Abstract:

Sorghum is an important income and food security crop for those living in drought-prone
regions of Uganda. Many races of the cereal are grown in almost all zones but the
northern region is the highest producer followed by eastern, western and lastly the
central. Much as the northern region is the highest producer of sorghum, the region
experiences the lowest productivity indicating that production is due to increased area in
cultivation. The increased area is due to wide scale cultivation of improved sorghum
such as Epurpur and now SESO1 which is cultivated for income generation due to its
use for making larger beer. The increased production of specialty improved varieties in
the last ten years has made sorghum the second most important cereal after maize.
However, productivity is generally still low due to a number of factors. Farmers hardly
follow the recommended agronomic practices which normally lead to high productivity.
Broadcasting is the common practice of sowing sorghum yet row planting at spacing of
60x20cm or 60x30 cm would result in high productivity