Agronomic Performance of Sorghum after Panicle Removal

A field study was conducted at Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA) farm to investigate the effect of panicle removal and no panicle removal on growth, yield and yield components of grain sorghum within and across landraces. The experiment was arranged in a complete randomized block design (CRBD), three landraces, two management practices and four replications. The sorghum landraces; segaolane, korwane and mmamokotane designated (T1-T3) represent management practice 1 (panicle removed) whereas controls designated (C1-C3) represent management practice 2 (panicle not removed) were planted in an area of 63 m2. Within landraces, treated (panicle removed) plants revealed significantly (P<.05) lower plant height, number of tillers and grains per head across the landraces. Overall, a non-significant (P<.05) treatment effect was observed for total grain weight and shoot biomass. Untreated plants (panicle not removed) significantly (P<.01) increased the harvest index in segaolane whereas a non-significant treatment effect was observed for korwane and mmamokotane. Across landraces, panicle removal significantly (P<.05) enhanced mmamokotane plant height and shoot biomass whereas it significantly (P<.01) increased the number of grains per head in segaolane. Panicle removal significantly (P<.01) increased total grain, 1000 seed weight and harvest index in korwane whereas a non-significant treatment effect was observed for number of tillers across the landraces. It is concluded that panicle removal is ineffective management practice for enhancing growth, yield and yield components in sorghum landraces.