Effects of sorghum green manure crop on yield and root zone of ‘Mizunasu’ eggplant

Expanding the root zone, which supplies water to plants, is important to ensure stable yields because ‘Mizunasu’ eggplants are exposed to high temperatures and intense solar radiation for most of the growing season.
In this study, we compared the effects of sorghum cultivation, plowing with standard-tillage rotary, and plowing with deep-tillage rotary before eggplant cultivation on eggplant yield and development of root zone after the end of cultivation, focusing on the effect of deep-rooted sorghum on the improvement of the hard soil layer.
The results showed that the number of marketable fruits and yield from June to September increased in sorghum cultivation compared to that in the standard-tillage rotary treatment.
Moreover, the hard-soil layer became softer, and the eggplant roots grew deeper after sorghum cultivation than after standard-tillage rotary treatment.
In addition to clarifying the effect of the sorghum cultivation period on soil improvement in the hard soil layer, the possibility of tillage with a tractor was examined.
The results showed that the reduction in soil hardness due to sorghum cultivation was observed 50 days after the sorghum seeding.
It was also found that tractor tillage was possible from sorghum seeding to 40 days and 50 to 60 days after shredding of sorghum using a hammer knife mower.

IV Asian Horticultural Congress – AHC2023

H. Akrich, R. Arakawa, N. Tokuno, S. Segami

‘Mizunasu’ eggplant, sorghum, yield, root zone, hard-soil layer

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1404.175