Sorghum is an essential food security crop in the majority of the ASALs regions, such as Baringo County. This study investigated the critical relationship between rainfall levels and the initiation of sorghum planting, with the aim of identifying the threshold at which rainfall is considered sufficient for germination and optimal growth. This study used historical meteorological data from 1990 to 2022, field experiments, statistical analysis, and sorghum growth patterns to discern the trigger points for planting, which are essential for ensuring successful cultivation. This study uncovered alterations in rainfall onset and seasonal rainfall accumulation. The planting window in Baringo County varied significantly, with some dates falling above and below the average onset values of April 4th for the long rainfall season and September 24th for the short rainfall season. A short rainy season is not ideal for sorghum planting, as it typically receives less than 300 mm of rainfall, which is insufficient for sorghum production. The optimal planting time for sorghum is usually late March and early April. The study found that 36.4% of the long rainy season years had high production, 42.4% had normal production, and only 21% had low or no productivity. The years 2000 and 2018 experienced minimum and maximum rainfall amounts of 198.45 mm and 941.9 mm, respectively.
| Published in | American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 12, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12 |
| Page(s) | 61-73 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Sorghum, Rainfall Onset, Planting Window, Trigger Point, Food Security
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APA Style
Okuku, K., Onyando, J., Okwany, R., Kiptum, C. (2024). Onset of Rainfall and Cumulative Analysis for Sorghum Cultivation in Baringo County. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 12(2), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12
ACS Style
Okuku, K.; Onyando, J.; Okwany, R.; Kiptum, C. Onset of Rainfall and Cumulative Analysis for Sorghum Cultivation in Baringo County. Am. J. Agric. For. 2024, 12(2), 61-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12
AMA Style
Okuku K, Onyando J, Okwany R, Kiptum C. Onset of Rainfall and Cumulative Analysis for Sorghum Cultivation in Baringo County. Am J Agric For. 2024;12(2):61-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12,
author = {Kennedy Okuku and Japheth Onyando and Romulus Okwany and Clement Kiptum},
title = {Onset of Rainfall and Cumulative Analysis for Sorghum Cultivation in Baringo County},
journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
volume = {12},
number = {2},
pages = {61-73},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20241202.12},
abstract = {Sorghum is an essential food security crop in the majority of the ASALs regions, such as Baringo County. This study investigated the critical relationship between rainfall levels and the initiation of sorghum planting, with the aim of identifying the threshold at which rainfall is considered sufficient for germination and optimal growth. This study used historical meteorological data from 1990 to 2022, field experiments, statistical analysis, and sorghum growth patterns to discern the trigger points for planting, which are essential for ensuring successful cultivation. This study uncovered alterations in rainfall onset and seasonal rainfall accumulation. The planting window in Baringo County varied significantly, with some dates falling above and below the average onset values of April 4th for the long rainfall season and September 24th for the short rainfall season. A short rainy season is not ideal for sorghum planting, as it typically receives less than 300 mm of rainfall, which is insufficient for sorghum production. The optimal planting time for sorghum is usually late March and early April. The study found that 36.4% of the long rainy season years had high production, 42.4% had normal production, and only 21% had low or no productivity. The years 2000 and 2018 experienced minimum and maximum rainfall amounts of 198.45 mm and 941.9 mm, respectively.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Onset of Rainfall and Cumulative Analysis for Sorghum Cultivation in Baringo County AU - Kennedy Okuku AU - Japheth Onyando AU - Romulus Okwany AU - Clement Kiptum Y1 - 2024/03/13 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12 T2 - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JF - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JO - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry SP - 61 EP - 73 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8591 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241202.12 AB - Sorghum is an essential food security crop in the majority of the ASALs regions, such as Baringo County. This study investigated the critical relationship between rainfall levels and the initiation of sorghum planting, with the aim of identifying the threshold at which rainfall is considered sufficient for germination and optimal growth. This study used historical meteorological data from 1990 to 2022, field experiments, statistical analysis, and sorghum growth patterns to discern the trigger points for planting, which are essential for ensuring successful cultivation. This study uncovered alterations in rainfall onset and seasonal rainfall accumulation. The planting window in Baringo County varied significantly, with some dates falling above and below the average onset values of April 4th for the long rainfall season and September 24th for the short rainfall season. A short rainy season is not ideal for sorghum planting, as it typically receives less than 300 mm of rainfall, which is insufficient for sorghum production. The optimal planting time for sorghum is usually late March and early April. The study found that 36.4% of the long rainy season years had high production, 42.4% had normal production, and only 21% had low or no productivity. The years 2000 and 2018 experienced minimum and maximum rainfall amounts of 198.45 mm and 941.9 mm, respectively. VL - 12 IS - 2 ER -
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya
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