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1.SEASON AND VARIETIES

II. SELECTION OF SEEDS

Good q ualioty seeds are collected from disease and pest-free fields

Quantiy of seeds required

 

Irrigated transplanted crop

Transplanted crop has the following advantages:

a.a. Main field durationis reduced by 10days

b. Shoot fly, which attacks direct sown crops during the first 3 weeks and which is difficult to control canbe effectively and economically controlled in the nursery itself.

c.Seedlings which show chlorotic and downy mildew symptoms can be eliminated, thereby incidence ofdowny mildew in the main field can be minimised.

d. Optimum population can be maintained as only healthy seedlings are used for transplanting

e.Seed rate can also be reduced by 2.5 kg/ha.

Population

60 plants for 10 m2, leaving only one healthy plant per hill.

III.PARTICULARS OF SORGHUM VARIETIES

IV.NURSRY PRACTICES

.NURSERY PREPARATION

For raising seedlings to plant one hectare, select 7.5 cents(300 m2) near a water source where water will not stagnate.

2.APPLICATION OF FYM TO THE NURSERY

i. Apply 750 kg od FYM or compost for 7.5 cents nursery and apply another 500 kg of compost or FYM for covering the seeds after sowing.

ii. Spread the manure evenly on the unploughed soil and incorporate by ploughing or apply just before last ploughing.

3.LAYING THE NURSERY

i. Provide three separate units of size 2m x 1.5m with 30 cm space in between the plots and all around the unit for irrigation.

ii) Excavate the soil from the interspace and all around to a depth of 15cm to form channels and spread the soil removed on the bed and level.

4.PRE -TREATMENT OF SEEDS

i) Treat the seeds prior to sowing with Trichoderma viride 4g/kg of seed

ii) Treat the seeds with 2% KH2PO4 for 6 hours and shade dry. Dissolve 20 g KH2PO4 in one litre of water for soaking 5 kg seeds.

iv) Treat the seeds with three packets (600g)/ha of Azozpirillum using rice kanji as binder.

v) Harden the sees with 1% aquous fresh leaf extract of Prosopis juliflora and pungam (Pongamia pinnata) mixed in 1:1 for 16 hrs at 1:0:6 ratio (seed and solution) followed by drying and subsequently pelleting the seeds with Pungam leaf powder @ 300 g/kg with gruel.

vi) Halogenise the seeds containing CaOCI, CACO3 and arappu leaf popwder @ 5:4:1 ratio or iodine based (containing 2 mg of iodine in 30 g of CaCO3) formulation @ 300 g/kg packed in polylined cloth bag to maintain seed viability for more than 10 months.

5.SOWING AND COVERING THE SEEDS

i. Make shallow rills, not deeper than 1 cm onthe bed by passing the fingers vertically over it.

ii.Broadcast 7.5 kg of treated seeds evenly on the beds.

iii. Cover by levelling the rills by passing the hand lightly over the soil.

iv. Ensure that the seeds are not sown deep as germination will be affected.

6.WATER MANAGEMENT:

i. Provide one inlet to each nursery unit.

ii. Allow water to enter through the inlet and cover all the channels till the raised beds are wet and then cut off water and

iii. adjust the frequency of irrigation according to the soil types as follows:

NOTE: Do not keep the seedlings in the nursery for more than 18 days. If older seedlings are used, establishment and yield are adversely affected. Do not allow cracks to develop in the nursery by properly adjusting the quantity of irrigation water.

V. MAIN FIELD PREPARATION FOR IRRIGATED CROP

1. PLOUGHING

Plough the field with aniron plough once and twice with a country plough. Sorghum does not require fine tilth since itadversely affects germination and yield inthe case of direct sown crop.

To overcome thesubsoil hard pan in Alfisols (deep red soils) chiselling the field at 0.5m intervals toa depth of 40 cm on both the directions of the field followed by disc ploughing once and cultivator ploughing twice help to increase the yield of Sorghum and the succeeding blackgram also. This was true with Sorghum followed by Groundnut also.

Applicationof FYM and 100% of recommended N can also be followed. In soilswith sub-soil hard pan, chiselling should be done every year at the start of the cropping sequence to create a favourable physical environment.

2.APPLICATION OF FYM

Spread 12.5 t/ha FYM or composted coir pith along with 2 kg of Azospirillum (10 pockets/ha) on the unploughed field and incorporate the manure in the soil by working a country plough. Apply well decomposed poultry manure @ 5 t/ha to improve the grain yield as well as physical properties of soils.

3.FORMATION OF RIDGES AND FURROWS

i. Form ridgesand furrows using a ridger 6 m long and 45 cm spart

ii. Form irrigation channels across the furrows

iii.Alternatively, form beds of size 10 m2 and 20 m2 depending on the availability of water.

4.APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS

Transplanted crop:

i. Appl;y NPK fertilizers as per soil test recommendations. If soil test recommendations are not available, adopt a blanket recommendation of 90 N, 45 P2O5, 45 K2O kg/ha.

ii. Apply half the dose of N and full dose of P2O5 and K2O basally before planting

ii. Apply half the dose of N and full doseof P2O5 and K2O basally before planting.

iii. In the case of ridge planted crop, open a furrow 5 cm deep onthe side of the ridge at two thirds the distance from the top of the ridge and the bottom and place the fertilizer mixture along the furrow and cover with soil upto 2 cm..

iv. Soil application of Azospirillum at 10 packets (2kg/ha) after mixing with 25 kg of FYM + 25 kg of soil may be carried out before sowing/planting.

Direct sown crop

i. Apply NPK fertilizers as per soil test recommendations asfar as possible. If soil test recommendations are not available, adopt a blanket recommendation of 90 N, 45 P2O5, 45 K2O kg/ha.

ii. Apply half the dose of N and full dose of P2O5 and K2O basally before sowing and if basal application is not possible the same could betop dressed within 24 hours.

iii. In the case of bed planted crop, mark lines toa depth of 5 cm and 45 cm apart. Place the fertilizer mixture atthe depth of 5 cm along the lines. Cover the lines upto 2 cm from the top before sowing.

iv. In the case of sorghum raised as a mixed crop with a pulse crop (Blackgram, Greengram or Cowpea) open furrows 30 cm apart to a depth of 5 cm.

v. Apply fertilizer mixture in the two lines in which sorghum is to be raised and cover upto 2 cm.

vi.Skip the third row in which the pulse crop is to be raised and place fertilizer mixture in the next two rows and cover upto 2 cm with soil

vii.Application of bio-fertilizers: When Azozpirillum is used apply only 75% of recommended N for irrigated sorghum.

viii. Soil test based fertilizer recommendation may be adopted in Western and North Western Zone in soils viz., Alfisol, Inceptisol and Vertisol for prescribing fertilizer doses for specified yield targets.

VI. MANAGEMENT OF MAIN FIELD

1.TRANSPLANTED CROP

i. Pull our the seedlings when they are 15to 18 days old.

ii. Prepare slurry with 5 packets (1000 g/ha) of Azospirillum inoculant in 40 lit.of waterdip the root portion of the seedlings in the solution for 15-30 minutes and transplant.

iii. Let in water through the furrows

iv. Plant one seedling per hill

v. Plant the seedlings ata depth of 3 to 5 cm.

vi. Plant the seedlings on the side of the ridge, half the distance from the top of the ridge and the bottom.

vii Maintain a spacing of 15 cm between plants in the row which are 45 cm apart (15 m2)

2.DIRECT SOWN CROP

Seed hardening ensures high germination. The seeds are pre-soacked in 2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution for6 hours in equal volume and then dried back to its original moisture content in shade and are used for sowing.

i. In the case of pure crop of sorghum, maintain the seed rate at 10 kg/ha.

ii. In the case of inter crop of sorghum with pulse crop, maintain the seed rate of sorghum at 10 kg/ha and pulse crop at 10 kg/ha.

iii. In the case of pure crop of sorghum, sow the seedswitha spacingof 15 cm between seeds in the rows which are 45 cm apart.

iv. Maintain one plant per hill.

v. If shootfly attack is there, remove the sideshotsand retain one healthy shoot.

vi. Sow the seeds over the lines where fertilizers are placed.

vi. Sow the seeds at a depth of 2 cm and cover with soil.

vii. In the case of sorghum intercropped with pulses sow one paired row of sorghum alternated with a single row of pulses. The spacing between therow of sorghum and pulse crop is 30 cm.

Forage cowpea CO.1 can be inter-cropped in sorghum at two rows of fodder cowpea between paired rows of sorghum.

3.WEED MANAGEMENT

ii. Sorghum is slow growing in early stages and is adversely affected by weed competition. Therefore, keep the field free of weeds upto 45 days. For this, two hand weeding on 20-35 days after sowing may be given.

iii. If pulse crop isto be raised as an inter-crop in sorghum the weedig may be reduced.

iv. Hoe and hand weed on the 1th day of transplanting.Hoe and weed between 30-35 days after transplanting and between 35-40 days for a direct sown crop, if necessary.

4.APPLICATION OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS

Transplanted crop

Apply the balance 50% of N along the furrows on the 15thdayof planting and irrigate.

5.THINNING OF THE SEEDLINGS AND GAP FILLING

Direct sown crop

Thin the seedlings and gap fill with the seedlings thinned out. Maintain a spacing of 15 cm between plants afterthe first hand weeding on ther 23rd day of sowing. Thin the pulse crop toa spacing of 10 cm between plants for all pulse crop except cowpea, for which spacing is maintained at 20 cm between plants.

6.DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

Zinc: Deficiency symptoms first appear in the newly formed leaves at 20 to 30 days age. Older leaves have yellow streaks or chlorotic striping between veins.

Iron: Interveinal chlorosis will be observed. If the deficiency continues the entire leaf including the veins may exhibit chlorotic sysmptoms.Newly formed leaves exhibit chlorotic symptoms. The entire crop may exhibit bleached appearance, dry and may die.

Direct sown crop

i. Spray only if micronutrient mixture is not applied.

ii. Apply in case of iron deficiency.

iii. If soil is calcareous

7.DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Rust: Spray Psudomonas sp.at 2gr./Lit of waterwhen the disease reaches grade 3. Repeat the spray application after 10 days.

Sugary disease

i. Sowing period to be adjusted so as to prevent heading during rainlyseason and severe winter.

ii. Spray any oneof the following Biocide at emergencyof earhead (5-10% flowering stage) followed by a spray at 50% flowering and repeat the spray after a week if necessary. Psudomonas sp. at 2gr./Lit of water.

Downy mildew:

Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride 4g/kg of seed. Rogue infected plants upto 45 days after sowing and spray Psudomonas sp. 2gr./Lit of water with 4 gr. of Trichoderma viride after noticing the symptoms of foliar diseases, for both transplanted and direct sown crops.

Charcoal Rot

Treat the seeds of Cholam with Trichoderma viride @ 4g/kg of seed.

8.PEST MANAGEMENT

i. Take up early sowing of sorghum immediately after the receipt of South West or North East monsoon to minimise the shootfly incidence.

ii. Use seeds pelleted with insecticide.

iii. In case of direct seeding, use increased seed rate upto 12.5 kg per hectare and remove the shootfly damaged seedlings at the time of thinning or raise nursery and transplant only healthy seedlings.

iv. Plough son after harvest, remove and destry the stubbles.

v. Set up the TNAU low cost fish meal trap @ 12/ha till the crop is 30 days old. Arpocarb Fishmeal formulation is more effective in attracting the shootfly adults especially the females.

Preparation of Arpocarb fishmeal formulation for shootfly attraction: Fishmeal powder is to be sprayed first with 2.0 per cent starch dissolved in hot water as a sticking agent. The insecticide Arpocarb should then be sprayed 50 ml/kg of fishmeal powder. The resultant mixture is shade dried and can be used at 50g/trap. The formulated product should be moistened well before placing in the trap. The formulation can be changed once in 10-14 days depending upon the smelll.

vi. The sowingof sorghum should be completed in as short a time as possible to avoid continuous flowering whioch favours grain midge and earhead bug multiplication in an area.

vii. Sowing the lab lab or cowpea as an intercrop to minimise stemborer damage (Sorghum Lab Lab 4:1)

viii. Setting up of light traps till mid night to monitor, attract and kill adults of stem borer, grain midge and earhead caterpillars.

ix. Setting up sex pheromone traps at 12/ha to attract male moths of Helicoverpa sp. from flowering to grain hardening. Two applications of NPV at 10 days interval at 250 LE/ha al;ong with crude sugar 2.5 kg + cotton Seed Kernel powder 250 g on the earheads is effective in reducing the larval population of Helicoverpa.

x. Apply Botanical pesticides when the pest population reach the ET levels viz. Shootfly one egg per plant in 10% of the plant population in the first two weeks of sowing or 10% dead hearts. Stemborer caterpillar 2 per earhead, mites 5 per sq.cm.

a. Shootfly: In nursery, apply neem cake at 2kg/cent.Spray neem kmernal extract 5%..

b. Seed-borne disease and shootfly control: Combined application of Traichoderma viride 4gr.+Psudomonas sp. 2gr./Kg of seed. will take care of seed born diseases.

c. Stemborer: Mix 40kg. powdered neem cake with sand to make up a total quantity of 50 kg/ha and apply in the leaf whorls. Spray neem kernal extract 5% .

d. Grain midge, earhead bug, earhead caterpillar:Dust with neem cake powder with ash on 3rd and 8 thday after panicle emergence.For earhead bug and sugary disease apply the same as above and spray Psudomonos sp. at 2gr./lit.of water.at 10% heading and after 9days.

e. Mites: Spray Garlic solution 2% at the uder surphase of the leaf.ETL for Sorghum mite = 5 mites/cm2 of leaf area.

f. Storage Pests: Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) treat the seeds with Botanical pesticides like neem oil or treate with Nochi leaf, neem leaf.

