Determination of intra and inter row spacing on the yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in the dry land areas of Wag Himra, eastern Amhara, Ethiopia

Abstract

Recently in Ethiopia pearl millet has drawn a lot of attention as a replacement for maize and sorghum in the dry land areas because of its ability to reliably produce grains on a wide range of soils and harsh production environment. A field experiment was conducted during the 2014 cropping season on the Research sites of Abergele and Aybra, at Sekota dryland agricultural research Centre, eastern Amhara, Ethiopia, with the objective of to increase the productivity of pearl millet in the study areas of Wag-Himra Zone through optimizing its intra and inter-row spacing. The treatments considered in the study were consisting of four intra row spacing’s (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) and four inter-row spacing (30, 50, 60 and 75 cm) and making a total of sixteen treatments. The Randomized Complete Block Design factorial arrangement with three replications a plot size of 5m × 3m was used. Based on the Combined analysis main effects of inter and intra row spacing by location showed significance difference (p<0.05) for the parameters of grain yield. The heights grain yield was recorded from 50cm and 5cm inter and intra row spacing respectively, whereas the lowest grain yield was recorded from 60 cm and 75 cm with 20 cm inter and intra row spacing respectively. It is possible to recommend that, sowing of pearl millet with inter row spacing of 50cm and 5cm intra row spacing is effective in attaining higher grain yield in the study area.