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ABSTRACT - Field trials were conducted at Samaru - Zaria and Samaru-Kataf in 1981 and
1982 to evaluate the effect o f three planting methods on growth and yield performance of
“Dauro” millet. The direct sowing method gave the highest number of flowering tillers per
plant and tallest plants at both locations. This method also gave the highest grain yield at
Samaru-Kataf but resulted in the lowest grain yield at Samaru-Zaria. The direct sown plants
adversely suffered from the highest plant mortality at both locations and stem borer attack
at Samaru-Zaria. The slant transplanting method was superior in terms o f number o f harve-
stable heads while the upright transplanting method was superior in terms of 1000-grains
weight. The different planting methods showed variable effects on the weight o f heads but
did not affect the incidence of downy mildew.
INTRODUCTION
field and are more widely grown. “Dauro” is however similar to “Maiwa”
in being short-day sensitive and late-maturing in contrast to “Gero”, which
is - day-neutral and early-maturing (B hardwaj and W ebster, 1971).
In the main “Dauro” producing area, the transplanting of the crop
makes it possible for the field to be double-cropped during the rainy sea
son. The local varieties of early-maturing groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) are used as preceding crops and
harvested before “Dauro” is transplanted. The seedlings are transplanted in
variably in a slanting position of 20-45° to the soil surface. Apart from the
merit of double cropping, it is not known whether the transplanting of
“Dauro” has any yield advantage over the direct sowing which is conven
tional for other pearl millets. However, in India, several transplanting stu
dies with “Bajra”, a pearl millet type similar to the Nigerian “Gero”, have
shown grain yield advantage over the conventional direct sowing (T omer ,
et al., 1974; P al , 1976; G urha , 1980).
Considering the dearth of knowledge about the yield advantage of
transplanting “Dauro” and the rationale behind its transplanting in a slan
ting position, the study reported here was conducted to determine the per
formance o f the crop under different planting methods.
Trials were conducted in 1981 and 1982 at the research farm o f the Institute for Agri
cultural Research, Samaru-Zaria ( i f l l N , 07° 3811) and at the Kaduna state Farm Centre,
Samaru-Kataf (09° 44 N, 08° 23 E), Nigeria. Samaru-Zaria lies in the northern Guinea savan
na and represents the main “Gero” and “Maiwa” growing area in Nigeria, while Samaru-Kataf
is in the southern Guinea savanna and represents the typical area where ”Dauro” presendy
predominates. The soils at both locations are well-drained sandy loam classified generally as
ferruginous tropical soil for Samaru-Zaria area and undifferentiated and weakly developed
tropical soil for Samaru-Kataf area (Tom linson , 1965). The soil samples taken at 0-20cm
depth from the experimental fields before the first crop in 1981 gave the results for Samaru-
Zaria and Samaru-Kataf, respectively, as follows: pH (1:1, soil: water) 6.4 and 4.7; total nitro
gen 0.025 and 0.039%; total phosphorus 147.39 and 145.02 ppm; organic carbon 0.37 and
0.62%; exchangeable cations (meq/lOOg soil) sodium 0.05 and 0.05; potassium 0.06 and 0.07
and calcium + magnesium 1.36 and 1.40; cation exchange capacity (meq/lOOg soil) 4.70 and
5.60 and base saturation 31.28 and 27.14%.
Three planting methods, namely direct sowing, slant transplanting and upright trans-
PLANTING METHODS IN “DAURO” MILLET 289
planting were compared. The three treatments were arranged in a randomized complete
block design and replicated three times. Each gross plot was 36m2 and had the inner area of
21.6m2 as the net plot from where all the data were taken. Direct sowing was accomplished
by sowing the seeds directly in the production field. The seedlings raised in the nursery beds
were transplanted into the production field at the angles of 20-45° and about 90° between
the seedling and the soil surface to achieve the slant and upright transplanting, respectively.
Direct sowing in the field and seeding in the nursery beds to raise seedling were done on
the same day. Each crop was sown on 22 June, 1981 and 21 June, 1982 at Samaru-Zaira and
on 6 July, 1981 and 26 July, 1982 at Samaru-Kataf. The variation in the dates of sowing bet
ween the two locations was dictated by the pattern of rainfall cessation which occurs earlier
at Samaru-Zaria. The difference in the dates of sowing at Samaru-Kataf was caused by late
land preparation in 1982. The direct sown plants were thinned to one plant per stand at two
weeks after sowing. The seedlings in the nursery beds were ready for transplanting at four
weeks after seeding but transplanting was done only when sufficient rainfall had been recei
ved. Each crop was transplanted on 24 July, 1981 and 28 July, 1982 at Samaru-Zaria and on
13 August, 1981 and 6 September, 1982 at Samaru-Kataf. Both seeds and seedlings were
planted at 26cm apart along 60-cm ridges.
There is no specific fertilizer rate recommended for “Dauro” millet yet but prior to any-
planting, the entire production field received a basal dose of 200 lcg/ha of 15-15-15 com
pound fertilizer during the seed bed preparation. Additional doses of 60 kg N and 30 kg
each of P20 5 and KzO per hectare, being the recommended rates for “Gero” millet (SlNGH ct
al., 1983), were side-dressed to the entire crop at two weeks after transplanting. Plots were
hoe-weeded twice during the growth of each crop. Vetox 85 (Carbaryl) was sprayed at 1.12
kg a.l/ha to check the attack of stem borers (A cigona ignefusalis Hamp.) in both years at Sa
maru-Zaira. Spraying was started on 24 August, 1981 and 10 September, 1982 and repeated
at fortnightly intervals for three times in 1981 and two times in 1982. Each crop was har
vested on 1 and 3 November at Samaru-Zaria and on 3 and 11 December at Samaru-Kataf
in 1981 and 1982, respectively.
