PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF SORGHUM

1. Major Millets
Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor

2. Sorghum
 Commonly called
as Jowar, Great
millet, Camel crop
 Botanically
Sorghum bicolor

3. Sorghum
S. Bicola with ace as
 Race bicolor
 Race kafir
 Race caudatum
 Race durra
 Race guinea

4. Sorghum
 World area decreasing
 50.2 M ha in 70s to 43.6 M ha in 1999
 Africa seen increased area 13.5 to 22.7M ha
 Nigeria 2.7 to 7.6
 Sudan 3.1 to 4.4
 N America 7.2 to 5.7
 S America 2.5 to 1.4
 Asia 20.8 to 12.9

5. Sorghum
 World production
 65.8 M t in 70s to 62.8 M t in 1999
 Africa seen increased with 12.7 to 20.4M t
 Nigeria 3.3 to 8.4 (+)
 Sudan 2.3 to 3.0 (+)
 N America 21.7 to 21.9 (+)
 S America 6.9 to 4.7 (-)
 Asia 19.7 to 13.5 (-)

6. Sorghum
 World productivity
 1.47 t in 70s to 1.44 t ha-1
in 1999
 In 1999
 Argentina - 4.4 t
 USA - 4.4 t
 China - 3.1 t
 Ethiopia - 1.3 t
 Nigeria - 1.1 t
 India - 0.8 t (769kg only)

7. Sorghum
In India from 18 M to 10 M ha in 1999
Mha Mt t/ha
Maharastra 5.8 5.4 0.92
Karnataka 2.1 1.8 0.83
MP 1.2 1.1 0.88
AP 1.0 0.7 0.73
Rajasthan 0.7 0.3 0.38
TN 0.5 0.5 1.03
Gujarat 0.5 0.3 0.64

8. Sorghum
Origin
 Native of Africa

9. Sorghum
 Distribution and adaptation
 All parts of the world except cool NE part
of Europe
 In India mainly on central & peninsular
India

10. Sorghum
 Distribution and adaptation …
 Warm weather plant temp 24-270
C

11. Sorghum
 Distribution and adaptation …
 Sorghum belts in India receives 400-
1000mm rainfall
 Sown bet. Jun end to 1st
week of Oct
 Plant remain practically dormant during
periods of drought
 But resume growth as soon as sufficient
moisture – so called camel crop

12. Sorghum
 ‘Adaptation to limited rainfall and high
temp’ is due to …
 The leaves and stems are covered with a
waxy material that reduces ‘transpiration’
 ‘T’ is also reduces by small leaf area

13. Sorghum
Sorghum poisoning
 Young plants -roots, leaves possess
Hydrocyanic acid (HCN)

14. Sorghum
Sorghum poisoning ..
 Causes losses to cattle when they grace young
plants
 The HCN content gets diluted as the age advances
 Young leaves contain more
 High N applied crop contains more
 Toxic level of prussic acid is >200ppm
 After flowering/heading content reduces to safe level
for feeding

15. Sorghum
Sorghum injury
 The after effects of sorghum roots and stubbles
on succeeding crop of sorghum is called as
‘sorghum injury’
 This condition lasts for few months or until the
sorghum residues decay
 sorghum stubble takes longer time than other
cereals being more fibrous

16. Sorghum
Sorghum injury
 During the process they retain or remove
considerable moisture
 While decaying lots of microbes are build up
(sugar content more) and they temporarily lockup
N

17. Sorghum
 Sorghum injury can be overcome
 Additional N
 Incubating with leguminous green manure
 Avoiding next crop immediately

18. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Varieties..
 CSV 1 -15, CSH 1-18
 CSH, 6, 9 are best for Kharif
 CSH 15 &18 best for Rabi

19. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Varieties…
 For TN
 CO 25 – 115-120 days
 CO26 – 105-110 days
 BSR 1 – 105-110 days
 COH 4
 CO(S)28 Dual purpose

20. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Transplanting
 Transplant single seedlings after the furrow is
irrigated
 Transplant 2-3cm deep on the ridge half distance
from top

21. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Nutrient management …
 NPK recommended are
 90:45:45 kg for irrigated
 40-20-0 kg for rainfed
 N splits as 50% basal 50% top at 15DAT / 25-
30DAS

22. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Nutrient management … All India
 Nitrogen kg /ha
 Kharif season
 Light soil – low rainfall – 60
 Medium deep soil - 80
 Rabi season
 Rainfed – medium deep – 60
 Rainfed – deep to very deep - 80
 Irrigated - 80-100

23. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Nutrient management … All India
 P plays vital role in sorghum
 Increases harvest index
 Increases grain wt and yield
 30 kg for rainfed light soil
 40 kg for irrigated black soil

24. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 K fertilization
 30 kg for irrigated

25. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Nutrient management … All India
 Biofertilizers
 Azotobactor
 Azospirillum
 INM is more important

26. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Water management …
 Average 400 mm
 Cool rainy season 350-500mm
 Summer 600-700mm
 Irrigation
 In general Kharif is not irrigated
 Rabi residual moisture + supplemental
 Summer fully irrigated

27. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Inter cultural operations
 Thinning and gap filling to be completed
before 10-15 after emergence

28. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Inter cultural operations..
 Weeding
 Weed free situation for 5 weeks
 Herbicides
 Atrazine 0.5 to 0.75 a.i. kg/h for pure crop
 Pendimethalin for pulses inter cropped situatio

29. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Striga control measures
 Post emergence application of 2,4 D Na salt 2.0kg/ha at 25-30
DAS
 Intercropping with redgram
 Crop rotation with trap crop like sunflower, groundnut, cowpea –
they induce weeds to germinate but not affected
 Heavy application of N & FYM
 Spraying urea 10% solution 25-30 DAS
 Using germination stimulants like Strigol & Ethylene gas

30. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Harvest
 Grain becomes hard and less than 25% moisture
 Harvest the ear head then plant

31. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Sorghum based cropping systems
 Intercropping with pulses and oilseeds
 Redgram, groundnut, castor, all pulses

32. Sorghum –Agro techniques
Sorghum based cropping systems..
 Double cropping
 Kharif sorghum - Rabi sorghum
 When double cropping is not possible due to
short growing season
 Then ‘Ratooning”

33. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Sorghum ‘Ratooning” is favorable
 In rainfed areas with good rainfall sufficient
enough to support double cropping
 Under rainfed condition, where plant fodder crop
– grain crop – summer grain crop
 Plant crop harvested for fodder, ratooned as
fodder

34. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Sorghum ‘Ratooning” – tips for management
 Multi-cut forage varieties are available – CO 25,
CO26, CSH 5
 Cut the main crop leaving more than 5cm (15cm
maximum)
 Clear the stubbles immediately after harvest
 Remove the first two sprouts – allow only 2 tillers

35. Sorghum –Agro techniques
 Sorghum ‘Ratooning” – tips for management ..
 Apply 100 :50: 0 kg & N in 2 splits
 15 days after cutting and again 45th
day
 P may be applied along with first N split
 Pest and disease management is to be given more
priority
 Other managements as per planted crop.
 Maturity is advanced by 10-15 days compared to
planted crop

36. Sorghum
 Special practices
 Transplanting
 Seed hardening
 Ratooning