🔅 Sorghum

Important points related to cultivation of Sorghum.

  • India, Nigeria, China are the largest producers of millets in the world. Millet is the 4th most widely cultivated food crop after Rice, Wheat and Maize.
  • Coarser Millets include: Jowar, Bajra, Ragi etc. NABARD 2021
  • Millets belongs to C4 group of plants.

Sorghum/Jowar

  • Botanical Name: Sorghum bicolor
  • Family: Poaceae
  • Origin: East Central Africa
  • Chromosome: 2n = 20
  • Sorghum is poor in lysine but rich in leucine.
  • Sorghum is known as Camel Crop because it has the capacity to grow in arid soils and can withstand against prolonged drought.
  • King of Coarse Cereals.
  • Due to higher Leucine (amino acid) content, higher dose of sorghum in food causes Pellagra disease. It is due to deficiency of Niacin (Vitamin B3).
  • Symptoms = D4 (Diarrhea, Dermatitis, Dementia, and Death).

Climate

  • Sorghum is a short-day plant.
  • Warm season crop. Suitable temperature for optimum crop growth is 27-32ºC.
  • Requirement of rainfall throughout growth period is 400-600 mm.
  • It can tolerate drought conditions as well as water logging condition.

Soil

  • Soils with clay loam or loam texture.
  • It does well in pH range of 6.0-8.5 as it tolerates considerable salinity and alkalinity.
  • The black cotton soil of central India is very good for its cultivation.

Seed Rate

  • Grain: 12-15 kg/ha
  • Fodder: 30-35 kg/ha
  • Seed depth: 3-4 cm
  • Test weight: 25 – 30 gm
  • Germination: Hypogeal
  • Spacing: 45 x 12 cm
  • Plant population: 1,50,000 plants
  • Sowing: Last June to first week of July.
  • Hybrids: CSH 1 to 6, CSH 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18
  • 1st Hybrid: CSH-1 in 1964 (Coordinated Sorghum Hybrid - 1).
  • One of the most important male sterile variety: Combine Kafir 60 (CK-60).
  • Roots are finer and more fibrous than maize.
  • Inflorescence is called Panicle (commonly called Head).
  • Usually no tillering, prop roots may develop.
  • C4 and often cross-pollinated plant.
  • Thinning is important operation at 12-15 cm (within row).
  • Sorghum crop for fodder purpose should be used after 50% flowering because sorghum leaves at knee stage possess a high amount of HCN which is poisonous to the animals.
  • HCN (Dhurin alkaloid) present in early stage (40-50 days) in upper leaves of crop. It is synthesized by roots of the sorghum plant.
  • Under draught condition if animal are grassed of sorghum leaves with 0.5 gm of HCN may be die.

Varieties of Sorghum:

  • Best high yield variety of Rabi Jowar: M 35-1
  • Drought and salinity tolerant for rain-fed: CSH 1, 6, 9, 11 and 3
  • Sweet sorghum: RSSV 46, 53, 59, 84, 96, NSS 216
  • Both grain and fodder: CSH 13 and CSV 15
  • Low HCN: IS 208, IS 28450 and 288692
  • Multi-cut fodder: MFSH 7, 885 F, CO (FS) 29
  • Prabhani Shakti: India’s first biofortified Sorghum (jowar), with significantly higher iron and zinc than regular sorghum, was formally launched 2018.
  • Developed by ICRISAT it was released for cultivation by Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Maharashtra.

Disease

Insect-Pests

Yield

  • The right stage for harvest is when grains have become hard having less than 25 % moisture.
  • Grain/ Irrigated: 25-30 q/ha.
  • Fodder: 300-400 q/ha

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