Cereal crops production and their management

(PLSC2042)

October , 2013

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Cereal crops

 Cereal crops are source of food,

 term “cereal” is derived from the Greek goddess, Ceres or “giver
of grain”
 are raw material for industries,
 The word cereal stands for any grass its grain used for food.
 Grouped in the family Gramineae also called Poaceae
 are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils,
and protein.

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Table 1: World cereal production

Source: FAO: Crop prospects and outlook (2013) NO. 1 page 7

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 Cereal crops
Individual crops
Maize
Sorghum
Finger millet
Wheat
Barley
Teff
Rice

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1. Maize (Zea mays L.)
 It is a tall annual grass plant with a strong, solid stem carrying large
narrow leaves, on each node,
 Male and female organs are found separately
 The male at the top (tassel) and the female below at an axis on the stem
 It is monoceous plant
 It is not wildly growing
 It is originated in central America mainly Mexico.
 evolved from the annual weed teosinte (Euchlaeana mexicana),
 Maize was introduced into Africa in the 1500s and has since become
one of Africa's dominant food crops,
 It is the world’s 3rd most important after wheat & rice.
 Productivity: 2.8 t/ha; 1st.

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Botany of maize crop
It is a C4 plant
Root: The radical grows out to produce the first seminal root,
after which 3 or more seminal roots grow out sideways from
the embryo.
 maize root contains adventitious and main root. The main

root grows from the radicle.

 Adventitious roots grow from the lowest node not more than

2.5cm below the soil.

 During rapid elongation of the stem above 2-3 nodes, whorls

or braces of roots grow downward and behave as roots.

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Stem:
 Solid, usually 2-3m high, ranging from 1-6m, 3-4cm in diameter

with clearly defined nodes and inter-nodes ( usually about 14).

 Inter-nodes are short and thick at base, being longer and thicker

higher up, and then tapering to the terminal male inflorescence.

Leaves: alternate 8-21 leaves grow at the nodes. Leaves are
attached with leaf sheath.
 Blade is linear-lanceolate, acuminate 30-150 x 5-15cm

 Stomata usually more numerous on lower surface,

 margins wavy, pronounced midrib with small parallel veins,

ligules colorless, about 5mm long, auricles sometimes poorly

developed.

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Inflorescence
 is monoceous and diclinous, with

male and female inflorescence

borne in separate inflorescence on
the same plant.
 The male inflorescence: tassel, is a

terminal panicle, up to 40cm long.

 The female part: ear (cop)contains

several silks which pollens are

trapped over. The husk covers the
female and protects from external
damage. E.g. evaporation, birds and
hail.

Male and female organs

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Fruit:
 The fruit is known as kernel or grain.
 It mature and ripe about 50 days after fertilization. The kernels

are borne in an even number of rows, 4-30 along the length of the
cob,
the Kernel consists of:
 A short spongy pedicel or tip
 Pericarp or fruit wall, known as the hull,
 Testa, which is rarely present
 Endosperm which, in the absence of testa, is united with the

pericarp,
 In sweet corn or maize the crop is eaten or used as vegetable

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Types of maize
A. Pod maize (Zea mays tunicata)
B. Pop maize (Zea mays everta)
C. Flint maize (Zea mays indurate)
D. Dent maize (Zea mays indentata)
E. Flour maize (Zea mays amylacea)
F. Sweet maize (Zea mays saccharata and Zea
mays rugosa)
G. Waxy maize(Zea mays ceratina)

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Economic importance
It is one of the three most important cereal crops (wheat,
rice and wheat) with 25% of the total production. It is
also an important food crop in Ethiopia
It is used as animal feed in developed countries
Used for industrial products such as oils, syrup and
starch, fermented to produce beverages and then distilled
to provide whisky/industrial alcohol, acids, acetaldehyde,
acetone and glycerol,
crop residues can be used as fodder, bedding, building
material and fuel.
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 The grains are rich in vitamins A, C and E, carbohydrates, and

essential minerals, and contain 9% protein. They are also rich in
dietary fiber and calories which are a good source of energy.
 It is consumed as a vegetable and grain,
 Maize is the most important cereal crop in SSA and an
important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in SSA
and Latin America,
 Worldwide production of maize is 785 million tons, with the
largest producer, the United States, producing 42%. Africa
produces 6.5% and the largest African producer is Nigeria with
nearly 8 million tons, followed by South Africa. Africa imports
28% of the required maize from countries outside the continent.

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Environmental requirements for maize prod.

 not suitably grow in extreme high and low temperature

ranges. The optimum temperature 18-21oc.

 Susceptible to drought when compared with sorghum
 In the tropics maize does best with 600-900mm
 It grows on various soil types.

- well-drained, well-aerated, deep, warm loams and silt

loams containing adequate organic matter and well
supplied with available nutrients

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Cropping system
Maize can be grown as;
1. Crop rotation (cereals, legumes and oil crops)
2. Intercropping (legumes)
3. Fallowing or shifting cultivation (rarely)

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Crop management practices
 Seed selection

 Land clearing and leveling: weeds and clods should be cleared

and the land should be leveled

 Tillage: plow 25-30cm (oxen driven), seed bed should be moist

and friable.
 Sowing and depth: 4-6cm depending on seed size up to 10cm

 Seeding rate: 25-30 cm

 Spacing: 25-30cm b/n plants and 75-80cm b/n rows

 Fertilizer: Fertilizes per hectare 60-69(N:P O ), with N in split

2 5
application
 inter-cultivation and SI are important

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Advantage of maize growing over other crops
 high output per unit of labor in put (weeding,
harvesting)
It is easy to establish and cultivate
not usually eaten by birds
easy to harvest, store, transport and process.
Time of harvest is not critical

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Weeding:
 Broad leaf and grass weeds should be control.
 Herbicides can be used

Insect pests:
 stem borers of the order lepidoptera, corn ear worms,

Heliothis spp, cutworms, Agrotis spp and army worms-

laphygma spp.
 Rats, other rodents, wild pigs, monkeys and large birds.

Diseases: leaf blight (Helminthosporium turcicum;) leaf

spot (H. carbonum); rust (Puccinia polysora).

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Harvesting and storage

 Harvesting date is not critical in maize
 Husks dry and grain moisture reduced (15-20%)
 Harvesting can be manual or mechanical
 Rain may cause damage on the crop
 Store on dry and clean area
 Grain is separated from the cob by shelling

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2. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)

Origin and distribution: most probably Eastern Africa,

probably Ethiopia. It was domesticated to Ethiopia 5000
years ago.
Environmental requirements
 it is crop of hot and warm envt.
 Temperature: optimum 300C
 Rf: tolerate to up to 250mm------ drought tolerant
 Soil: various soil types– heavy soils
 Soil pH: 5-8.5 and tolerate salinity

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Why sorghum drought tolerant??

 aboveground grows slowly until the root system has become well

established
 Silica deposits on roots prevent collapse

 The leaves: waxy coating, rolling and shinning color.

 ET about half that of maize

 It requires about 20% less water than maize to produce the

equivalent amount of dry matter.

 Sorghum can compete well with weeds; not striga.

 remain dormant in drought and resume growth,

 Ability to reduce leaf osmotic potential & maintain turgor during

stress.

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Plant characteristics
It is annual grass, single stem and 0.5-6m height. It is C4 crop
Roots: main root from the radicle and adventitious roots.
Numerous lateral roots grow at the top 1m.
Stem: Solid, erect, dry or juicy and sweet, 0.5 – 3 cm in
diameter at base,
Leaves: 7-24 leaves; leaf sheath 15-35cm long, ligule short
about 2mm long auricles triangular or lanceolate. Lamina
lanceolate, glabrous, 30-135 x 1.5-13cm, with margins flat or
wavy. Stomata found in both sides of leaves.

