Masakwa sorghum is a post-rainy season sorghum grown mainly in the Chad Basin area of Borno State, NE Nigeria. Production practices, and the major constraints to production, were assessed in a survey of 24 villages

Ajayi, O

Flower, D J

Ikwelle, M C

Kaigama, B K

Olabanji, O G

Tabo, R

Ushie, F

ICRISAT Open Access Repository

ISMN 37,1996 61Figure 1. Local government areas surveyed in northeasternNigeria.MethodologyThe survey areas were selected for their differences inagriculture, geography, and accessibility. Twenty fourvillages in 17 local government areas (LGAs) of BornoState were visited (Fig. 1). The survey was conductedusing structured questionnaires which served as a checklist. Discussions were held with farmers in about eightfarms per village. Sorghum heads were collected fromsome farms.Cultural practices of Masakwa sorghum productionTable 1 shows the major masakwa sorghum types grownin Borno State. The common types grown across thethree zones are Burugukhime (red grain), Bulwalana(white grain), Adjagama (cream grain), and Tumbuna(milk grain). Based on their relative popularity in thecommunities and their marketability, cultivars can beranked in decreasing order of preference as follows: Bu l -walana, Adjagama, Tumbuna, and Burugukhime. How-ever, in Bama L G A , Burugukgime was the most-preferred cultivar.Farmers select sites for masakwa sorghum productionon the basis of soil types, availability of land, and theamount of water stored during the wet season. Sandy clayloam to clay soils are most commonly used. Land isprepared manually, between February and May, usinglocal implements such as cutlasses and hoes. The land iscleared of trees and shrubs. Dykes/bunds of about 0.5 to0.75 m are constructed on the farm wi th the aim of im-pounding rainwater (which otherwise may run of f ) , andProduction and ManagementSurvey of Masakwa Sorghum GrowingAreas in Northeastern NigeriaO G Olabanji1, R Tabo2, D J Flower3, O Ajayi2,F Ushie2, B K Kaigama1, and M C Ikwelle1(1. Lake Chad Research Institute, PMB 1293,Maiduguri, Nigeria; 2. Agronomy and Crop ProtectionDivision, ICRISAT Western and Central Africa Region,IITA Office, Sabo Bakin Zuwo Road, PMB 3491, Kano,Nigeria; and 3. Agronomy Division, ICRISAT AsiaRegion, ICRISAT Asia Center, Patancheru 502 324Andhra Pradesh, India)IntroductionMasakwa sorghum is a postrainy season sorghum that isgrown on an estimated 102,564 k m 2 mainly in the LakeChad Basin area of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.Similar types of sorghum can be found on extensive areasin neighboring Cameroon and Chad. There is little rain-fall during this season and the crop is grown on residualsoil moisture. Al though this cold-tolerant crop is an im-portant cereal in Borno State, very little information isavailable on the local germplasm and production prac-tices and constraints.The soils on which masakwa sorghum is grown aredeveloped on Chad lagoonal clays underlain by aeoliansands and on al luvium of the Bama Fluvial/Deltaic com-plex. The pedons at Ngala and New Marte in Borno Stateare Typic Pellustarts, while at Bama and Gwoza they arcVertic Ostifluvents. Calcium carbonate, manganese, andiron manganese concretions are common in these soils.The soils are moderately to very highly base-saturatedbut are very low in organic carbon and nitrogen (Mordi etal. 1991).The climate of Borno State is characterized by twodistinct seasons, the wet and the dry seasons. The wetseason lasts from June to September in the northern parts,and May to Oct in the southern parts of the State. Theaverage annual temperature is about 30 °C wi th a maxi-mum of 45 °C in March/Apr i l and a min imum of 15 °Cduring the dry Harmattan season when masakwa sor-ghum is grown.The main objectives of the survey were to determinethe masakwa sorghum production practices to identifythe major constraints to production, and to collect localgermplasm of masakwa. Baseline information is neededto focus research efforts on this crop.CameroonNigerBornu StateMaiduguriBadir GwozaBamaNgalaMarteLake ChadMongunoTable 1. Masakwa sorghum