Peer review

Three on-farm experiments were conducted during 1984/85, 1985/86 and 1986/87 seasons in Siabuwa (Zimbabwe), to test early maturing sorghum varieties SV-2 and 321CR with fertilizer use as possible solutions to production problems faced by farmers growing Balala variety. Varieties SV-2 and 321CR produced higher yields than Balala (by an average of 62 per cent) in the three seasons at farmers' levels of inputs and management. Farmer evaluation of the taste of porridge from sorghum grain showed a high preference for SV-2 and 321CR compared to Balala. Fertilizer application at 50 kg nitrogen per ha and 12 kg phosphorus per ha appreciably raised the grain yield of Balala sorghum and SV-2 and 321CR varieties on vertisols, siallitic clays and sandy loam soils in average and above average rainfall years (1984/85 by 37 per cent and 1985/86 by 60 per cent) but not in 1986/87, a dry year. However, fertilizer use was not economic in the three seasons. It was concluded that SV-2 and 321CR are useful additions to the range of sorghum varieties available to farmers in Siabuwa.

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