-location trial 5. Alfalfa variety trial 1 6. Alfalfa seed production trial 7. Seed maintenance of forage sorghum genotypes

1-- Rhodes Grass trial I This is a continuation of a study initiated in 2006. Materials and methods were as described in the Annual Report 2006. Performance of the studied materials has been covered up to the 9th cut in the previous report. Tables 1 and 2 show performance of five Rhodes Grass and two check cultivars (Berseem and Clitoria) evaluated up to the 19th cut for green (GMY) and dry (DMY) matter yield, respectively. The Cultivars performed significantly different across cuts in green and dry matter yields. In each cut, differences between Rhodes cultivars for GMY were not significant in most cases. Rhodes grass cultivars consistently outyielded Berseem and Garawi up to the 10th cut. The reverse is true in the 11th, 17th, 18th and 19th cut. High GMY levels ranging from 23 to 40 t/ha were obtained by Rhodes cultivars across the first 6 cuts; whereas very low GMY levels ranging from 1.25 to 9.3 t/ha were shown in the last three cuts. In contrast, the GMY of Berseem and Clitoria, though generally lower than that of Rhodes cultivars, was not drastically affected in the subsequent cuts.


2-- Rhodes Grass trial II This is a replicate of the Rhodes Grass trial I. The trial was established in Nov 2007. Tables 3 and 4 show performance of five Rhodes Grass and two forage sorghum cultivars (Abu Sab'in and Garawi) evaluated up to the 4th cut for green and dry matter yield, respectively. Tables 5 and 6 show performance of five Rhodes Grass and two forage legume cultivars (Berseem Hijazi and Clitoria) evaluated up to the 9th cut for green and dry matter yield, respectively. In all cases, the performance of cultivars across cuts differed significantly in forage yield. In each cut, differences among Rhodes cultivars for GMY were not significant in most cases. The GMY of Rhodes cultivars up to the 5th cut was comparable in most cases ranging from 19 to 31 t/ha. Abu Sab'in outyielded most of the Rhodes cultivars in GMY of the first cut averaging 38 t/ha. However, most of the Rhodes cultivars outperformed those of forage sorghum specially in the 3rd and the 4th cuts. Most of Rhodes Grass cultivars consistently outyielded Berseem Hijazi up to the 6th cut. Unlike Berseem, the check Clitoria yielded better in the later cuts outyielding some of the Rhodes cultivars in the 8th cut. The highest GMY shown by Rhodes Grass was 31 t/ha obtained by Fine Cut and Hay Maker at the first and the 3rd cut, respectively; whereas the lowest GMY was 1.75 t/ha obtained by Katambora Australia in the 8th cut. The best GMY of Berseem and Clitoria were 13.6 and 13.4 t/ha obtained in the first cut, respectively; whereas the lowest GMY were 4.72 t/ha obtained by Berseem in the 9th cut and 5.34 t/ha obtained by Clitoria in the 2nd cut.

3-- Advanced local x local forage sorghum hybrids multi-location yield trial This is a continuation for the trial conducted in the previous season. The 12 locally developed hybrids together with their 14 parents and the four checks were grown at Feki Hashim, Kuku Scheme and Shambat. The respective sowing dates were 24 April, 24 August and 1 Nov. 2008. Other materials and methods were similar to those mentioned in the previous report except that the design of the trial conducted at Shambat 2008 was RCBD with two replicates. The trial at Kuku Scheme was subjected to moisture stress and received only three irrigations. Table 7 shows the GMY of local forage sorghum hybrids, their parents and check cultivars obtained at Feki Hashim, Kuku Scheme and Shambat. Table 8 reflects the DMY obtained by the respective materials. At Feki Hashim the local hybrid S.148 x SG 34 gave the highest GMY averaging 65.8 t/ha. Its yield was significantly higher


than that obtained by the exotic hybrids, the check cultivars and the parental lines. The second best GMY (59.2 t/ha) was shown the hybrid Dale x S.70. The highest GMY obtained by the checks was shown by Kambal (50.6 t/ha) and Safed Moti (45.1 t/ha). The lines S.134 and S.3 among parents showed the highest GMY averaging 55.1 and 53.7 t/ha, respectively. The extremely low GMY given by the parent Dale (5.1 t/ha) could be attributed to the inability of this line to compete with weeds that showed high level of infestation. At Kuku the local hybrids S.3 x SG 34 and S.148 x SG 34 gave the highest GMY averaging 46.2 and 41.6, respectively. They outyielded at least one of the two exotic hybrids in addition to the checks Kambal and Abu Sab'in. The hybrid S.148 x Ank SSS that ranked high in GMY at Shambat 2007/08 and Feki Hashim was the worst among local hybrids in GMY at Kuku whereas, the opposite is true for the local hybrid S.3 x SG 50 and the exotic hybrid Pannar 888. At Shambat no significant differences in forage yield were encountered between the studied materials. The trial was highly infested by Buda (Striga hermonthica). The yield of local hybrids ranged from 30.3 to 40.5 t/ha whereas that of the checks ranged from 23.5 to 35.2 t/ha obtained by the exotic hybrid Pannar 888 and the recommended cultivar Kambal, respectively. For DMY, the genotypes differed significantly at Shambat 2007 but not at Shambat 2008. At Shambat 2007 the local hybrid S.148 x SG 34 ranked first, outyielding the exotic hybrids, the local checks and the parental lines. The results obtained by the preliminary and advanced yield trials conducted across different environments demonstrate clearly that some of the 12 locally developed forage sorghum hybrids were superior in forage yield to the exotic (commercial) ones and the recommended cultivar Kambal. Therefore, at least two of these hybrids (including S.148 x SG 34) will be submitted for release as the first Sudan forage sorghum hybrids.

4-- Introduced forage sorghum hybrid (CFSH30) multi-location trial This is the second season for this trial. The introduced forage sorghum hybrid CFSH30 was tested at 4 locations in Khartoum State, namely, Shambat, Feki Hashim, Kuku Scheme and Islang. This report highlights the results obtained at Shambat site. The data of other sites are under processing. The introduced hybrid was evaluated for five cuts against the recommended cultivar Kambal and the traditional variety Garawi. Other materials and methods were similar to those of the previous experiment except


that sowing date was on 12 Nov. 2007. The green (GMY) and dry (DMY) matter yields were shown by Tables 9 and 10, respectively. Differences among cultivars in forage yield were significant. The cultivars differed significantly across cuts in forage yield. Kambal gave the highest GMY (38.4 t/ha) in the 1st cut, but its yield was not significantly different from that obtained by CFSH30 (35.6 t/ha). On the other hand, the introduced hybrid CFSH30 outyielded Kambal and Garawi in the subsequent cuts (2 through 5). It maintained, relatively, consistent yield levels up to the 3rd cut; whereas the yield of the checks, specially Kambal, declined remarkably across cuts.

