How to Grow Millet? Detailed Explanation of Planting Methods and Key Technical Points
Millet is called foxtail millet in the north, with small grains and many varieties, available in various colors such as white, red, yellow, black, orange and purple. It was a major food crop in ancient times, so how do you grow it?
How to grow millet?
1. Site selection and land preparation
Choose fertile loam or sandy loam with relatively high terrain, convenient drainage, deep soil layers and a soft texture, then after land preparation meet the quality standards of “early, deep, loose, broken and level”.
2. Sowing
Choose the millet variety best suited to the local area, and sow after screening and drying in the sun for 1 day. Sowing can be done in spring or summer; spring sowing is generally done when the soil temperature at a depth of 10cm reaches 10-12°C; for summer sowing, sow promptly after the previous crop is harvested. The usual seeding rate is 15-22.5kg per hectare. The sowing depth should be about 4-5cm.
3. Replanting seedlings
Generally, when the seeds have sprouted and grown a few leaves, you need to check where there are gaps, and then fill in the gaps. In addition, for some weak seedlings and diseased seedlings, be sure to pull them out in time to avoid expanding the range of infection.
4. Fertilizing
Topdressing half a month or 20 days before heading gives the best effect. Generally, pure nitrogen fertilizer is used. If there is a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, it can be applied in separate rounds, which allows it to grow faster. In the later stage, in addition to applying some fertilizer at the roots, some foliar fertilizer is also needed, generally phosphate fertilizer and some other trace elements, which allows it to flower and set fruit better and also makes the grains plumper.
Millet should be harvested promptly at the late dough stage or early full-ripe stage, first to prevent insects and birds from eating it, and second to prevent rain from knocking the grains down and causing a reduction in yield.