The data were collected on the number o f flowering tillers per plant, plant height,
number and weight o f harvestable heads, weight o f 1000 grains and grain yield. Q uelea birds
(Q uelea quelea L) attacked the grains at Samaru-Zaria, and therefore only the heads which still
retained at least one quarter of their grains were regarded as harvestable. Other parameters
assessed included plant mortality, and attack of stem borers and downy mildew (Sclerospora
(Sacc.) Schroet.). The attack o f stem borers was scored in 1981 at Samaru-Zaria
gram inicola
and that of downy mildew in both years at Samaru-Kataf, using the formula procedure as
follows:
where X = number of plants attacked per plot, and Y = total number of plants per plot.
Plant mortality was scored using the following procedure:
290 D.A. LABE, P.N. EGHAREVBA, J.Y. YAYOCK, S.O. OKIROR
where P = number of plants per plot at two weeks after sowing/transplanting, and h = num
ber of plants per plot at harvest. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis as
described by Leclerg et at. (1962) and treatment effects were compared using the least signi
ficance difference (L.S.D.).
TABLE 1 - E ffect o f p la n tin g m ethods on the num ber o fflo w e rin g tillers a n d p la n t height in “D a u -
ro ” m illet at S a m a ru -Z a ria and S a m aru-K ataf.
P la n t height (m )
which the transplants commenced tillering was thus late when compared
with the seedling ages of three weeks in direct sown “Dauro” (Labe , 1987)
and two weeks in other pearl millets, particularly the Gero type (B eg g ,
1965; R a m o nd , 1968; E gharevba, 1977). The late commencement of tillering
in transplants thus shortened the interval between tillering and flowering
and resulted in only a few of the tillers being able to produce heads, the
effect which N anda and C hinoy (1958) have earlier attributed to unfavoura
ble photoperiod consequence upon late tillers.
The effect of planting methods on plant height followed a similar pat
tern as that observed for the number of tillers. The direct sown plants we
re tallest but generally not significantly different from the transplants, ex
cept in 1982 at Samaru-Kataf (Table 1). The tendency o f the plants esta
blished by direct sowing to grow tallest could be explained on the basis of
the large size of their seedlings, which therefore had more growth vigour
than the transplanted seedlings. Another plausible reason could be the con
tinued growth of the direct sown plants without any interruption; whereas
transplanting held up growth in transplants for sometime as the seedlings
had to re-establish before normal growth was resumed.
O f the factors which had adverse effects on “Dauro”, only the attack
o f stem borers and downy mildew and plant mortality were scored. The at
tack of Quelea birds at Samaru-Zaria in both years of the study was one of
such adverse factors not scored. The birds caused the most serious grain
damage in spite of efforts made to scare them away by using bird scarers.
The attack of stem borers occurred only at Samaru-Zaria in 1981 and
1982 but was scored only in 1981, the year when the infestation was seve
re. The attack on the crop was most severe on the direct sown plants (Ta
ble 2). The slant and upright transplants had the same level of attack
which was significantly lower than that for the direct sown plants. The rea
son for the pest preference on the direct sown plants was not known but
the low attack on the transplants corroborates the advantage o f transplan
ting to check pest infestation reported early on rice (T empany, 1932; A nony
m ou s , 1967).
Downy mildew attacked “Dauro” at both locations but only the attack
PLANTING METHODS IN “DAURO” MILLET 293
TABLE 2 - E ffect o f p la n tin g m ethods on borer attack in “D a u ro ” m illet a t Sam a ru -Z a ria , dow ny
m ildew attack at S a m a ru -K a ta f a n d p la n t m ortality at both locations.
Samaru-Zaria Samaru-Kataf
Planting Method
sS-
Slant transplanting 25.8 25.8 17.6 13.8 15.7
%
L.S.D. (5%) 5.8 5.8 ns ns ns
P la n t m ortality (% )
*
Number and Weight o f Heads
TABLE 3 - E ffect o f p la n tin g m ethod on the num ber a n d w eight o f harvestable heads in “D a u -
ro ” m illet at S a m a ru -Z a ria and Sam aru-K ataf.
Samaru-Zaria Samaru-Kataf
Planting Method
N u m b er o f heads/plot
Samaru-Zaria Samaru-Kataf
Planting Method
G rain y ie ld (K g/ha)
fore, for “Dauro” in this investigation, there was apparent grain yield advan
tage of direct sowing over transplanting. This advantage however, deserves
further investigation considering the poor performance of direct sowing at
Samaru-Zaria and the non-significant differences that occurred between it
and any of the transplanting methods at Samaru-Kataf. There was also no
indication from this investigation to suggest why slant transplanting is being
practised by farmers in preference to upright transplanting.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - The investigation reported in this paper forms part o f the Cereals
Research Programme of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru. The Director of the
Institute is thanked for his kind permission to publish the paper. The technical assistance
rendered by Messrs. A. Oyilom, S. Ukata, N. Manu, S. Adabara and the staff o f the Kaduna
State Ministry of Agriculture at Samaru-Kataf is thankfully acknowledged.
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