Evaluation of different kharif and rabi grain sorghum cultivars in summer season

Introduction

Sorghum is India's third-most significant cereal crop, next to rice and wheat. The main sorghum growing states in India are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In that, Maharashtra ranks first in sorghum production and area, but in case of productivity Andra Pradesh ranks first while Maharashtra ranks third in productivity. India has a largest share in (32.30%) world's sorghum area and ranks fifth in production. Globally, sorghum is the fifth most important crop after rice, wheat, maize and barley, whereas in India it is the fourth largest crop. About 19.5% of the world's population and 27% of India's population takes sorghum as their primary food (Lamessa et al.2016) [9] . In Vidarbha, sorghum area under Kharif and rabi sorghum has reducing trend. It has tremendous down fall in area during the year 1990, 1995, thereafter area was constant till 2005. It has area has reduced down during the year 2010. The Poor acceptance of Kharif sorghum grain as a food because of Grain mold in Kharif sorghum has largely nullified its importance under erratic rainfall condition in Vidarbha region. Shifting of more and more favorable production area from Kharif and Rabi sorghum to high valued crops, where sustainable productivity increase would be more difficult. in recent years in Maharashtra and specially Vidarbha cultivation of sorghum under summer season significantly increases. During 2018-2019 summer cultivated area around 2500-3000 ha only, but last three-to-five-year area under sorghum cultivation is more than 1.95 lakh ha. Sorghum cultivated in Rabi and Summer Season is distinguished by outstanding grain quality, utilized for human and animal for food, feed and fodder consumption and as a result fetches high price. Sowing time is the most important non-monetary input. Sowing at proper time improves the yield by offering suitable environment to crop at all growth stages. Until now effect of sowing date summer season on performance of these improved varieties and hybrids in Vidarbha region work has not evaluated. Sowing time directly affects the duration of crops during growing season; cultivars of different maturity groups will correspondingly be affected. The purpose of current study is identifying the suitable rabi / kharif cultivars available for summer sorghum cultivation. Summer cultivated sorghum has better food, feed, fodder quality and quantity. Therefore, felt to identify the effect of different Kharif / Rabi cultivars of sorghum for summer cultivation. Considering different views in mind, the thought is given for the determine summer cultivation of sorghum in the Vidarbha region.

Materials and Methods

The present field trial was conducted at the Central research station, Sorghum research unit, Dr. PDKV, Akola during summer season 2025, which is located at 23°43' N latitude and 77°64' E longitude with an altitude of 281m above the mean sea level. The soil was clay loam in texture, medium in organic carbon and low in available nitrogen, phosphorous, zinc, iron and marginally high in available potassium. The soil was slightly alkaline (pH 7.9). The Experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design, with Eighteen treatments which are replicated thrice. The experiment consisted different eighteen Kharif and Rabi grain sorghum cultivars viz. CSH-9, CSH-30, CSH-35, SPH-1635, SPV-1595, BG-296, CSV-20, CSV-34, CSV-45, PDKV-Kalyani, PDKV-Kranti, Phule Suchitra, Phule Vasudha, Phule Revati, Parbhani Moti, Parbhani super Moti, M-35-1 and Vittal. The nutrients sources were Urea, SSP, MOP to fulfill the requirement of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. The nitrogen applied as split dose half as basal dose remaining as top dressing. The date of sowing of sorghum was on 09 th January, 2024 with the seed rate of 8-10 kg ha -1 . The treatment having spacing 45 cm × 15 cm. and plot size was 4.50 m x 5.10 m. For recording the crop observations, five plants were selected and tagged from every net plot of all the treatments of each replication. On every alternate day, phenology was observed. Data collected viz. plant height, no. of leaves per plant, dry matter, stem diameter, Leaf area, leaf area index (LAI), SPAD value, days to 50% flowering and physiological maturity were visually recorded and five randomly selected plants from each treatment were used for recording various yield attributes viz, 1000 seed weight (g), grain number per panicle, grain weight per panicle (g), grain yield (kg ha -1 ), fodder yield (kg ha -1 ), biological yield (kg ha -1 ). The crop was harvested manually with the help of sickle when seed almost matured and stover had turned yellow. The sun-dried bundles were threshed and winnowed and seed so obtained were weighed and data on seed and stover yields were recorded Saini et al. (2018) [16] . statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) as applicable to Randomized Block Design Gomez and Gomez (1984) [4] .

Results and Discussion

Plant height was significantly influenced by different grain sorghum cultivars shown in table.1. Among the cultivars PDKV-Kalyani (217cm) recorded the highest plant height, followed by PKV-Kranti (212 cm) and Phule Vasudha (204 cm). The cultivar PDKV-Kalyani found superior to the all-other remaining cultivars. The lowest plant height of sorghum grain cultivar was recorded by CSV-34 (140 cm). The increase plant height in this cultivar may also associated prolonged vegetative growth duration and efficient translocation of assimilates to growing tissues. Sorghum cultivar possessing greater stem elongation and higher leaf area generally exhibit superior biomass production.