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Inflorescence:
 Young panicle forced up through top leaf sheath or boot.
 Peduncle erects or re-curved to give head or neck.
 Spike lets borne in pairs, one of which is sessile and

hermaphrodite.
 The grain partially covered by the glumes. Caryopsis

rounded 4-8mm in diameter and varying in size, shapes

and color. 1kg sorghum grain contains 25000-70000
seeds.
Propagation: with seeds, sometimes cutting /or ratoon.

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Why sorghum poisoning???

 Young plants contain cynogenic glucoside ‘ohurrin’.

 When animals feed this plant, it is converted to

hydrocyanic acid, causing carcinogenic death of a cow,

this is known as Prussic acid poisoning of Sorghum
poisoning.
 HCN is more in leaves. Concentration of HCN is more

in morning and summers. Therefore, avoid animals to

eat on these plants.

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Types of sorghum
 Sorgos or sweet sorghum: used for hay silage and syrup
 Grain sorghums: used for grain, hay and silage
 Grass sorghums: e.g.:- Sudan grass and Johnson grass-

used for pasture, hay and silage

 Broom corn: which supplies the brushes used to

manufacture brooms.

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Economic importance and nutritional value

It is the staple food in drier tropical areas of Africa. 90% of
the sorghum food grain in dry tropics is utilized in 5 ways
a. Un leavened bread – chapatti
b. Leavened bread – injera,
c. Gruel/ porridge
d. Boiled whole grain after removal of pericarp
e. Beer, tella in some areas of Ethiopia,
Sorghums used for manufacturing wax, starch, alcohol,
dextrose sugar, edible oil, gypsum lath, paper and adhesive.

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Cropping system: can be grown as inter-cropping, rotation and sole crop.

Seed selection and planting
 Treat seeds with organo mercurial 2 grams/kg of seeds

 Plow land and level for better seeding & even stand

 Destruct weeds and other crops

 Spacing: varies with 50-75cm b/n rows, but 15-20*45cm is commonly

practiced.
 Seed rate: 10-12kg/ha

 Sorghum can be planted by broadcasting, drilling

 Fertilizer rate:

 Irrigation: seedling stage, the pre-flowering, flowering and grain

formation stages,
 Inter-cultivation is good

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Weeding
 Striga is the most noxious weed of sorghum.
 Control: mechanical, chemical and manual

Insect pests: shooting fly (Atherigona varia soccata), larvae burrow

into meristem and kill it.
The larvae of heliothis armigera cause damage to the developing head.

 Contarinia sorghicola : sorghum midge is a universal pest of

sorghum. The eggs are laid in the flower and the growing larvae
feeding on the developing seed.
 The important pest in Africa is the weaverbird Quelea quelea that
lives in large colonies of many millions of birds and can devastate a
maturing sorghum. “wolo bird”

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Disease Management
 The major diseases are anthracnose (Colletotrichum

graminicola), which causes rot in both stems and leaves;

leaf blight (Helminthosporium turcicum), particularly,
under humid conditions; smut Sphacelotheca spp. which
is seed borne and very destructive.
Harvesting, threshing and storage:
Harvest: MC<= 14%, manually, mechanically.
Storage: clean area, MC<12%.
Storage loss reaches 30-40% in Eastern Ethiopia.

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3. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.)

