grainsorghum crop management guide

	CROP MANAGEMENT GUIDE FOR HYBRID GRAIN SORGHUM
Seed Rate	3 kg/acre
Soil	Medium and deep black soils are ideal. However, grain sorghum can also be grown in light soils with neutral pH.
Field Preparation and Transplanting	– Deep plough the field to a fine tilth. – Apply 10 mt of FYM before the last ploughing. – Apply basal dose of chemical fertilizer before planting. – Plant seed either by hand dibbling or by seed drill at 45 x 15 cm spacing. – Thin out excess seedlings 15–20 DAS, leaving one seedling per hill.
Spacing	Between rows	45 cm
Spacing	Between plants	15 cm
Fertilizer	– Apply 10 mt of well decomposed FYM per acre at the time of field preparation. – A total chemical fertilizer dose of 32:16:16 kg of N P K per acre is recommended. – Apply entire P, K and 50% of N at the time of planting. – The remaining 50% of N should be applied 30–35 DAS followed by earthing up.
Irrigation	Irrigate the field soon after planting. To achieve high yields, sufficient moisture should be maintained in the soil at flowering, seed filling and premature stages of the crop. Avoid water logging in the field.
Weeding	1-2 hand weedings are sufficient to keep the field free from weeds. Application of pre emergence spray of ‘Atratof’ 600 g in 220-250 litres of water per acre will help in controlling weed growth.
Plant Protection	Need based. Apply 5–6 kg Furadon granules per acre in the soil at the time of planting, and 25–30 DAS in the plant whorls.
	20 DAS	Spray Endosulphan 2 ml in 1 litre of water.
	30 DAS	Spray Endosulphan 2 ml in 1 litre of water.
	45 DAS	Spray Endosulphan 2 ml in 1 litre of water.
	60 DAS	Spray Captan 3 g per litre of water + Dithane M-45 3 g per litre of water on the earheads before flowering to prevent grain mould.
Harvesting	Harvest the earheads when they are sufficiently dry and the grain becomes hard. The earheads should be dried in the yard before threshing.
CAUTION	Do not use the grain harvested from hybrid seed based crops as seed for the next crop. Doing so will cause a drastic reduction in crop yields due to segregation and loss of hybrid vigor.