Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:21:38.377Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Field Technique to Screen Seedling Emergence of Pearl Millet and Sorghum through Soil Crusts†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

P. Soman ,
J. M. Peacock  and
F. R. Bidinger
P. Soman
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru PO, 502 324, India
J. M. Peacock
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru PO, 502 324, India
F. R. Bidinger
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru PO, 502 324, India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A field technique to screen large numbers of pearl millet and sorghum lines for seedling emergence through soil crusts is described. Seeds were sown on raised broad beds in an Alfisol field. The beds were smoothed after sowing with a bed shaper. Thirty five mm of water was applied from two parallel lines of sprinklers at a rate of 14 mm per hour. A crust of relatively constant strength in different tests developed as the surface dried out. The crust was broken in the control treatment with a crust breaker. The ratio of emergence under crust to that under control (c/u ratio) was used to classify the test materials.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , October 1984 , pp. 327 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Awadhwal, N. K. & Thierstein, G. E. (1983). Development of a rolling type soil crust breaker. Paper presented at the XX Annual Convention of the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, G. B. Pant Universtiy of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India, February 1983. (Copy of the paper available from ICRISAT).Google Scholar
Cary, J. W. & Evans, D. D. (1974). Soil Crusts. Technical Bulletin 214. Tucson, Arizona: Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arizona.Google Scholar
Goyal, M. R. (1982). Soil crusts vs seedling emergence: Review. Agricultural Mechanisation in Asia 13: 62–78.Google Scholar
Hoogmoed, W. B. (1983). Some aspects of crust formation on soils in semi-arid regions. Paper presented at the Consultants Workshop on SAT Alfisols and Related Soils, Hyderabad, India, Dec. 1–3, 1983. (Proceedings to be published by ICRISAT).Google Scholar
Jones, M. J. & Wild, A. (1975). Soils of West African Savanna. Technical Communications No. 55. Harpenden, UK: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Maiti, R. K., Agrawal, R. P., Johrar, B. S., Raju, P. S. & Peacock, J. M. (in press). Effect of soil crusting on seedling emergence in sorghum. Indian Journal of Agricultural Science.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. M. (1979). Sorghum physiology and crop establishment studies. In Final Scientific Report Phase II, Volume 2. Dryland Farming Research Scheme (DLFRS). Gaborone, Botswana: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Taylor, H. M. (1962). Seedling emergence of wheat, grain sorghum, and guar as affected by rigidity and thickness of surface crusts. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 26: 431–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar