TRANSPLANTING SORGHUM & MILLET:

1. TRANSPLANTING SORGHUM & MILLET: FOOD SECURITY FOR RESOURCE POOR PEOPLE IN SEMI-ARID, LOW RAINFALL AREAS • Absolute shortage of water and seasonal uncertainties are the most serious physical constraints to crop production. • Where rains fail, replanting is risky and costs are high. • Where rains finish early, harvests are small or crops fail. Introduction Andrea Mottram and Einir Young, Centre for Arid Zone Studies, www.bangor.ac.uk/transplanting Project Activities - Zimbabwe and Ghana On-farm Introduction The Problem Poor food security, yield instability and risk of crop failure are challenges for many farmers in semi-arid areas. • Main Activities • Identification of possible areas of application through participatory appraisal of village situations. • Village level trials of transplanting techniques, with full socio-economic and agronomic analysis, conducted with villagers to develop the methodology. • Identification of factors that are necessary prerequisites for the sustainable uptake of the technology. • Evaluation of methodology in terms of effectiveness for increasing productivity through on-station trials. • Trials • Conducted with 100 farmers around Masvingo in Zimbabwe, and 60 farmers in villages around Sandema and Zebilla in Ghana. • Farmers given basic guidelines such as nursery size and approximate seedling age for transplanting, then encouraged to elaborate on the basic idea to suit their own needs. • Various field days, post-season discussion workshops, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were conducted. Farmer’s nurseries in Zimbabwe • The Transplanting Solution • Raising a proportion of sorghum and millet crops in nurseries, using small amounts of water before the rainy season. • Transplanting seedlings into the field at the onset of rains, thereby reducing the in-field growing season. On-station trials - Ministry of Agriculture research stations Zimbabwe - Save Valley Experiment Station, Manicaland Ghana - S.A.R.I Research Station, Manga, Upper-East On-farm trials Zimbabwe - districts around Masvingo, Masvingo Province Ghana - villages around Sandema and Zebilla, Upper-East All areas are typified by low (Zimbabwe <650mm, Ghana 700 -1200mm) and erratic rainfall, and periodic seasonal droughts. • Farmers perceptions • Main problems • Birds eating germinating seeds. • Source of water too far from the nursery. • Animal damage to unsecured nurseries. • Termites eating seedlings. • Temporary wilting after transplanting. • Transplanting laborious and time consuming. Thus providing an extra dimension to food security and reducing the risks of unreliable rainfall. Mrs Maunganidze with her transplanted sorghum (left) flowering much earlier than direct sown (right) The Project • Main benefits • Earlier harvesting. • If rains are late, seedlings can continue to grow in the nurseries, if rains stop prematurely the crop can still mature. • Higher yields due to improved stand, more tillers and larger heads. • Labour requirements reduced at other times of the season e.g. weeding is reduced due to plants being bigger than weeds at transplanting. • Conserves seed compared to the practice of broadcasting. • Improved germination in nurseries compared to the field. • Secured nurseries easy to supervise and apply manure. • Extra seedlings from nurseries can be sold. Aim To investigate the application of transplanting in semi-arid areas. Initially focusing on areas of unreliable rainfall in Zimbabwe and Ghana, though currently expanding into Ethiopia and Eritrea. On-station • Trials • Comparing different varieties of sorghum and pearl millet. • Comparing crops of transplanted seedlings from different nursery densities, and at different ages, with direct sown seed (sown at the same time as seedlings transplanted, coinciding with the first rains). Objectives • Test the validity of the concept of transplanting. • Identification of areas for the application of the transplanting technique. • Characterisation of the physical and socio-economic constraints to the adoption of transplanting. • Development of optimal methodological strategies. Similarly, transplanted sorghum (background) and direct sown (foreground) On-station nurseries • Time to flowering • Graph (left) shows days to flowering for ‘dry’ direct sown seed, compared to transplanted seedlings at 38, 29 and 20 days old. • From the time of sowing, transplanted seedlings take longer to flower than direct sown, and the older the seedling at transplanting the longer the period to flowering. • From the time of transplanting, transplanted seedlings flower approximately 10 days earlier than direct sown. • The difference is due to ‘transplanting shock’ experienced after the plant is transplanted causing a check in plant growth. • In real ‘farming’ terms transplants flower earlier as they are transplanted at the start of the rains, before which nothing grows. • Nursery density had no effect on time to flowering. Project Areas and Partners • Conclusion • A majority of farmers involved in the trials much preferred transplanting compared to direct sowing, due to improved food security. • The high labour requirement at transplanting is counteracted by the reduction of labour at other times e.g. reduced weeding, earlier maturity and, in many cases in the field, higher yields (possibly a main effect of improved stands). • Variations in nursery density up to 1000 plants per m2, and seedling age at transplanting up to 40 days old, have little effect on flowering time and yields. • Trials are continuing to improve and refine the technique. Zimbabwe (1999-) Department of Research and Specialist Services (Ministry of Agriculture) Rural Unity for Development University of Zimbabwe Ghana (2000-) Savannah Agricultural Research Institute Ministry of Agriculture Action Aid Expansion Pearl millet, direct sown (foreground) flowering transplants (background) Original CAZS New New Yields Yields were significantly higher (up to 500kg/hectare) for transplanted seedlings from all nursery densities, and all ages, when compared to direct sown crops. Eritrea (2001-) Directorate of Research (Ministry of Agriculture) Ethiopia (2001-) Mekelle University Christian Relief and Development Association Andrea Mottram & Dr Einir Young, Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW. Tel: +44 (0)1248 382346 Fax: +44 (0)1248 364717, E-mail: a.mottram@bangor.ac.uk/e.m.young@bangor.ac.uk