5-- Alfalfa variety trial 1. Materials and Methods This is the first season for this experiment. Two exotic Alfalfa cultivars, namely, Siriver and Cuf 101 were tested against the traditional variety Hijazi. The experiment was conducted at Shambat. Sowing date was on 31.Jan. 2008. The treatments were arranged in CRD with 31, 21, and 4 replicates for Hijazi, Siriver and Cuf 101, respectively. The plot size was 21 m2 comprising 3 ridges each 6 m long and 0.75 m apart. The seed was sown in furrows opened on both sides of the ridge at a rate of 38 kg /ha for Siriver and Cuf 101 and 50kg/ha for Hijazi. A starter dose of 60 kg of Urea/ha was added at second irrigation. Irrigation water was applied every 7 to 10 days. The zero cut was done 90 days from sowing after which cutting was done at a fixed interval of 28 days. Weeds were kept at minimum by hand weeding. The green matter yield (GMY) was estimated from one third of the plot (7 m2) by harvesting the inner 2 meters leaving the outer 2 meters from each side of the plot (2 m x 3 ridges). The dry matter yield (DMY) was estimated from 0.5 kg fresh sample taken from each harvested plot and air dried. Days to flower, plant height and number of stems per m2 were recorded. Results Table 11 shows contrast analysis for Alfalfa cultivars in forage yield and related traits based on data combined over 9 cuts. Table 12 shows the performance of Alfalfa cultivars for forage yield in each of the 9 cuts. The contrast analysis revealed highly significant differences between cultivars in forage yield and related traits. The local variety Hijazi outyielded Siriver and Cuf 101with respective DMY of 3.65, 3.27 and 2.49 t/ha. It was also earlier and taller than the exotic cultivars. Hijazi kept consistently higher levels of forage yield than the exotic cultivars across the 9 cuts.


6-- Alfalfa seed production trial Introduction This is the first season for this experiment. One of the major problems of Alfalfa (Berseem Hijazi) production in the Sudan is the availability of cheap and high quality-seed. The objectives of this study were to investigate the specialized vs non-specialized (traditional) methods of seed production. In the specialized method Alfalfa is primarily cultivated for seed whereas in non-specialized (traditional) method it is originally grown for fodder and when the crop is due to breaking the farmer switch to seed production. Materials and Methods The traditional method was simulated by growing the local variety Hijazi and the exotic cultivar Siriver for fodder production using practices similar to those described in the Alfalfa variety trial 1. These plots will be switched to seed production after two years of fodder production. The specialized method was investigated at the following levels:

1. Seed rate (4.76 and 9.5 kg/ha equivalent to 2 and 4kg/fed, respectively) 2. Row spacing (sowing at one side of the ridge and sowing at both sides) 3. Variety (the local variety Hijazi and the exotic cultivar Siriver)

The treatments were arranged in split plot design with 3 replicates by assigning variety to main plots, row spacing to sub-plot (imposed on variety) and seed rate to sub-sub-plot (imposed on row spacing). Other materials and methods were similar to those mentioned in the Alfalfa variety trial 1. Results Table 13 shows seed yield and yield components of the first pick of two Alfalfa cultivars. Table 14 shows the interaction effect of cultivar, row spacing and seed rate on the first pick of Alfalfa seed. Apart from 1000 seed weight, differences between the two cultivars in seed yield and yield components were significant. The local cultivar Hijazi significantly outyielded Siriver in seed production with respective seed yield amounting to 417 and 107 kg/ha. Hijazi showed increased number of pods and seeds per pods than Siriver. Interaction effect between cultivar, row spacing and seed rate on seed yield of the first pick was not significant


6-- Seed maintenance of forage sorghum genotypes Some of the elite genotypes of forage sorghum were grown for seed maintenance on March 2008. They include 7 Sudan grass genotypes (SG32-2A, SG34, SG51, SG18, SG50, SG10-1 and SG2), 6 Ankolib genotypes (ANKSSS, ANK40, ANK42 ANK43, ANK18 and ANK36) and 13 introduced sweet sorghum (Dale, Blue Ribbon, Sugar Drip, N100, N98, N109, Wary, Waconia, Brawley, Rox Orange, Ellis, Atlas and Hastings).

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2 Cu

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4 Cu

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Cut

6 Cu

t 7

Cut

8 Cu

t 9

Cut

10

Cut

11

Cut

12

Cut

13

Cut

14

Cut

15

Cut

16

Cut

17

Cut

18

Cut

19

Ber

seem

H

ijazi

(ch

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16.1

14.5

16.89

13

.6

9.00

9.

89

10.0

10.4

4.10

8.

70

16.3

3.30

4.

20

8.56

11

.3

10.78

11

.9

12.1

10.1

Clito

ria (ch

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11.0

10.5

10. 6

23.0

15.5

23.5

7.60

9.

10

3.70

12

.2

13.3

12.0

15.5

14.5

11.6

11.6

11.6

11.6

11.6

Fine

Cut

30.5

29.9

36. 9

35.8

36.0

28.5

18.0

11.0

13.0

19.7

10.2

15.5

18.1

16.6

15.4

12.9

7.85

3.

19

2.15

Hay

M

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33

.5

26.5

32. 1

37.5

33.6

26.8

14.9

112

12.9

18.3

11.7

17.4

16.2

11.5

17.0

14.5

8.19

3.

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1.81

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27.7

33.4

34.4

29.3

28.4

15.7

9.9

11.9

16.9

8.90

14

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15.6

17.0

107

8.26

4.

72

2.64

1.

25

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25.9

27.4

32.0

40.9

37.6

32.9

17.6

11.3

10.8

17.8

8.70

14

.0

19.1

17.0

19.2

16.5

9.31

3.

89

1.94

Top

Cut

23.1

28.0

36.7

34.6

32.4

28.3

15.9

9.4

13.6

18.7

11.1

17.1

16.0

12.0

12.6

10.5

5.14

2.

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1.67

Gra

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10

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11

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12

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13

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14

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15

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16

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17

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3.98

3.

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4.06

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2.44

2.

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2.40

2.

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1.04

2.

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1.53

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2.38

2.

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2.42

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2.68

2.

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2.86

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4.27

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0.84

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3.55

3.

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3.92

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3.00

3.

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3.00

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8.63

7.

39

7.36

9.

55

8.74

7.

98

5.36

3.

42

3.24

4.

76

2.82

4.

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5.87

4.

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5.04

3.

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2.15

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0.59

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9.

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6.38

6.

38

10.2

8.12

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4.54

3.

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3.57

4.

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2.86

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5.39

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5.24

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2.24

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3.28

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2.46

3.

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5.35

3.

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3.40

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1.36

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76

0.39

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6.54

6.

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8.39

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9.15

9.

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5.05

3.

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2.93

4.

60

2.29

3.

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5.96

4.

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6.12

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2.57

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0.54

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5.84

6.

87

9.20

9.

37

8.07

7.

98

4.80

2.

92

3.52

4.

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2.74

4.

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5.40

3.

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4.07

2.

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1.42

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. (%

)


Table 3. Performance of 5 Rhodes grass and two forage sorghum cultivars evaluated for green matter yield across 4 cuts (Shambat, 2007/08). Varieties Green matter yield (t/ha) Cut1 Cut2 Cut3 Cut4 Abu Sab'in (check) 38.4 17.1 8.85 7.10 Garawi (check) 29.0 22.0 16.24 16.1 Fine Cut 31.1 26.5 30.00 22.3 Hay Maker 26.8 29.2 31.00 23.3 Katambora Australia 26.1 25.3 29.58 21.6 Katambora Zimbabwe 19.4 21.8 18.83 30.0 Top Cut 28.6 27.4 25.75 24.4 Grand mean 24.06

**

3.676 10.427

26.0

Sig. l. SE

L.S.D.(0.05) C.V. (%) ** : Significant at 0.01 probability level

Table 4. Performance of 5 Rhodes grass and two forage sorghum cultivars evaluated for dry matter yield across 4 cuts (Shambat, 2007/08). Varieties Dry matter yield (t/ha) Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4 Abu Sab'in (check) 8.23 4.07 2.34 2.19 Garawi (check) 6.08 5.32 4.55 4.69 Fine Cut 8.27 7.12 8.86 6.55 Hay Maker 6.84 8.41 9.29 6.67 Katambora Australia 6.96 6.62 8.80 6.49 Katambora Zimbabwe 3.45 4.92 4.85 9.18 Top Cut 6.95 6.91 7.35 6.87 Grand mean 6.39

**

1.005 2.850 27.1

Sig. l. SE



Table 5. Performance of 5 Rhodes grass and two forage legume cultivars evaluated for green matter yields across 9 cuts, (Shambat, 2007/08).

Cultivars Green matter yield (t/ha) Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4 Cut 5 Cut 6 Cut 7 Cut 8 Cut 9

Berseem Hijazi (check) 13.6 12.9 11.4 11.4 8.49 5.83 5.28 5.56 4.72 Clitoria (check) 13.4 5.34 8.69 8.45 5.71 11.3 7.58 9.68 8.02 Fine Cut 31.1 26.5 30.0 22.3 23.0 14.3 4.08 2.00 3.58 Hay Maker 26.8 29.2 31.0 23.3 26.4 16.5 6.75 3.00 2.25 Katambora Australia 26.1 25.3 29.6 21.6 22.2 12.5 2.75 1.75 2.50 Katambora Zimbabwe 19.4 21.8 18.8 30.0 19.0 30.4 18.8 6.50 2.08 Top Cut 28.6 27.4 25.8 24.4 22.4 14.2 3.75 1.83 3.25 Grand mean 15.0

**

2.811 7.879 30.8

Sig. l. SE


Table 6. Performance of 5 Rhodes grass and two forage legume cultivars evaluated for dry matter yields across 9 cuts, (Shambat, 2007/08).

Cultivars Dry matter yield (t/ha)

Cut1 Cut2 Cut3 Cut4 Cut5 Cut6 Cut7 Cut8 Cut9 Berseem Hijazi (check) 3.01 2.70 2.70 2.76 2.03 1.64 1.46 1.79 1.39 Clitoria (check) 2.58 1.19 2.16 2.52 1.35 3.10 1.94 2.66 1.93 Fine Cut 8.27 7.12 8.86 6.55 7.03 4.56 1.59 0.57 0.96 Hay Maker 6.84 8.41 9.29 6.67 8.16 5.56 2.66 0.90 1.37 Katambora Australia 6.96 6.62 8.80 6.49 7.27 4.31 1.06 0.62 0.75 Katambora Zimbabwe 3.45 4.92 4.85 9.18 5.76 8.97 5.78 2.55 0.60 Top Cut 6.95 6.91 7.35 6.87 6.75 4.47 1.40 0.57 0.89 Grand mean 4.21

**

0.772 2.164 30.3

Sig. l. SE

L.S.D.(0.05) C.V. (%)

** : Significant at 0.01 probability level


Table 7. Green matter yield (GMY t/ha) of local forage sorghum hybrids, their parents and check cultivars obtained in the advanced yield trials conducted in different environments (Khartoum State, 2007-08). .

** : Significant at 0.01 probability level ns : not significant at 0.05 probability level

Code Entry Feki Hashim 2008

Kuku 2008

Shambat 2008/09

1 S.134 x Hastings 46.4 32.8 38.4 2 S.134 x SG 32-2a 58.5 31.9 35.0 3 S.134 x SG 51 56.1 31.9 33.3 4 S.148 x SG 34 65.8 41.6 37.7 5 S.148 x SG 32-2a 58.2 39.6 37.9 6 S.148 x Ank SSS 56.0 24.2 34.0 7 S.3 x SG 34 53.9 46.2 40.5 8 S.3 x SG 32-2a 54.2 38.1 39.7 9 S.3 x SG 50 48.6 38.6 31.5 10 S.79 x Ank 42 47.2 26.1 30.2 11 S.93 x SG 34 53.7 35.6 31.0 12 Dale x S.70 59.8 26.9 30.3 13 S.3 53.7 25.6 25.5 14 S.134 " 55.1 24.1 29.2 15 S.148 " 39.7 22.9 21.4 16 S.79 " 38.8 14.8 23.4 17 S.93 " 32.7 18.3 21.8 18 Dale " 5.1 11.4 8.0 19 SG 34 46.7 22.2 14.9 20 SG 32-2a " 30.3 22.6 26.2 21 SG 50 " 29.5 18.9 11.0 22 SG 51 " 37.1 20.1 34.6 23 Ank SSS " 25.3 18.1 27.6 24 Ank 42 " 42.7 22.2 12.9 25 Hastings " 27.3 20.0 20.0 26 S.70 " 42.9 16.8 20.2 27 Pannar888 (exotic hybrid) 39.8 32.9 23.5 28 SafedMoti (exotic hybrid) 45.1 26.4 32.7 29 Kambal (check) 50.6 19.7 35.2 30 Abu Sab'in (check) 41.5 17.8 23.4 Mean 44.7 26.3 27.7 Sig. L. ** ** ns SE 3.2741 2.763 6.8 LSD (0.05) 9.8156 11.3 CV (%) 12.7 14.9 34.7


