Effect of traditional storage and soil depth on germination capacity of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) seeds.

摘要

The objective of this study was to investigate the germination capacity, field emergence, and soil depth of seeds stored under a variety of storage types and used by farmers in the rain fed sorghum producing areas of Ethiopia as a seed source. Seeds were obtained from farmers of Derashe and Konso district that store sorghum for one year in underground pit, hang panicle of sorghum on smoke at a kitchen house, and newly harvested. Sorghum stored traditionally was used as a source of seed by the farmers of study area. The traditionally stored seed and newly harvested seeds were used for the study. The following tests were carried out: 100-seed weight standard germination test, percentage of seeds in different classes of ungerminated seeds, percentage of field emergence and depth of sowing. Seeds stored traditionally in underground pit for one year showed significantly lower percentage of germination both in the laboratory and field emergency test compared to panicle smoked seeds over the kitchen and newly harvested seeds. The result revealed that, seeds stored in underground pit for one year lost most of their germination ability and their viability. Seeds stored as panicle smoked in the kitchen had significant germination and emergency capacity followed by those of the newly harvested seeds.