These finding in conformity with those of Mishra et al. (2017) [11] , Singh and Chavhan (2017) [17] and Godre et al. (2024) [3] .

Number of functional leaves

The number of functional leaves differed significantly among the different eighteen kharif and rabi grain sorghum cultivars. The highest number of functional leaves was recorded with Phule Revati (7.60), which was statistically at par with CSH-9 (7.54), Vittal (7.38), PKV Kranti (7.34) and BG-296 (7.33). The lowest number of functional leaves was observed in Parbhani Moti (6.17). Functional leaves serve as primary source of assimilates production and therefore directly influence grain filling and biomass accumulation, the high number of functional leaves observed in superior cultivar may be due to better genetic expression, higher chlorophyll content and enhanced nutrient uptake efficiency. Similar observation was to be reported by Kumar et al. (2017) [8] , Nalini Naidu et al. (2018) [12] and Mishra et al. (2017) [11] .

Leaf area (dm²) and Leaf area index

Significantly higher leaf area and leaf area index was recorded by cultivars PKV-Kranti (57.39 and 8.50) followed by Parbhani Moti (56.58 and 8.34). The minimum leaf area value was recorded by cultivar CSH-9 (47.13 and 6.98). This increase in leaf area from panicle initiation to flowering indicates active vegetative growth and canopy development. Among all cultivars, PKV-Kranti and Parbhani Moti consistently recorded higher leaf area and LAI at flowering stage, indicating vigorous growth and superior canopy development. The observed variation among cultivars reflects differences in genetic makeup and adaptability to environmental conditions. Similar findings were reported by Nalini Naidu et al. (2018) [12] and Mahalle et al. (2022) [10] .

The significantly higher dry matter accumulation value was recorded with sorghum cultivar PDKV Kalyani (181.34 g). The sorghum cultivar PKV-Kranti (179.48 g), M-35-1(178.68 g) and Phule Revati (174.85 g) were found to be at par with PDKV Kalyani. The lowest dry matter accumulation per plant was recorded by sorghum cultivar Vittal (151.43 g) (table.1). The higher dry matter production indicates greater photosynthetic efficiency and superior conversion of intercepted radiation into biomass. The result corroborates finding reported by Ramachandra et al. (2011) [14] , Chongtham et al. (2018) [1] , Godre et al. (2024) [3] and Venkatesh et al, (2024) [18] .

The significant variation observed in stem diameter among grain sorghum cultivars. The maximum stem diameter was recorded in BG-296 (6.36 cm), which was found statistically at par with sorghum cultivar PKV Kranti (6.28 cm). The minimum stem diameter was recorded in CSH-35 (4.67 cm). A slight stabilization or marginal decline at harvest may be due to moisture loss and physiological maturity. The superior performance of BG-296 and PKV Kranti indicates their better vegetative growth potential and dry matter accumulation capacity. The cultivars possessing thicker stems generally exhibit greater structural strength, improved nutrient translocation, accumulates more carbohydrate, enhanced lodging resistance and fodder yield. and similar finding has been reported by Chongtham et al. (2018) [1] .

SPAD (Chlorophyll content)

The SPAD value was recorded at flowering significantly differed in chlorophyll content among different grain sorghum cultivars.

The highest SPAD value was recorded with Cultivar CSV-20 (57.97), which was significantly superior over all other genotypes. The next higher values were observed in cultivars CSH-9 (54.40), CSH-30 (54.40) and CSH-35 (55.14), which were also comparatively higher but differed significantly from the maximum. Lower SPAD values were observed with cultivars SPH-1635 (47.00), SPV-1595 (47.58) and CSV-34 (47.68). The differences among treatments were found to be statistically significant indicating real variation in chlorophyll content among sorghum grain cultivars. The higher values of SPAD may be attributed to enhances light interception, photosynthetic activity and better root growth, resulting in higher water and nutrient uptake which resulted in increased chlorophyll content in leaves. The finding in agreement with Hari Kumar et al. (2024).

Days to 50% flowering

Days to 50% flowering varied significantly among cultivars. The comparatively minimum days to 50% flowering were recorded with cultivar CSH-35 (66 days) followed by cultivar CSH-30 (67 days), CSH-9 (68 days), SPH-1635 (68 days) and BG-296 (67 days), indicating early flowering behaviors of these cultivars. The maximum days to 50% flowering were observed by cultivars CSV-45 (75 days), PDKV-Kalyani (73 days) and Phule Vasudha (73 days). The observed variation in flowering behavior among sorghum cultivars indicates genetic diversity for maturity duration. Early flowering cultivars may be advantageous under drought-prone conditions due to their shorter growth cycle.

Days to physiological maturity

Significant differences were observed in physiological maturity among grain sorghum cultivars. The cultivar CSH-30 matured earliest (113 days) and closely followed by cultivars CSV-34 (117 days), CSV-45(117 days) Phule Suchitra (117 days), Parbhani Moti (117 days) and Vittal (117 days). whereas PKV Kranti required the longest duration (121 days) to attain physiological maturity. Differences in maturity duration are mainly attributed to genotypic characteristics regulating growth and reproductive development. Longer maturity duration often permits greater photosynthate accumulation and biomass production, whereas early maturity enables crop escape from terminal drought stress.

The 1000-seed weight differed significantly among grain sorghum cultivars. The highest test weight was recorded with cultivar CSH-35 (31.5 g), followed by sorghum cultivar CSH-30 and CSV-34 (30.7 g). The lowest test weight was observed in cultivar M-35-1 (26.3 g). The variation in test weight among cultivars reflects differences in grain filling efficiency and assimilate partitioning. Higher seed weight indicates its superior grain development potential and similar observation was reported by Mishra et al. (2017) [11] and Venkatesh et al. (2024) [18] .

Number of Grain panicle -1

The number of grains per panicle differed significantly among grain sorghum cultivars. Significantly the greater number of grains per panicle was recorded in grain sorghum cultivar BG-296 (932), which was statistically found at par with CSH-9 (889) PKV Kranti (875) and Phule Revati (848). The lowest number of grains per panicle was observed in cultivar SPH-1635 (499). The greater no of grains per panicle is an important yield contributing character directly influence final yield. These finding give support to statement by Rakshit et al. (2021) [13] and Hari Kumar et al.

Grain weight per panicle varied significantly among different grain sorghum cultivars. The significantly highest grain weight par panicle was recorded by cultivar BG-296 (26.84 g).The cultivar CSH-9 (26.76 g), PKV-Kranti (25.80 g) and Phule Revati (25.78 g)., were found to be at par with cultivar BG-296.The comparatively minimum number of grain weight par panicle was recorded with cultivar M-35-1 (13.58 g).The increased in grain weight may be attributed to efficient grain filling and greater assimilates supply during reproductive growth. The result is in conformity with Kumar et al. (2017) [8] and Nalini Naidu et al.

Post harvest Studies 3.12 Grain yield (Kg ha -1 ) Grain yield among the different eighteen evaluated grain sorghum cultivars differed significantly showed in table-1. Sorghum cultivar BG -296 (3489 kg ha -1 ) recorded significantly superior grain yield and followed by cultivar CSH-9 (3422 kg ha -1 ), PKV Kranti (3354 kg ha -1 ) and Phule Revati (3322 kg ha -1 ). The significantly lowest grain yield was recorded by cultivar M-35-1(1765 kg ha -1 ). The increased yield might be due to increased number of grains per panicle, grain weight per panicle which resulted in higher panicle weight. These results are in conformity with findings of Mishra et al. (2017) [11] , Rao et al. (2017) [15] , Ghuraiya et al. (2021) [2] , Hariprasanna et al. (2023) [6] and Kumar et al. (2022) [7] . [10] , who found significant differences in fodder production among sorghum genotypes owing to genetic variability in biomass accumulation.

Biological yield varied significantly among grain sorghum cultivars. The significantly highest biological yield was recorded with cultivar PKV-Kranti (10,454 kg ha -1 ). PKV Kranti reported significantly superior biological yield over all other cultivars. The cultivars SPV-1595 (9719 kg ha -1 ) and Phule Revati (9477 kg ha - 1 ) closely followed to the high performing cultivars PKV-Kranti. The lowest biological yield was recorded by cultivar CSV-34 (6429 kg ha -1 ).

GMR, NMR and B:C Ratio

The table-2 illustrates the economic analysis of different treatments of grain sorghum cultivars. Among the all eighteen grain sorghum cultivars, BG 296 exhibited highest economic efficiency with the highest GMR, NMR and B:C ratio, (

Conclusion

The results of the study clearly indicate that among the different eighteen grain sorghum cultivar, significantly highest plant height (cm) was obtained with the cultivar PDKV-Kalyani followed by PKV Kranti and Phule Vasudha. The cultivar CSH-35 recorded significantly highest 1000 seed weight followed by sorghum cultivar CSH-30 and CSH -34, The grain weight and grain number per panicle were found significantly highest with cultivar BG -296 and found at par with cultivar CSH -9, PKV -Kranti and Phule Revati. The stem girth of summer sorghum found significantly superior with BG -296 and found at par with cultivar PKV -Kranti. The sorghum cultivar, CSH -9 recorded significantly highest number of leaves per plant and found at par with cultivar BG -296 and Vittal. The sorghum cultivar BG -296 recorded significantly maximum grain yield followed by cultivar PKV -Kranti and CSH-9. The significantly highest fodder yield of summer sorghum was recorded with cultivar PDKV-Kalyani closely followed by cultivar SPV-1595 and PKV-Kranti, however significantly higher biological yield was obtained with cultivar PKV -Kranti. The significantly highest monetary advantage in terms of gross monetary returns was recorded with BG -296 and found at par with cultivars PKV-Kranti, and CSH-9. The Similar trend was noticed with respect to the net monetary returns and B:C Ratio. Considering above mentioned component character and the result obtained the study revealed that for higher grain, fodder yield and monetary returns of sorghum cultivars BG-296 and PKV Kranti are the promising and ideal in summer season cultivation.

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