Table 8. Dry matter yield (DMY t/ha) of local forage sorghum hybrids, their parents and check cultivars Code Entry Shambat 2007 Shambat 2008 1 S.134 x Hastings 9.50 8.34 2 S.134 x SG 32-2a 12.62 7.38 3 S.134 x SG 51 11.18 8.45 4 S.148 x SG 34 13.88 9.23 5 S.148 x SG 32-2a 10.82 7.97 6 S.148 x Ank SSS 12.62 7.71 7 S.3 x SG 34 11.90 10.16 8 S.3 x SG 32-2a 11.35 9.20 9 S.3 x SG 50 9.80 7.29 10 S.79 x Ank 42 8.44 6.37 11 S.93 x SG 34 10.93 6.59 12 Dale x S.70 11.64 7.03 13 S.3 8.47 5.81 14 S.134 " 8.59 6.41 15 S.148 " 7.13 4.33 16 S.79 " 6.90 5.19 17 S.93 " 5.87 4.74 18 Dale " 1.77 2.10 19 SG 34 7.53 3.53 20 SG 32-2a " 6.14 6.87 21 SG 50 " 6.79 2.97 22 SG 51 " 7.40 8.02 23 Ank SSS " 5.56 6.32 24 Ank 42 " 7.90 3.13 25 Hastings " 5.29 4.64 26 S.70 " 8.36 4.59 27 Pannar888 (exotic hybrid) 7.29 5.79 28 Safed Moti (exotic hybrid) 8.30 7.07 29 Kambal (check) 9.29 7.46 30 Abu Sab'in (check) 7.89 6.35 Mean 8.70 6.37 Sig. L. ** ns SE 0.793 1.608 LSD (0.05) 2.244 - CV (%) 15.8 35.7 ** : Significant at 0.01 probability level ns : not significant at 0.05 probability level


Table 9. Performance of introduced forage sorghum hybrid (CFSH30) for green matter yield across five cuts as compared to two check cultivars (Shambat, 2008)

Cultivar Green matter yield (t/ha)

Cut1 Cut2 Cut3 Cut 4 Cut 5 Average CFSH30 35.6 32.8 29.3 18.9 10.7 25.4 Kambal (check) 38.4 17.1 8.85 7.10 0.00 14.3 Garawi (check) 29.0 22.0 16.2 16.1 0.00 16.7 Sig. L **

2.853 8.438 23.2

*

1.757 6.898 23.2

SE LSD (0.05) CV (%) *, ** : significant at 0.05 and 0.01 probability level, respectively.

Table 10. Performance of introduced forage sorghum hybrid (CFSH30) for dry matter yield across five cuts as compared to two check cultivars (Shambat, 2008)

Cultivar Dry matter yield (t/ha)

Cut1 Cut2 Cut3 Cut 4 Cut 5 Average CFSH30 7.38 6.37 7.10 5.88 3.04 5.96 Abu Sab'in (check) 8.23 4.07 2.34 2.19 0.00 3.37 Garawi (check) 6.08 5.32 4.55 4.69 0.00 4.13 Sig. L **

0.706 2.084 24.3

*

0.427 1.677 24.3

SE LSD (0.05) CV (%) *, ** : significant at 0.05 and 0.01 probability level, respectively.


Table 11. Contrast analysis for Alfalfa cultivars based on data combined over 9 cuts for green (GMY) dry (DMY) forage yield and related traits (Shambat, 2008)

** : Significant at 0.01 probability level

Table 12. performance of 3 Alfalfa cultivars in forage yield obtained across 9 cuts (Shambat, 2008)

Cultivar Cut No.

Hijazi Siriver Cuf101 Hijazi Siriver Cuf101 Green matter yield (t/ha) Dry matter yield (t/ha)

Cut 1 20.2 19.9 18.3 8.87 8.53 7.67 Cut 2 9.3 8.7 6.4 3.58 3.31 2.48 Cut 3 7.6 6.5 4.4 3.38 2.63 1.60 Cut 4 6.3 6.1 4.3 2.58 2.48 1.81 Cut 5 6.7 6.6 3.8 2.96 2.61 1.47 Cut 6 7.1 6.1 5.0 2.76 2.35 1.82 Cut 7 3.9 3.2 2.3 1.86 1.36 0.99 Cut 8 6.0 5.9 4.3 2.58 2.38 1.72 Cut 9 10.0 9.4 7.2 4.28 3.79 2.86 Grand Mean 8.2 3.42 SE 0.34 0.143

Cultivar GMY (t/ha) DMY (t/ha) Days to flower Plant height (cm) Berseem Hijazi 8.6 3.65 25.6 46.8 Siriver 8.0 3.27 30.8 40.1 Cuf 101 6.2 2.49 31.5 37.9 SE 0.32 0.133 0.41 0.8861 LSD (0.05) 0.67 0.278 2.54 5.5505 Hijazi vs Siriver ** ** ** ** Hijazi vs Cuf 101 ** ** ** **


Table 13. Seed yield and yield components of the first pick of two Alfalfa cultivars (Shambat, 2008)

** : Significant at 0.01 probability level ns : not significant at 0.05 probability level

Table 14. Interaction effect of cultivar, row spacing and seed rate on the first pick of Alfalfa seed (Shambat, 2008)

ns : not significant at 0.05 probability level

Cultivar Seed yield (kg/ha)

No of Pods /plant

No of seeds/Pod

1000 seed weight (gm)

Berseem Hijazi 417 52.8 3.67 3.08 Siriver 107 33.3 2.10 3.40 Mean 262 43 2.89 3.24 Sig. L ** ** ** ns SE 17.0 2.24 0.0723 0.2048

Row spacing On one side of the ridge On both sides of the ridge Seed rate 2 kg / fed 4 kg / fed 2 kg / fed 4 kg / fed

Berseem Hijazi 433 423 380 432 Siriver 108 146 65 107

Average 271 284 223 269 Grand mean Sig. L SE

262 ns

34.8




Plant breeder

The following activities were conducted or ongoing during the year 2007: 1. Ankolib advanced yield trial 2. Introduced sweet sorghum advanced yield trial 3. Seed production of local x local forage sorghum hybrids 4. Advanced local x local forage sorghum hybrids yield trial (AYT) 5. Rhodes Grass trial I (ongoing) 6. Rhodes Grass trial II 7. Introduced forage sorghum hybrid trial

1- Ankolib advanced yield trial (in collaboration with Hassan Tambal, Shendi Research Station): Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm of Shendi Research Station. The plant materials comprised 3 Ankolib selections namely: S.42, S. 43 and S.S.S. Expt and two checks (the traditional Ankolib and Kambal the recommended Abu Sab'in cultivar). Sowing date was on 18. Jan. 2007. The design was RCBD. The experiment received eight irrigations. Other materials and methods were similar to those of Ankolib experiment conducted at Hudieba in 2006 Results Table 1 shows the results obtained by three Ankolib lines and the two checks for green matter yield (GMY) and plant height. The genotypes showed no significant differences in GMY but differed significantly in plant height. The line S.42 gave the highest yield averaging 25.0 t/ha. The checks Kambal and the traditional Ankolib gave 23.9 and 20.3 t/ha, respectively. All of the Ankolib lines were significantly taller than the check Ankolib.


