Lubadde, GeofreyEbiyau, JohnAru, John C.Andiku, CharlesWandulu, Joseph A.Ugen, Michael A.2023-11-162023-11-162019Lubadde, G., Ebiyau, J., Aru, J. C., Andiku, C., Wandulu, J. A., & Ugen, M. A. (2019). Sorghum production handbook for Uganda. National Semi Arid Resources Research Institute of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NaSARRI-NARO), Uganda. Uganda.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Aru/publication/343820615_SORGHUM_PRODUCTION_HANDBOOK_FOR_UGANDA_pp_37_National_Semi_Arid_Resources_Research_Institute_of_the_National_Agricultural_Research_Organisation_NaSARRI-NARO_Uganda/links/5fd0963945851568d14d9a80/SORGHUM-PRODUCTION-HANDBOOK-FOR-UGANDA-pp-37-National-Semi-Arid-Resources-Research-Institute-of-the-National-Agricultural-Research-Organisation-NaSARRI-NARO-Uganda.pdfhttps://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/9333Sorghum is an important income and food security crop for those living in drought-prone regions of Uganda. Many races of the cereal are grown in almost all zones but the northern region is the highest producer followed by eastern, western and lastly the central. Much as the northern region is the highest producer of sorghum, the region experiences the lowest productivity indicating that production is due to increased area in cultivation. The increased area is due to wide scale cultivation of improved sorghum such as Epurpur and now SESO1 which is cultivated for income generation due to its use for making larger beer. The increased production of specialty improved varieties in the last ten years has made sorghum the second most important cereal after maize. However, productivity is generally still low due to a number of factors. Farmers hardly follow the recommended agronomic practices which normally lead to high productivity. Broadcasting is the common practice of sowing sorghum yet row planting at spacing of 60x20cm or 60x30 cm would result in high productivity. Farmers weed only once and do not apply any fertliser or spray to control diseases and insect pests such as shoot flies or stem borers which are problematic especially for late planted sorghum. The most important diseases are ergot, covered kernel smut and anthracnose while insect pests are shoot fly, stem borers and midge. This is cofounded by the low fertility of the sandy-loam soils and high striga infestation which are common in most of sorghum growing regions in addition to poor postharvest handling. After harvesting farmers dry the sorghum on bare ground which leads to contamination with debris. The best practice would be to dry the sorghum on tarpaulin or cemented ground or well swept bare ground for those who cannot afford improved materials. The sorghum should be dried to about 12% moisture content before threshing or storage. Farmers store unthreshed sorghum for use as seed in the following season above the fire place in the kitchen while grain sorghum is stored in granaries either as threshed or unthreshed. The granaries are constructed on raised platforms with rat guards. The stored sorghum should be checked regularly to make sure it is not affected by moulds.enBook