Abstract:
Sorghum is the fourth most widely produced cereal in Ethiopia. Despite its coverage andimportance, the productivity remains low due to several constraints, notably the use ofpoor-quality seed, limited availability of improved seed, and low adoption of pre-sowingseed treatment technologies, which results poor field establishment, low stand uniformity,and ultimately low yield, particularly in the lowland areas of Gondar. To address thesechallenges, an experiment was conducted at Gondar City in the GARC seed laboratory,and the field experiment at Metema and West Armachiho districts in the 2023 maincropping season to evaluate the effects of priming and coating on seed germination andyield of sorghum. The treatments consisted of a factorial combination of four primingmaterials (control, Tap water, MLE, and cow urine) and four coating materials (Control,Thiram, Apron Star, and Dynamic). The laboratory and field experiments were laid out ina CRD and RCBD design with four and three replications, respectively. Data wereanalyzed using R software version 4.4.2. Combined ANOVA revealed significant (p <0.05) interaction effects of priming and coating on germination %, speed of germination,shoot and root length, VI₁ and VI₂, head length, width and weight, dry biomass, Stoveryield, grain yield, and HI. In contrast, seedling dry weight, days to emergence, headingand maturity, plant height, and TSW were significantly (p < 0.05) affected only by themain effects of priming and coating. The highest germination (94.25%) and grain yield(4,364.92 kg ha⁻¹) were obtained from seeds primed with MLE and coated with ApronStar, followed by MLE-primed seeds coated with Thiram. The PBA also indicated thatseeds primed with MLE and coated with Apron Star had the highest NB (146,999.7 Birrha
-1
) with an acceptable level of MRR (116,792.1%) as compared to other treatments.Therefore, treatment combinations of seeds primed by MLE with coated by Apron Star, aswell as seeds primed by MLE with coated by Thiram, are recommended for sorghumgrowers in lowland areas of Gondar and other similar agro-ecologies. However, theseresults are from a single year; extending the study across multiple seasons would helpaccount for seasonal variability and strengthen the final recommendation.