Green Global
Foundation   Journal
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EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION REGIME, FOLIAR APPLICATION OF CHLORMEQUAT CHLORIDE ON GRAIN YIELD OF TWO GRAIN SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) CULTIVARS (Pages : 12 - 18)

A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Station, Chabahar, Iran, to evaluate the effects of irrigation regime and foliar application of chlormequat chloride (CCC; 2-chloroethyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride) on grain yield of two grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cultivars. The layout of the experiment was a split-split-plot, where the whole plot portion was a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Main plots were the irrigation regime (irrigation after 50 (control), 100, 150, and 200 mm evaporation from evaporation pan), subplots were foliar application of chlormequat chloride (0 and 1370 mg l-1), and sub-sub plots were two sorghum cultivars (‘Sistan’ landrace and ‘Payam’ cultivar). The results showed that delay in irrigation led to a significant reduction in grain yield. The highest grain yield (3393.3 kg ha-1) was observed in plots irrigated after 50 mm evaporation from evaporation pan, while the lowest one (2841.5 kg ha-1) was recorded in plots irrigated after 200 mm evaporation from evaporation pan. For both cultivars, foliar application of CCC significantly increased grain yield, however, the increases in grain yield for ‘Payam’ cultivar was much greater than ‘Sistan’ landrace. Grain number per panicle was significantly higher at IR50 and IR100 than at IR150 and IR200 irrigation regimes. The results also showed that delay in irrigation led to a significant reduction in the thousand grain weight. The highest and the lowest 1000-grain weights were recorded for plots irrigated after 50 and 200 mm evaporation from evaporation pan, respectively. Thousand grain weight was significantly increased after foliar application of CCC. Moreover, ‘Payam’ cultivar had significantly greater 1000-grain weight than ‘Sistan’ landrace. Download