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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
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

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
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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References

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