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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2026)

Effect of ethephon concentrations and application stages on growth, physiology and yield of sorghum

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.15258
Submitted
26 April 2026
Published
01-09-2026 — Updated on 30-09-2026
Versions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Research Station of the College of Agriculture Al Hamidiya affiliated with the Desert Studies Center during the spring and fall seasons of 2024 to evaluate the effect of ethephon concentrations and spraying dates on growth traits yield and yield components of sorghum cultivar Giza 113. A split plot arrangement within a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications was used. The main plots included spraying dates at 4, 6 and 8 weeks after emergence while the subplots included ethephon concentrations at 0, 100 and 200 mg L-1. The results showed that increasing ethephon concentration significantly reduced the number of days to physiological maturity as the concentration of 200 mg L-1 recorded the shortest duration in both seasons. The same concentration also showed superiority in the studied traits. Spraying at 6 weeks after emergence improved most of the studied traits particularly grain yield (GY) and its components. The interaction between 200 mg L-1 and spraying at 6 weeks produced the best performance as it recorded the highest number of grains per head (GPH), thousand-grain weight (TGW) and GY which reached 4.78 and 5.97 t ha-1 in the spring and fall seasons respectively in addition to reducing the maturity period. In contrast the control treatment without spraying combined with late spraying at 8 weeks gave the lowest value for most traits. Ethephon application also reduced plant height (PH) while improving physiological efficiency and increasing chlorophyll content.

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