2- Introduced sweet sorghum advanced yield trial (in collaboration with Hassan Tambal, Shendi Research Station): Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm of Shendi Research Station. The plant materials comprised four introduced sweet sorghum genotypes (Sugar Drip, Blue Ribbon, Hastings and N 100) and two checks (the traditional Abu Sab'in and Kambal cultivars). Sowing date and other materials and methods were similar to those applied to Ankolib advanced yield trial Results Table 2 shows the results obtained by the 4 introduced genotypes and the check cultivars. The entries differed significantly in GMY and plant height. With the exception of Hastings, the GMY obtained by the introduced genotypes were comparable to that of the checks, with Blue Ribbon and Sugar Drip averaging 32.3 and 31.2 t/ha, respectively. The checks Kambal and Abu Sab'in averaged 32.1 and 29.9 t/ha, respectively. Sugar Drip was the tallest among introduced genotypes, whereas N 100 and Hastings showed the lowest values for plant height in the whole materials tested.

3- Seed production of local x local forage sorghum hybrids A crossing block was conducted in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station to produce seeds of the local x local forage sorghum hybrids. Nine males and 6 females were sown on 28 Dec. 2006 and 15 Feb. 2007. The male comprised five locally developed Sudan Grass genotypes (S.32-2a. S.34, S.51, S.50 and S.10-1), two locally developed Ankolib genotypes (S.S.S.expt. and S.42) one locally developed Abu Sab'in genotype (S.70) and one introduced sweet sorghum cultivar (Hastings). The females comprised six genotypes, five of which were locally developed from Abu Sab'in population, namely: S.148, S.3, S.134, S.93 and S.79. The sixth female (Dale) was sweet sorghum genotype introduced from USA. The seeds of at least 12 hybrids were produced for advanced testing (Table 3)

4- Advanced local x local forage sorghum hybrids yield trial (AYT) Materials and Methods The 12 hybrids together with their 14 parents were tested against four checks at Shambat. Sowing date was on 8.Oct.2008. The checks comprised Abu Sab'in, Kambal plus the exotic commercial hybrids Pannar 888 and Safed Moti. The design was


lattice with 15 incomplete and 3 complete blocks. The incomplete block composed of 2 plots 15 m2 each. The plot size was 16.3 m2. The seeds were sown in furrows opened on both side of the ridge at a rate of 50 seed per m/row. Other materials and methods were similar to those of the preliminary yield trial conducted at Shambat in the previous season. Results Table 4 shows the performance of the studied materials for green (GMY) and dry (DMY) matter yields. Differences between entries in forage yield were highly significant. The adjusted means generated by design were considered due to the increased relative efficiency over the RCBD. The local hybrids S.148 x SG 34, and S.134 x SG 51 out-yielded the exotic hybrids and the local checks with respective GMY amounting to 60.7 and 58.4 t/ha. The best yield obtained by the checks was shown by the exotic hybrid Safed Moti (50.1 t/ha) and Kambal (42.6 t/ha). The GMY of parents ranged from 25.2 to 46.9 t/ha obtained by Dale and Ank SSS, respectively. For DMY, the hybrid S.148 x SG 34, excelled the parents, exotic hybrids and the local checks (Kambal and Abu Sab'in).

5- Rhodes Grass trial I This is the second year for this trial. Materials and methods were described in the pervious report. Table 5 shows performance of five Rhodes Grass and two checks cultivars (Abu Sab'in and Garawi) for green matter yield across 4 cuts. Table 6 shows performance of five Rhodes Grass for green matter yield as compared to the checks Berseem Hijazi and Clitoria across 9 cuts. The performance of cultivars in forage yield differed significantly across cuts. Apart from the first cut, Rhodes Grass cultivars outyielded the checks Abu Sab'in and Garawi. Differences among Rhodes cultivars were not significant. Abu Sab'in yielded better than Garawi ranging from 12.6 to 28.5 t/ha in the 4th and the 3rd cut, respectively; whereas the yield of Rhodes Grass ranged from 25.9 to 40.9 t/ha obtained by Katambora Zimbabwe in the 1st and 4th cut, respectively. On the other hand, the Rhodes Grass cultivars outyielded Berseem Hijazi and Clitoria up to the 7th cut, after which the Rhodes yield declined significantly. The yield of Berseem ranged from 4.1 to 16.9 t/ha obtained in the 9th and 3rd cut, respectively; whereas that of Clitoria ranged from 3.7 to 23.5 t/ha obtained by the 9th and the 6th cut, respectively.


6- Rhodes Grass trial II This is a replicate of the previous Rhodes Grass variety trial except that sowing date for Berseem Hijazi and Rhodes cultivars was on 12 Nov. 2007 whereas other materials were sown on 10 Oct. 2007. Results The First Cut: The results are presented in Table 7. The entries differed significantly in all characters studied. Unlike the pervious season, none of the Rhodes Grass Cultivars outyielded Abu Sab'in or Garawi; however, some of them outyielded Berseem and Clitoria. The GMY of Rhodes cultivars ranged from 19.4 to 31.1 t/ha obtained by Katambora Zimbabwe and Fine Cut, respectively. The check Abu Sab'in gave the highest GMY (38.1 t/ha). Top Cut was the latest in the whole materials tested taking 91 days to flower, whereas Fine Cut and Katambora Zimbabwe were the earliest among Rhodes cultivars, taking 52 and 53 days to flower, respectively. Abu Sab'in and Garawi were significantly taller than Rhodes cultivars that ranged from 82 to 98 cm.

7- Introduced forage sorghum hybrid trial Materials and Methods This is the first season for this experiment. The material comprised one introduced forage sorghum hybrid 'CFSH 30', the recommended cultivar 'Kambal', the traditional cultivars Garawi and Abu Sab'in and the commercial hybrid Pannar 888. The introduced hybrid was received from the Canadian Company: Agriculture Environmental Renewal Canada Inc. (AERC Inc.) via Dr. Sami Bella from Faculty of Animal Production, University of Khartoum. Two experiments were conducted in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station. The first one was sown on 8.Oct. 2007 whereas the second experiment was sown in the 2nd week of Nov. 2007. In the first experiment the introduced hybrid was tested against Kambal, Abu Sab'in and Pannar 888 whereas in the second experiment it was tested only against Garawi and Abu Sab'in. The materials were arranged in RCBD with 3 replicates. The plot size was 3 ridges 6m long spaced at 0.75m. The seeds were sown in furrows opened on both side of the ridge at a rate of 50 seeds per m/row. The treatments received 55 kg n. /ha at second irrigation. The experiment was watered every 7 to 10 days. Weeds were kept at minimum by hand weeding. The whole plot was harvested to determine the GMY. The first and the subsequent cuts were done when each cultivar completed


50 % flowering. Nitrogen dose at 55 kg n /ha was given following each cut. GMY, DMY, days to flowering, plant height, plant count and leaf to stem ratio were recorded. Results Tables 8 and 9 show the performance of the studied materials for green (GMY) matter yield across three cuts in the first and the second experiments, respectively. In the first experiment the checks outyielded the introduced hybrid CFSH30 in the first cut but the reverse is true for the second and the third cuts. In the second experiment, the yield obtained by CFSH30 (30.5t/ha) was comparable to that of Abu Sab'in (32.9 t/ha) and Garawi (24.8 t/ha), but as in the first experiment CFSH30 outyielded both checks in the second and the third cut. Table 10 shows days to flower and plant height for the studied materials. CFSH30 was the earliest, taking 42.6 days to flower. It was about 2 weeks earlier than the check cultivars.


Table 1. Performance of three Ankolib lines and two check cultivars for green matter yield (GMY) and plant height (Shendi, 2007)

** : significant at 0.01 probability level., ns = non significant

Genotype GMY (t/ha) Plant height (cm) S.42 25.0 198 S.43 24.4 202 S.S.S. Expt 23.1 181 Ankolib (check) 20.3 152 Kambal (check) 23.9 203 Mean 23.3 187 Sig L. ns ** SE 1.576 7.06 LSD (0.5) 23.01 CV(%) 11.7 6.5


Table 2. Performance of four introduced sweet sorghum genotypes and two check cultivars for green mater yield (GMY) and plant height (Shendi, 2007) Cultivar GMY (t/ha) Plant height (cm) Sugar Drip 31.2 188 Blue Ribbon 32.3 172 Hastings 26.8 165 N 100 29.3 143 Abu Sab'in (check) 29.9 197 Kambal (check) 32.1 186 Mean 30.3 175 Sig. level ** ** S.E 0.686 2.68 LSD (0.05) 2.162 8.57 CV(%) 3.9 2.6 ** : significant at 0.01 probability level.


Table 3. The 12 local x local forage sorghum hybrids produced in a crossing block for advanced testing (Shambat, 2006/2007)

Code Hybrid Type 1 S.134 x Hastings Local x Local 2 S.134 x SG 32-2a Local x Local 3 S.134 x SG 51 Local x Local 4 S.148 x SG 34 Local x Local 5 S.148 x SG 32-2a Local x Local 6 S.148 x Ank SSS Local x Local 7 S.3 x SG 34 Local x Local 8 S.3 x SG 32-2a Local x Local 9 S.3 x SG 50 Local x Local 10 S.79 x Ank 42 Local x Local 11 S.93 x SG 34 Local x Local 12 Dale x S.70 Exotic by Local


Table 4. Green (GMY) and dry (DMY) matter yields obtained by the advanced 12 local forage sorghum hybrids, their parents and 4 check cultivars (Shambat, 2007).

** : significant at 0.01 probability level.

Code Entry GMY DMY (t/ha) Rank (t/ha) 1 S.134 x Hastings 45.2 13 9.50 2 S.134 x SG 32-2a 47.3 8 12.62 3 S.134 x SG 51 58.4 2 11.18 4 S.148 x SG 34 60.7 1 13.88 5 S.148 x SG 32-2a 44.4 15 10.82 6 S.148 x Ank SSS 51.6 3 12.62 7 S.3 x SG 34 49.9 6 11.90 8 S.3 x SG 32-2a 50.6 4 11.35 9 S.3 x SG 50 44.5 14 9.80 10 S.79 x Ank 42 47.8 7 8.44 11 S.93 x SG 34 47.0 9 10.93 12 Dale x S.70 46.9 10 11.64 13 S.3 39.2 22 8.47 14 S.134 " 40.2 20 8.59 15 S.148 " 34.6 25 7.13 16 S.79 " 30.5 28 6.90 17 S.93 " 30.6 27 5.87 18 Dale " 25.2 30 1.77 19 SG 34 36.3 24 7.53 20 SG 32-2a " 38.2 23 6.14 21 SG 50 " 29.8 29 6.79 22 SG 51 " 43.8 17 7.40 23 Ank SSS " 46.9 10 5.56 24 Ank 42 " 44.2 16 7.90 25 Hastings " 40.4 19 5.29 26 S.70 " 45.5 12 8.36 27 Pannar888 (exotic hybrid) 39.3 21 7.29 28 Safed Moti (exotic hybrid) 50.1 5 8.30 29 Kambal (check) 42.6 18 9.29 30 Abu Sab'in (check) 34.2 26 7.89 Mean 42.8 8.70 Sig. L. ** ** SE 2.2960 0.793 LSD (0.05) 6.8835 2.244 CV (%) 9.28 15.8


Table 5. Performance of five Rhodes Grass and two checks cultivars for green matter yield across 4 cuts (Shambat, 2007).

Cultivar Green matter yield (t/ha) Cut1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4

Abu 70 (check) 27.71 20.42 28.49 12.64 Garawi (check) 25.57 16.72 14.39 17.21 Fine Cut 30.49 29.93 36.39 35.84 Hay Maker 33.40 26.46 32.08 37.50 Katambora Australia 29.10 27.71 33.40 34.38 Katambora Zimbabwe 25.90 27.36 32.02 40.90 Top Cut 23.06 27.99 36.67 34.59 Grand mean 28.51

**

2.021 5.733 12.4

Sig. l. SE L.S.D.(0.05) C.V. (%) ** : significant at 0.01 probability level.


Table 6. Performance of five Rhodes Grass and two check cultivars evaluated for green matter yield across 9 cuts, (Shambat 2006/ 07).



Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4 Cut 5 Cut 6 Cut 7 Cut 8 Cut 9 Berseem Hijazi (check) 16.1 14.5 16.89 13.6 9.00 9.89 10.0 10.44 4.10 Clitoria (check) 11.0 10.5 10. 6 23.0 15.5 23.5 7.60 9.10 3.70 Fine Cut 30.5 29.9 36. 9 35.8 36.0 28.5 18.0 11.0 13.0 Hay Maker 33.5 26.5 32. 1 37.5 33.6 26.8 14.9 112 12.9 Katambora Australia 29.1 27.7 33.4 34.4 29.3 28.4 15.7 9.9 11.9 Katambora Zimbabwe 25.9 27.4 32.0 40.9 37.6 32.9 17.6 11.3 10.8 Top Cut 23.1 28.0 36.7 34.6 32.4 28.3 15.9 9.4 13.6 Grand mean 21.7

**

1.696 4.770 12.0

Sig. l. SE

L.S.D (0.05) C.V (%)


Table 7. Green (GMY) dry (DMY) matter yields of the 1st cut and yield related traits of five Rhodes grass genotypes and four local forage types (checks) grown at Shambat, 2007

Cultivar GMY (t/ha) DMY (t/ha) Days to flower Plant ht (cm) Fine Cut 31.1 8.27 52 98 Hay Maker 26.8 6.84 67 96 Katambora Australia 26.1 6.96 68 85 Katambora Zimbabwe 19.4 3.45 53 82 Top Cut 28.6 6.95 91 94 Abu Sab'in (check) 38.4 8.23 58 126 Berseem Hijazi (check) 13.6 3.01 63 49 Clitoria (check) 13.4 2.58 - 82 Garawi (check) 29.0 6.08 60 120 Mean 25.1 5.82 64 92 Sig.L * ** ** ** SE 4.49 1.214 5.7 4.8 LSD (0.05) 13.46 3.641 17.3 14.5 CV (%) 30.9 36.1 15.4 9.0 *, ** : significant at 0.05 and 0.01 probability level, respectively.


Table 8. Green matter yield obtained at different cuts by different forage sorghum cultivars grown at Shambat, Oct. 2007


Cut1 Cut 2 Cut3

CFSH30 21.8 15.1 11.6 Pannar 888 (check) 34.8 12.4 7.70 Kambal (check) 45.6 6.88 4.68 Abu Sab'in (check) 31.97 8.25 2.84

Mean 33.1 10.7 6.7 s.e.d. 4.494 0.476 0.415 CV (%) 19.2 5.5 7.6


Table 9. Green matter yield obtained at different cuts by different cultivars of forage sorghum and their performance averaged over different cuts (Shambat, Nov. 2007).


Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cultivar

CFSH30 30.5 31.4 25.1 29.0 Abu Sab'in (check) 32.9 14.7 7.58 18.4 Garawi (check) 24.8 18.8 13.9 19.2

Sig.L. ** ** LSD (0.05) 8.541 3.821 CV (%) 16.8



Table 10. Yield-related traits of different forage sorghum cultivars grown at Shambat Nov. 2007

Cultivar Days to flower Plant height (cm) CFSH30 42.6 174 Pannar 888 (check) 56.0 209 Kambal (check) 58.3 196 Abu Sab'in (check) 57.3 186 Mean 53.0 192 s.e.d. 0.899 7.98 CV (%) 2.4 5.9




Plant breeder

The following activities were conducted during the year 2006: 1. Rhodes Grass nursery 2. Local x local forage sorghum hybrids (PYT) 3. Rhodes Grass variety trial 4. Maize variety trial (CIMMYT) 5. Sudan Grass advanced yield trial 6. Ankolib advanced yield trial 7. Introduced sweet sorghum advanced yield trial 8. Forage sorghum hybrids crossing blocks 9. Maintenance of male sterile sorghum genetic stocks

1- Rhodes Grass nursery Nine Rhodes grass genotypes received from the International Livestock Research Institute 'ILRI' were grown at Shambat Experimental Farm on 20 Nov. 2006 (Table 1). Days to flower and plant height were recorded. Seeds from each genotype were collected.

2- Local x local forage sorghum hybrids preliminary yield trial (PYT) 2.1 Shambat PYT Materials and Methods The 38 hybrids chosen in the previous season were grown in a PYT together with their 19 parents plus 8 checks (totaling 65 entries). The checks include : the recommended Abu Sab'in cultivar 'Kambal', the traditional Abu Sab'in, two commercial hybrids (Pannar888 and Bulk Master) and 4 local x exotic experimental hybrids developed by our program in 2002, namely: Dale x S.70, Hastings x S.70, E-35-1x S.186 and E-35-1 x S.70. Sowing date was on 26 Sept. 2006. The design was


Alpha lattice with 13 incomplete blocks and 3 complete blocks. The incomplete block composed of 5 plots each of 0.75 x 6m ridge. Sowing was done on one side of the ridge by placing 5 seeds in holes spaced at 5 x 75cm along and between ridges, respectively. The experiment was watered every 7 to 10 days and weeded twice. 55 kg n /ha was added at second irrigation. Harvesting took place when each cultivar in each plot completed 50% flowering. Green matter yield (GMY) was estimated from the whole plot omitting 0.5m from each side of the ridge. Dry matter yield (DMY) was estimated from 0.5 kg fresh sample taken from the harvested plot and air dried. Days to booting and flowering, plant height, stem diameter, regrowth, No of plants plant/plot and Buda counts were recorded. Results Table 2 shows the results obtained for green matter yield. Differences between entries were highly significant for GMY. Many hybrids outyielded the commercial hybrid Pannar888 and the traditional cv Abu Sab'in. Some of them outperformed their parents and the checks in earliness, vigor and regrowth (data not shown). The hybrids were ranked based on their performance in the above mentioned attributes and 11 local x local plus one exotic x local hybrids (= 12 hybrids) were chosen for advanced testing in the coming season (Table 3) 2.2 Hudieba PYT (in collaboration with Moataz A. Mohamed, Hudieba Research Station): The above experiment was replicated at Hudieba. Sowing date was on 12 Dec. 2006. Materials and methods were similar to those of Shambat experiment. Unfortunately, the experiment failed to yield reliable results.

3- Rhodes Grass variety trial Materials and Methods This is the first season for this trial. Five Rhodes Grass cultivar viz. FineCut, TopCut (of the Australian Selected Seeds Co. via their local agent Ayna'at), HayMaker, Katambora Australia and Katambora Zimbabwe (of the Australian Blue Ribbon Co.), were grown together with the local cultivars Bereseem Hijazi, Clitoria, Garawi and Abu Sab'in in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station. Sowing date was on 20 Nov. 2006. The materials were arranged in RCBD with 3 replicates. The plot size was 3 ridges 6m long spaced at 0.75m. The seed were dripped in furrows opened on both sides of the ridge using seeds rates of 10, 48, 12, 70 and 120 kg/ha for


Rhodes Grass, Bereseem Hijazi, Clitoria, Garawi and Abu Sab'in, respectively. The treatments received 86 kg P2 O5 and 55 kg n. per hectare before sowing and at second irrigation, respectively. The experiment was watered every 7 to 10 days. Weeds were kept at minimum by hand weeding. The whole plot was harvested to determine the GMY. The first cut was done when each treatment completed 50 % flowering, after which cutting was practiced at intervals of 35, 40 and 23 days for Rhodes Grass, Clitoria and Berseem Hijazi, respectively. Garawi and Abu Sab'in were cut at 50 % flowering. GMY, DMY, days to flowering, plant height and plant count were recorded. Results The First Cut: The results are presented in Table 4. The entries differed significantly in all characters studied. Most of the Rhodes Grass Cultivars significantly outyielded the checks, ranging from 26.7 t/ha for HayMaker down to 18.4 t/ha for TopCut. The GMY of the checks ranged from 15.8 t/ha for Abu Sab'in down to 5.5 t/ha for Clitoria. HayMaker was the earliest to flower among the Rhodes group (83 day) whereas Abu Sab'in and Garawi were the earliest among the checks taking around 74 days to flower.

