The effects of tillage systems, water stress and nitrogen fertilizer on yield and quality of forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)

Conservative tillage and drought resistant crops can be efficient solution to alleviate climate change impacts. We evaluated tillage effect, water deficit and nitrogen level on sorghum in a split-split plot experiment with three replications. Main plots were conventional tillage and no tillage, sub plots were 30, 60, and 90% of sorghum water requirement, and sub-sub plots were consisted of 0, 50, and 100% of recommended nitrogen. Results showed that the highest forage yield (12263 kg ha-1) was obtained with no till and 100% nitrogen. Also, the yield of sorghum in no till with moderate water stress was equal to the yield in conventional tillage with partial water stress. Under partial water stress, qualitative traits including crude fiber, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber in no till had lower values than conventional tillage. In addition, qualitative traits including digestible dry matter and water-soluble carbohydrates in no till treatment with 100% nitrogen were higher than conventional tillage. The highest percentage of crude protein in conventional tillage was obtained by using 100% nitrogen. It seems that conservation tillage can achieve acceptable yield and quality in sorghum with less water than conventional tillage, but it requires long-term and additional research.