The pesticides cause phytotoxicity to sorghum crop.

VII. WATER MANAGEMENT

Regulate irrigation according to the following growth phase of the crop.

	Transplanted crop	Direct sown crop
Growth phase	1 to 40 days	1 to 33 days
Flowering phase	41 to 70 days	34 to 65 days
Maturity phase	71 to 95 days	66 to 95 days

 

STAGES	No.of irrigation	Date of transplanting/sowing of crop
		Transplanted	Direct sown
Light soils
i.Irrigate for germination or establishment	1	1st day	1st day
	2	4th day	4th day
ii.Regulate irrigation during vegetative phase	1	15th day	15th day
	2	28th day	28th day
iii.Flowering phase (copious irrigation)	1	40th day	40th day
	2	52nd day	52nd day
	3	64th day	64th day
iv.Maturity phase (control irrigation)	1	65th day	76th day
	2	88th day	88th day
v.Stop irrigation thereafter	..	..	..
Heavy soils
i.Irrigate for germination or establishment	1	1st day	1st day
	2	4th day	4th day
ii.Regulate irrigation during vegetative phase	1	17th day	17th day
	2	30th day	30th day
iii.Flowering phase (copious irrigation)	1	40th day	45th day
	2	52nd day	60th day
	3	75th day	75th day
iv.Maturity phase(control irrigation)	1	72nd day	90th day
v.Stop irrigationthereafter

NOTE: Adjust irrigation schedule according to the weather conditions and depending upon the receipt of rains.

Contingent Plan: Spraying 3% Kaolin (30 g in one litre of water) during periods of stress will mitigate the ill effects.

VII. HARVESTING AND PROCESSING

i.Consider the average duration of the crop and observe the crop. When the crop matures the leavesturn yellow and presenta dried up appearance.

ii.The grains are hard and firm.

iii.At this stage, harves the crop by cuttingthe earheads separately

iv.Cut the straw after a week, allow it to dry and then stack.

v.In the case of tall varieties, cutthe stem at 10 to 15 cm above ground level and afterwards separate the earheads and stack the straw.

vi. Dry the earheads

vii. Thresh using a mechanical thresher or by drawing a stone roller over the earheads or by using cattle and dry the produce and store.

RATOON SORGHUM CROP

1. VARIETIES FOR RATOONING;

CO.25, CO 26, Hybrid CSH 5, K Tall

2. RATOONING TECHNIQUE

i. Harvest the main crop leaving 15 cm stubbles.

ii. Remove the first formed two sprouts from the main crop and allow only the later formed two sprouts to grow. Allow two tillers per hill.

3. HOEING AND WEEDING

i. Remove the weeds immediately after harvest of the main crop.

ii. Hoe and wed twice on 15th and 30th day after cutting.

4.APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS

i. Apply 100 kg N/ha in two split doses.

ii. Apply the first dose on 15th day after cutting andthe second on 45th day after cutting.

iii. Apply 50 kg. P2O5/ha along with first application of N.

5.PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

i. Since the ratoon crop invites pests and diseases in early stages, plant protection measures have to be resorted to. Spray any Botanical pesticides immediately after application of fertilizer before irrigation.

ii. Follolw the plant protection measures as recommended for the control of stemborer, earhead midgeand earhead bug for the main crop.

6.WATER MANAGEMENT

i. Irrigate immediately after cutting the main crop.

ii. Irrigation should not be delayed for more than 24 hours after cutting.

iii. Irrigate on 3rd or 4th day after cutting.

iv. Subsequently irrigate once in 7-10 days.

v. Stop irrigation on 70-80 days after ratooning.

7.HARVEST

Harvest the crop when the grains turn yellow.

NOTE: The duration of the ratoon crop is about 15days less than the main crop.

RAINFED SORGHUM

1. RAINFALL

Average and well distributed rainfall of 250-300 mm is optimum for rainfed sorghum.l

2.DISTRIBUTION

Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Trichy, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Coimbatore and Dharmapuri districts.