4- Maize variety trial (CIMMYT) Materials and Methods Two copy-sets of the trial 06EVT14A (16 and 17) were received from CIMMYT each comprising 11 genotypes (Early Yellow open pollinated genotypes). The genotypes plus the local check Mugtama 45 were replicated 3 times in alpha lattice design with 3 incomplete blocks each comprising 4 plots. The plot consisted of two 5m long-ridges spaced at 0.75m. Sowing date was on 14 Oct. 2006. Sowing was done on one side of the ridge by placing two seed in holes spaced at 20 cm along the ridge. The experiment received 55 kg n/ha at second irrigation, hand weeded twice and watered every 7 to 10 days. Days to tassel, plant height, no of plants per plot, No of cobs per plot, No of cobs per plant seed yield per plant, seed yield per plot and No of lodged plants at harvest were recorded. Leaf diseases and insect damage were monitored. Seed yield per plant was determined from 5 randomly selected plants from each plot. Seed yield per plot was determined by harvesting the whole plot. Time of harvest was at black layer formation for each genotype at each plot. Cobs were picked and left to dry and then threshed by hand.


Results Table 5 shows the results. The genotypes differed significantly in all characters other than plant height. Many of the CIMMYT genotypes significantly outyielded the local check specially the S03TEY group, among which S03TEY-Pp/Bm and S03TEY/LN were the best yielders averaging 5.54 and 5.34 t/ha, respectively. The local check Mugtama 45 averaged 3.17 t/ha. Both genotypes were significantly earlier than the local check.

5- Sudan Grass advanced yield trial Materials and Methods Five Sudan Grass genotypes (S. 32-2a, S. 51, S. 50, S. 10-1 and S. 18sg) were tested against the traditional check Garawi and the released cultivar Kambal. The plot size was 5 ridges 6 m long spaced at o.75 m. Sowing date was on 26.9.2006. The green matter yield (GMY) was estimated by harvesting the whole plot. Yield-related traits were determined. Other materials and methods were similar to those of the previous season.

Results The data presented in Table 6 indicate that highly significant differences between entries were detected for all characters studied. S.32-2a and S. 51 gave the highest GMY among selections averaging 27.7 and 26.1 t/ha, respectively. However, both genotypes yielded significantly lower than Kambal and were not significantly higher in GMY than the check Garawi. Both genotypes were the earliest among selections.

6- Ankolib advanced yield trial (in collaboration with Moataz A. Mohamed, Hudieba Research Station): Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted in 3 locations viz. Shambat, Hudieba and Gash Delta. The plant materials include 5 Ankolib selections namely: S.40., S. 18 ank, S. 42, S.S.S. expt. and S.43. The checks include the traditional Garawi, the released cultivar Kambal and the traditional Abu Sab'in. However, due to seed limitation some of these genotypes were absent in Hudieba and Gash. Sowing dates were on 26 Sept. 2006 at Shambat, 21 Nov.2006 at Hudieba and last week of Sept 2006 at Gash Delta. Other materials and methods used at Shambat were similar to those of Sudan Grass Experiment. At Hudieba the plot composed of 3 ridges 5m long spaced at 0.75m.


Seeds were dribbled in furrows opened on both sides of the ridge. At Gash, sowing was done on flat by placing the seeds in holes spaced at 75 x 10 cm Results Table 7 shows the results obtained in the 3 locations. The entries differed significantly in GMY at Shambat and Hudieba, but not at Gash Delta. S.S.S.expt and S.42 were the best yielding at Shambat and Hudieba; however, their yield was significantly lower than that of the check Kambal. All Ankolib selections significantly outyielded the check Ankolib at Shambat but most of them were significantly later in flowering.

7- Introduced sweet sorghum advanced yield trial Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted at Shambat and Hudieba. The plant materials include: Sugar Drip, Dale Blue, Ribbon, Hastings and N 100. The checks include the traditional Ankolib, the released cultivar Kambal and the traditional Abu Sab'in. However, due to seed limitations some of these genotypes were absent in both locations. Sowing dates were on 14 Oct. 2006 at Shambat and 21 Nov.2006 at Hudieba. Other materials and methods used at Hudieba, were similar to those of Ankolib experiment conducted in the same site. At Shambat, the plot composed of 3 ridges 6m long spaced at 0.75m. Apart from that, materials and methods used were similar to those of the previous season. Results Table 8 shows the results obtained at both locations. The entries differed significantly in all characters at Shambat, but not at Hudieba. Sugar Drip and N 100 were the best in GMY among the introduced genotypes. Sugar Drip significantly outyielded the checks Ankolib and Abu Sab'in, but not Kambal. However, it was significantly the latest to flower in the whole material tested.

8- Forage sorghum hybrids crossing blocks Two crossing blocks were established in the Experimental Farm of Shambat Research Station. The parental materials were sown at variable sowing dates ranging from 11 March to 26 March 2006 to allow for desirable nicking. The objective of first block (Table 9) was to produce F1 local x local hybrid seed for establishing the planned hybrid testing program. 14 males comprising 8 Sudan Grass, 4 Ankolib and 2 introduced sweet sorghum genotypes were crossed to 7 Abu Sab'in females. A second


block (Table 10) was established with the aim of producing F1 local x exotic hybrid seed. 12 males comprising 8 grain sorghum, one dual purpose (grain/forage), 2 Sudan Grass and one Ankolib genotypes were crossed to 5 exotic females.

9- Maintenance of male sterile sorghum genetic stocks The 12 Abu Sab'in females in A3 CMS developed by our program in 2004 were maintained. Remnant seed from the 29 forage sorghum genetic stocks in A3 cytoplasm received from USDA-ARS, Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, USA, in 2001 were maintained. However, seed of many lines failed to grow and were totally missed.


Table 1. Rhodes Grass materials grown at Shambat, 2006 (received from International Livestock Research Institute 'ILRI' )

No Genotype Accession No Lot No Production Designated

under Weight (gm) Area Year

1 Boma Chloris gayana 13330 13 DZeit 1993 FAO

Forage Improvement Program Annual Reports (2001-2010) ARC / Shambat - Sudan

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Transcript of Forage Improvement Program Annual Reports (2001-2010) ARC / Shambat - Sudan