Productivity and Water-Use Efficiency of Sorghum in Rainfed Regime in the Semi-Arid Region of Brazil

Abstract

Sorghum has become ever more prominent on the global energy scene, with studies in the area becoming extremely important. Agricultural production in the semi-arid region of the Brazilian Northeast is intrinsically dependent on rainfall in the region. However, on both inter-and intra-annual scales, the rainfall regime is quite irregular. The aim of this study was to evaluate the productivity of sorghum grown under a rainfed regime, and the water-use efficiency of crops in the semi-arid region of the northeast of Brazil. The work was carried out in the city of Tabuleiro do Norte in the semi-arid region of the State of Ceará. Mean productivity of the sorghum was 919.42 kg•ha −1 , with maximum values being recorded for lot 02 (1032 kg•ha −1), lot 03 (1102 kg•ha −1), lot 04 (2143 kg•ha −1) and lot 12 (1367 kg•ha −1). The greatest value for water-use efficiency, 1.13 m 3 •kg −1 , was found for lot 04, while the smallest value, 4.83 m 3 •kg −1 was seen in lot 02. It was found that the low productivity of sorghum in a rainfed regime shows that the lack of success in production systems in semi-arid regions is not due to the total amount of rainfall, but rather the spatial and temporal distribution of the rains, as well as the occurrence of hot, dry spells. Furthermore, it can be seen that the best ratio of grain production to water demand shows a strong correlation with the distribution of water throughout the cycle, and not only with the total volume.