Produção de cultivares de sorgo Sorghum bicolor L. Moench sob diferentes turnos de rega.

Abstract

Sorghum Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is a plant widely used in animal and human food. Cultivated in areas with water scarcity, where other crops become unfeasible, it appears as an alternative to ruminant nutrition. To increase crop productivity, proper irrigation management is essential, as water directly influences the production of green and dry mass. Thus, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the productive potential of sorghum cultivars under different irrigation shifts. The experiment was conducted in an field at the Center for Science and Agrifood Technology at the Federal University of Campina Grande. Two forage sorghum cultivars BRS Ponta Negra and Gigante Boliviano were used, both submitted to five different irrigation shifts (daily, every two, three, four and five days). At 30, 60 and 70 days after planting, the plants were evaluated for height, number of leaves, stem diameter, green mass and dry mass, the latter two analyzed at 70 days. In general, plants irrigated every five days showed the worst performance. With regard to green and dry mass, plants irrigated daily and every two days showed the highest yields. Among the cultivars, Gigante Boliviano showed the highest accumulation of green and dry mass.