 Eleusine coracana, known as finger,

 In the eastern part of SSA, finger millet occupies the

largest area under small millets,

 The wild species, E. africana, the possible progenitor of

the cultivated species, occurs at higher altitudes in the

tropics, from 1000-2000 m.a.s.l.
 The African native variety, finger millet, likely originated

from the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda and is one of

the most nutritious all of the world’s major cereal crops.
 mid- and lower-altitude regions of Tigray, Gojam,

Gonder and Wellega. Used for Tella and araki, as well as

for injera
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 In Africa, the crop is usually grown at altitudes of

between 1000 and 2000 m.a.s.l;
 In Ethiopia up to 2400 m and RF- 500-1000 mm

annual rainfall.
 T
max and Tmin: 27°C and 18°C, respectively,
 Soil: reasonably fertile, free-draining sandy loams
 Finger millet is a short-day plant, a twelve-hour

photoperiod being optimum,

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Plant characteristics
 Finger millet is a robust, free-tillering, tufted annual grass,

40-100 cm tall,
Roots: shallow, branched, fibrous, adventitious root system
from the base of the main stem and tillers
Inflorescence:
A terminal digitate inflorescence of 3-9 (usually 4-6) dense
sessile spikes, 5-15 x 0.7-1.0 cm, straight and spreading, or
incurved and compact, often with an additional 1-2 short
spikes carried 2-4 cm below the terminal whorl.
The name finger millet comes from this inflorescence
arranged in human fingers.

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Stem and leaves:

The lower nodes of the stem are usually semi-
procumbent, and the upper part erect. The stem is stout,
compressed, smooth, 40-100 cm in height, 4-12 mm
thick, bearing numerous distichous leaves. The sheath is
flattened, overlapping, split along its entire length, and
glabrous except for occasional hairs on the margins. The
ligule is thin short and fimbriate. The leaf blade is linear,
30-75 x 1.0-1.7 cm, often folded, with a strong midrib,
glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, and an acute tip.

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Fruits:
There are four to seven fruits per spikelet, which are
about 1-2 mm in diameter, globose, smooth or rugose,
and varying in color from orange-red, reddish brown,
dark brown to nearly black. A white-seeded form is also
known. The pericarp remains distinct during
development, and, at maturity, appears as a papery
structure surrounding the seed. 1000-seed weight is 2-
2.25 g.

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Crop management
Land preparation: fine seedbed, well plowed
Seed rate: ranges 10-30 kg/ha, Pre-soaking the seed in
water for up to twenty-four hours, then drying them in
the shade results in quicker germination. But dry seeding
is commonly practiced,
Fertilization: responds well to organic & inorganic
fertilizers. Crop rotation is good.
Weeding: sensitive to weeds (esp. early stages)
 Witchweed (striga hermonthica) attacks f.millet

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 Reachs maturity 3-4 months.

 Early harvesting is good (shatter), and most are subject
to bird damage.
 The ears, with about 2 cm of the stalk, are cut off with a
sharp knife, or it is cut from the surface manually. Grain
yields of 0.5-2.0 t/ha are quite common. The harvested
ears are kept in a pile for a few days to further ripen the
grain, and to give the desirable taste. They are then sun
dried. Storage is in granaries made of mud and grass.
 difficult during threshing if there is moisture, or not
dried well.

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Pests
 Birds, most commonly Quelea and weaverbirds, cause most damage

just before harvest, esp., of white seeded cultivars.

 Mirid bugs (Taylorilygus spp.) may cause damage to the compact

ears, and bring in grain discoloration.

 Among leaf eaters, grasshoppers, notably Chrotogonus and

Zonocerus species, can be a problem.

 The maize aphids, Rhopalosiphum maidis,

 Armyworm, Spodoptera exempta, is the most important pest of finger

millet.
 The stalk borers, notably Busseola, Sesamia and Chilo species, affect

the crop.
 The sorghum shootfly (Atherigona spp.) can be serious, especially on

later plantings and during dry spells.

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Diseases
 most important disease is blast (Pyricularia grisea),
 Can be infected at all stages,
 blast causes not less than 10% -80% yield loss.
 Cylindrosporium leaf spot occurs after 60.
 Tar spot (Phyllachora elusines), consisting of small jet-

black and slightly raised spots on the leaves and neck of

the plant, occurs towards maturity.
 Other diseases of minor importance include

Helminthosporium leaf spot, bacterial blight and

Sclerotium wilt

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