Introduction
- sorghum is the one of the most important food crops
- it is major staples food of crop of very large population in India.
- it also provide good quality of fodder for livestock.
Some Important facts of Sorghum
* The world sorghum is derived from Latin word 'sorgo' it means growing taller than other field crops.
* Botanical name :- Sorghum bicolor
* Family :- Poaceae /gramineae
* Origin :- Africa/India
* Chromosome no :- 2n= 20
* Type of inflorescence :- Panicle
* Type of fruit :- Caryopsis
(Note :- fruit type of all cereal crop is caryopsis.)
* sorghum is self pollinated and C4 plant
* sorghum is non-tiller crop.
* CSH-1 is the first hybrid variety of sorghum which was developed in 1964.
* sorghum is also known as great millet due to it's large size of grain among the all millets.
* sorghum also known as 'Camel of Desert' due to it has ability to survive or resistance to drought conditions.
Area and Production
- sorghum is grown all over the world, except cool North East part of Europe.
- Sorghum is mostly grown in Africa, Asia and Central America
- in India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, MP, AP, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are important states cultivating sorghum .
- Maharashtra has the highest Area and production of sorghum crop.
Soil and Climate
- sorghum is warm season crop, grown in kharif as well as rabi season.
- sorghum is drought tolerant crop.
- optimum temperature should be 26-30° .
- soil should be well drained, fertile and pH should be 6-8.
- clay loam soil is best suitable sorghum crop.
Varieties
* CSH-5, CSH-9, CSH-14, BSR 1, COH 4, K tall, K 11, Paiyur 1, Paiyur 2,Phule Yashodha, Parabhani moti.
Seeds and Sowing
- seed should be certified and improved varieties are selected.
Seed Treatment
- seed treated with with Carbendazim or Captan or Thiram at 2g/kg of seed
- seed treated with mesh sulphur 4g/kg of seed to avoid smut disease.
- for kharif, crop is sown with onset of monsoon up to 7th July.
- in rabi crop, it is sown from 15 September to 15 October.
Seed Rate
1) Kharif season :- 7.5-10 kg/ha
2) Rabi season :- 12-15 kg/ha
3) Fodder purpose :- 25kg/ha
Spacing
- For Kharif :- 45×15 cm or 45×30 cm
- For Rabi :- 45-60 row to row and 10-15 plant to plant.
- depth should be 5-7 cm.
Weed Management
- 1-2 hand weeding and 2-3 hoeing with bullocks should be done.
- Apply Atrazine 50 WP @500 g/ha on 3 days after sowing as spray on the soil surface.
Plant protection
A) pest
shoot fly, stem borer, sorghum midge, leaf roller, mites and Aphids.
B) Disease
grain smut :- seed treated with mesh sulphur @2g/kg of seed
Harvesting
- When the crop matures the leaves turn yellow and present a dried up appearance, then the crop is ready to harvest.
- Cut the earhead separately and dry the earhead. thresh using mechanical thresher.
Yield
1) Kharif :- 8-10 q/ha and 10-12 q/ha fodder.
2) Rabi (rainfed) :- 20-25q/ha
3) Rabi (irrigated) :- 40-50q/ha
Thank you 🙏
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