3. SEASON

The crop canbe grown in South West and North East monsoon seasons.

4.FIELD PREPARATION

Test the soil and apply fertilizers based on soil test recommendations.

i. Field has to be prepared well in advance taking advantage of early showers. FYM application should be done at 12.5 t/ha and well incorporated at the time of ploughing.

ii. Chiseling for soils with hard pan.

Chisel the soils having hard panformation at shallow depths with chisel plough at 0.5 M interval, first in one directionand then inthe direction perpendicular to the previous one once in three years. Apply 12.5 t FYM or composted Coir pith/ha besides chiselling to get an additional yield of about 30% over control.

iii. To conserve the soil moisture sow the seeds in flat and form furrows between crop rows during inter cultivation or during third week after sowing.

5.VARIETIES

CO 21, CO 26, CO 25, K Tall, COH 3 , K5, K8

6.SEED RATE

15 kg/ha

7. SEED TREATMENT

i. Soak the seeds in 2% (20g in one litre of water)potassium dihydrogen phosphate or 500 ppm of CCC (1 ml in one litre of water) for six hours and shade dry the seeds for 5 hours. Use 350 ml of solution for soaking one kg of seed.

ii. Treat the seeds with three packets of Azozpirillum (6-00 g) and 3 packets of Phosphobacterium. In the main field, apply Azospirillum 2kg (10 pockets/ha) with Phosphobateria 2 kg FYM + 25 kg soil.

8. SOWING

Sow the seeds well before onset of monsoon at 5 cm depth (by seed drillor by country plough). Pre-monsoon sowing

Sow the hardened seeds at 5 cm depth with Seed cum fertilizer drill to ensure uniform depth of sowing and fertilizer application before the onset of monsson as detailed below:

District	Optimum period
1. Coimbatore	37-38th week (II to III week of September)
2.Erode	38th week (III week of September)
3.Sivaganga	40th week (I week of October)
4.Ramanathapuram	40th week (I week of October)
5.Thoothukudi	39-40th week (Last week of September to I wseek of October)
6.Vellore, Tiruvannamalai	37th-38th week (Stptember II week to September III week)

i. Sow the sorghum seeds over the line where the fertilizers are placed.

ii. Sow theseeds at a depth of 5 cm and cover wwith the soil.

iii. Sow the seeds with thespackings of 15 cm in the paired rows around 60 cm apart.

iv. Sow the pulse seeds to fall 10 cm apart in the furrows between the paired rows of surghum.

9. SPACING

45 x 15 cm or 45 x 10 cm.

10.FERTILIZER:

Apply 12.5 t/ha. of Composted Coir pith + NPK at 40:20:0; enriched FYM 750 kg/ha. The recommended dose of 40 kg N and 20 Kg P2O5/ha for rainfed sorghum can be halved if FYM @ 5 t/ha is applied.

11. WEED MANAGEMENT

Keep sorghum field free of weeds from second week after germination till 5th wek. Hand weeding is the best for weed control as the chemical weedicide suppresses the crop growth.The inter croping with pulses also suppresses the weed growth.

12. CROPPING SYSTEM:

1. The most profitable and remunerative sorghum, based cropping system, adopted in intercropping sorghum, with cowpea, redgram, lab-lab, blackgram.

2. In rainfed Vertisol, adopt paired row planting in sorghum and sow one row of blackgram/Cowpea in between paired rows of sorghum to have 100% population of sorghum plus 33% population of blackgram/cowpea.

3. Intercropping of sunflower CO 1, with the main crop of sorghum CO 26 in 4:2 ratio isrecommended under rainfed conditions during North-East monsoon for black soils of Coimbatore.

4. Intercropping ofsoyabean with sorghum in the ratio 4:2 is recommended or khariff and summer seasons.

5. Sorghum - blackgram intercropping system, as well as sold cropping, application of 20 kg N and 20 kg P2O5/ha. through enriched FYM and treating the seeds with Azospirillum is recommeded for Aruppukottai region.

6. For sorghum (CO 25) + Fodder cowpea (CO 1)intercropping system, application of 20 kg N and 20 kg P2O5/ha with enriched FYM is recommended for Coimbatore region.

7. The intercroping system, fodder sorghum (K7) + Fodder cowpea (CO 5) at 3.2 ratio is found profitable for rainfed Vertisols of Aruppukottai.

8. Tamarind and Neem trees upto 3-4 years from date of planting form an ideal tree component for agroforestry in black cotton soils of Kovilpatti, Sorghum and blackgram given higher yield even at 50 per cent of the recommended level of fertilizer application.