Methods of Cultivation and Crop Productivity in Rain-fed Mechanized Schemes in Sennar State, Sudan

Abstract

The objective of this study was to obtain baseline information
about the methods of cultivation and crop productivity in the Rainfed
Mechanized Schemes (RMS) in Sennar State. Forty farmers were selected
from Eldindir, Singa and Sennar localities. The data collected was in the
form of questionnaires, meetings and group discussion with farmers. The
questionnaire was designed to obtain information about the area per
scheme, areas allocated for cultivation, cultural practices, crops grown,
and their yields. SSPS software programme was used for data analysis.
The results revealed that the largest scheme areas were at Singa followed
by EL Dindir and the smallest areas were at Sennar. Farmers at Sennar
allocate all the area for crop cultivation, whereas at EL dindir and Singa,
53.4 and 66.7% of the farmers allocate area for cropping and the rest for
forest, respectively. Sorghum and millet are grown in all localaties, while
sesame and sunflower are grown only at EL dindir and Singa localities.
Land preparation in all locations started by clearance of trees and
perennial bunch grasses. Sowing is by wide level disc planter in EL
Dindir and Singa, while in Sennar, sowing is by seed broadcast and
ridging. In all localities weeding is manually after two or three weeks
from sowing and some farmers use herbicides in combination with
manual weeding. None of the farmers use fertilizers and pesticides. No
proper crop rotation is applied in all localities. All farmers harvest
sorghum and millet manually and mechanical threshing, while sesame is
harvested manually and sunflower mechanically. The yields of all grown
crops are low and not exceeding an average of 414, 252, 207 and 255 kg
seeds per feddan for sorghum, millet, sesame and sunflower,
respectively.