Nambikwa Ncube of Jambezi in Hwange, hosted a sorghum demonstration plot in his field. He is part of the Siyaphambili Agriculture Producer Group and this was his first demo plot with Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project (SACP). The sorghum variety was SV4 and the farmer has two Intwasa plots, one with mulch and another without mulch. The farmer received inputs from SACP and these included seed, fertilisers, pesticide and lime from SACP.
Land preparation by the farmer was done in August and planting took place on the 18th of December 2024. The farmer applied organic manure and Compound D during land preparation. Six plants were planted in one hole and germination took place between the 21st and 22nd of December. Thinning out and gap filling was carried out on 30 December 2024. The crop was attacked by the fall army worm on 27 December and the farmers sprayed the crop using a pesticide called Demise. The farmer then applied AN fertiliser at a rate of 7,5kg per hectare.
Despite the prolonged dry spell which affected the area at grain filling stage, the farmer harvested 0,3 tonnes from the 0.062 hectare plot which would translate to a 2,5 tonnes per hectare.
