Agronomic Performance of Grain Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Cultivars under Intensive Fish Farm Effluent Irrigation

Abstract

The growing global water shortage is an increasing challenge for the agricultural sector, which aims to produce sufficient quantity and quality of food and animal feed. In our study, effluent water from an intensive African catfish farm was irrigated on grain sorghum plants in four consecutive years. In our study the effects of the effluent on the N, P, K, Na content of the seeds, on the phenological parameters (plant height, relative chlorophyll content), the green mass, and on the grain yield of three varieties (‘Alföldi 1’, ‘Farmsugro 180’ and ‘GK Emese’) were investigated. Five treatments (Körös River (K) water and effluent (E) water: 30 and 45 mm weekly irrigation water dose; non-irrigated control) were applied with micro-spray irrigation. Compared to non-irrigated plants, effluent water did not negatively affect the N, P, K and Na contents of the grain crop. In terms of phenological parameters, the quality of the irrigation water (150–230 cm) had no negative effect on any of the measured parameters compared to the control (133–187 cm) values. In terms of biomass in 2020, grain yields were 89–109 g/plant with variety Alföldi 1, 64–91 g/plant with variety Farmsugro 180, and 86–110 g/plant with GK Emese.

Maximization of brackish water productivity for the sustainable production of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cultivated under an integrated aquaculture–agriculture system

“…Aquaculture wastewater is rich in organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) which are important for plant growth (Omotade et al 2019 ; Kimera et al 2023 ; Terkula et al 2023 ). In our study, irrigating sorghum with saline aquaculture wastewater did not show significant detrimental effects in the tested agro-morphological parameters (plant height, leaf area, stalk diameter, and SPAD) and hence in agreement with previous studies (Guimarães et al 2019 , 2022 ; Kolozsvári et al 2022 ). This is because sorghum is moderately tolerant to soil and water salinity of up to 5440 and 2700 ppm respectively above which a 16% reduction in yield is expected (Calone et al 2020 ).…”

Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Defense against Abiotic Stress

“…Drought is an environmental factor that negatively impacts plant growth and crop production. As a result of climate change, this factor is manifested more and more often, and its duration has been prolonged in recent years [ 20 , 21 ]. The important role in plant growth and development and the tolerance against abiotic stress, including drought, have growth regulatory factors (GRF).…”

Identification and Characterization of Glycosyltransferase 43 (GT43) Gene Family in Sorghum bicolor

“…The genetic material of the poplar (Populus trichocarpa) contains a group of seven GT43 genes known as PtrGT43A-G. A complementation study revealed that Poplar PtrGT43A/B/E are IRX9 orthologs, and PtrGT43C/D are IRX14 orthologs [24]. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the most widely grown food crop due effective use of nitrogen, and extraordinary tolerance to poor soil conditions [25], [26], [27]. Sorghum's genome is smaller (730 Mb) than the genomes of lignocellulosic biomass crops like switchgrass and Miscanthus [28].…”