types grown in LocalGovernment areas and villages/towns in Borno State,Nigeria, 1991/92.MasakwaL o c a l s o r g h u m ,G o v e r n m e n t p r e d o m i n a n tA r e a V i l l a g e / T o w n typesN g a l a N g a l a B u l w a l a n aB u g d a B u r u g u k h i m eD a g a l a T u m b u n aD i k w a A d j a g a m aM o n g u n o M a s h i l l o B u l w a l a n aN j i n n e T u m b u n aO l d M a r t e A d j a g a m aB u r u g u k h i m eB a m a I z a B u r u g u k h i m eA r i k a r a r i T u m b u n aK e r i , M b a g a A d j a g a m aW a l a s a l o d e r i A d j a g a m aJ a g o r i r i A d j a g a m aV i a l i y a A d j a g a m aM a i m i l i r i B u r u g u k h i m eM b u l i y a B u r u g u k h i m eB a n k i B u r u g u k h i m eG w o z aN g i g e A d j a g a m aD o r i c B u r u g u k h i m eG w o z a T u m b u n aB u r u g u k h i m ewhile their roots are tr immed wi th a sharp knife to faci l i -tate transplanting. Masakwa sorghum is established bytransplanting 4- to 5- week-old seedlings into 15 - 20 cmdeep holes made manually wi th a heavy wooden dibbler(called - gabgal in Kanuri). About 200 mL of water ispoured into each transplanting hole before 1 to 2 seed-lings of masakwa sorghum are inserted. Akpose et al.(1996) reported that masakwa sorghum can also be directseeded, provided irrigation facilities are available. Thismethod of sowing and the resultant crop performancewarrants further investigation.Generally, farmers use about 10,000 plants ha"1 butwhere the soil moisture status is high, especially on veryheavy soils, a population of about 20,000 plants ha -1 isused. The local cultivars sown by farmers take 110 to 150days to mature, and during this period no chemical fer t i l -izer is used. An average yield of 800 kg ha-1 is recordedin farmers' fields.Biotic constraintsThe major pests of masakwa sorghum are birds, grass-hoppers, and stem borers of the genus Sesamia. Birds arethe most important yield-reducing agents. They attackmostly Bulwalana, Adjagama, and Tumbuna types whi leBurugukhime (red grain type) is rarely attacked, proba-bly because it contains tannin. There are no cheap im-proved methods of controll ing these pests. Farmersemploy such traditional bird-scaring techniques as birdscaring by people perched on high wooden stands. Theyalso harvest the crop early, at physiological maturity, tominimize bird damage. Covered smut Sporisorium sorghi (Ehrenberg) Link, downy mildew Perenosclerospora sorghi (Weston and Uppal) C.G. Shaw, and unidentified viruses arethe common diseases. Farmers do not use measures tocontrol these pests.None of the farmers in the masakwa sorghum growingareas uses herbicides for weed control. They weed manu-ally, using simple tools, mostly hoes and cutlasses.Weeding is done up to three times after transplantingdepending on the degree of infestation. Generally, therewere more weed problems in Bama and Gwoza LGAsthan in the other areas surveyed.Labor constraintsThere are two main sources of farm labor: family andhired. There are, on average, four family members perhousehold available for farm work in the areas surveyed.Hired labor is the most important source of farm laborand is mostly used for land clearing (i.e., cutting shrubsand grasses), for bunding, making holes for seedlings,increasing infi l tration. Dur ing early September, the newweeds that emerge are cleared and burned.The major source of seeds is the previous seasons'harvest; secondary sources are government agencies (re-search institutes and agricultural development programs),and local markets. In most cases farmers raise their ownseedlings, but some farmers purchase seedlings f romother farmers. No farmer is engaged solely in the produc-tion of masakwa sorghum seedlings for sale. The nurs-eries are prepared in August after the heavy rains havesubsided. Farmers use sunken nursery beds ranging insize from 1 x 1 m to 3 x 3 m, and usually broadcast theirseeds. Seedlings are ready for transplanting about 30 to40 days after sowing. They are uprooted from the nurserybeds and tied up in small bundles which are placed in anupright position in shallow pools of water for 1 to 2 daysto stimulate the development of new roots. The tops ofthe seedlings' leaves are cut to reduce transpiration,62 ISMN 37,1996transplanting, and harvesting. At transplanting the cost ofhir ing labor in all the areas surveyed varied between50 (US$1 - 1 2 1991) and 70 per person day. In areaswhere labor costs are low, farmers tend to establish morefarm units or, bigger farms than in areas where laborcosts are high.Yield performance of masakwa sorghumThe yield performance of masakwa sorghum in fourLGAs of Borno State is shown in Table 2. In Ngala L G AAdjagama gave the highest grain yield (909 kg ha-1),fol lowed by Burugukhime (687 kg ha -1), while Bul -walana recorded the lowest yield (398 kg ha-1). Tumbunahad the highest grain yields of 1393 kg ha-1 in MongunL G A and 947 kg ha - 1 in Bama L G A . In Gwoza L G A ,Bulwalana had the highest grain yield of 786 kg ha-1fol lowed by Adjagama (699 kg ha 1 ) . Burugukhime re-corded the lowest grain yield at 649 kg ha-1.Cultivars seemed adapted to particular locations. Seedsize was large and varied litt le among cultivars. Lowplant densities, while min imiz ing interplant competitionfor water, placed a low ceil ing on potential yields.Table 2. Grain yields and yield components of Mas-akwa sorghum types in four local government areas( L G A ) of Borno State, Nigeria 1991/92.G r a i n y i e l d Seeds 100-gra in( k g ha- 1 ) pan ic le " 1 mass (g )N g a l aA d j a g a m a 9 0 9 2605 4.4B u r u g u k h i m e 687 3 6 8 9 4.1T u m b u n a 6 1 6 2293 3.8B u l w a l a n a 398 1739 4.2M o n g u n oT u m b u n a 1393 2 4 9 6 4.1B u l w a l a n a 7 4 9 2798 4.9B u r u g u k h i m e 6 6 0 2021 4.1B a m aT u m b u n a 9 4 7 2 7 0 6 5.0A d j a g a m a 892 2 4 5 6 4.8B u l w a l a n a 838 1853 5.5B u r u g u k h i m e 822 2288 4.4G w o z aB u l w a l a n a 7 8 6 1929 5.6A d j a g a m a 6 9 9 2765 5.0B u r u g u k h i m e 6 4 9 1906 5.0Research needsThere is a need to understand how efficiently this cropuses soil moisture and the scope to increase crop densityor duration. Current transplanting methods are laboriousand costly and the feasibility of direct seeding is worthfurther study. Labor savings w i l l result in a larger areabeing cultivated. Appropriate bird control measures needto be developed. The profitability of alternatives to mas-akwa sorghum cultivation should also be examined. Wi thappropriate land management rainy season soybean orpostrainy season chickpea may be potential alternatives.AcknowledgmentThe authors are grateful to the Executive Director ofICR1SAT Western and Central Afr ica Region for provid-ing special funds for this collaborative work between theLake Chad Research Institute (LCR1) and ICRISAT. Theful l collaboration of farmers interviewed is alsoappreciated.ReferencesAkpose, M.K., Wudir i , B.B., and Sarpong, K.S. 1986.Masakwa improvement in the Chad Basin. Noma6:30-31.Mordi , R.I. , Nwaka, G.I .C., Folorunso, O.A., Ohu,J.O., Bababe, A., Ogunsola, O.A., Esu, I .E. Kaigama,B.K., and Omeje, M .U . 1991. Report of the soil charac-terization of I B S R A M Vertisol; management project sitesin northeastern Nigeria. Bangkok, Thailand: Interna-tional Board for Soil Research and Management. 99 pp.Influence of Nitrogen on SeedProduction of Sorghum HybridsK Ram Sudhakar and G W L Jayakumar(Department of Soil Science and AgriculturalChemistry, Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University,Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500 003, Andhra Pradesh,India)The possibilities of using nitrogen manipulation to in-crease sorghum hybrid seed production through im-proved synchronization of flowering between male andfemale parents have been explored by earlier breeders(Basavaraju and Bommegowda 1982, Reddy et al. 1992,Gayatri 1993).ISMN 37,1996 63

Survey  of Masakwa  Sorghum   Growing Areas in Northeastern Nigeria

http://oar.icrisat.org/1591/1/ISMN37_61-63_1996.pdf

Survey of Masakwa Sorghum Growing Areas in Northeastern Nigeria

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