When Does Sorghum Mature? A Detailed Guide to Its Maturity Time

Sorghum matures from about early July to mid-October, with a growth period of generally around 100 days. Phenological periods vary from place to place, and sowing times for sorghum differ considerably between regions, so the maturity and harvest periods of sorghum are not all the same either.

How do you grow sorghum?

1. Thinning and final singling: thin the sorghum seedlings at the 3-4 leaf stage, and single them at the 5-6 leaf stage. When singling, keep seedlings at equal spacing and keep strong, well-formed seedlings; do not keep double plants or second-growth seedlings. Also pull out off-type plants to improve purity and give full play to the yield-increasing effect of good seed.

2. Timely cultivation: for sorghum, the first inter-row cultivation during the seedling stage is done together with final singling, and the second is done 10-15 days later. Around the jointing stage, cultivation should be combined with topdressing and earthing up, to promote sorghum growth while strengthening wind resistance, lodging resistance and the soil's water storage and moisture conservation capacity.

3. Irrigation management: the water requirement of sorghum at the seedling stage accounts for about 10% of the total water requirement of the whole growth period, the jointing to booting stage accounts for 50%, the booting to flowering stage accounts for 15%, the grain-filling stage accounts for 20%, and the maturity stage accounts for about 5%. The key is to irrigate a moderate amount at the jointing to booting stage, the flowering stage and the grain-filling stage.

4. Rational topdressing: when topdressing sorghum, do not leave the fertilizer exposed on the soil surface, and water promptly after topdressing. Each topdressing and watering should be adjusted as appropriate according to crop growth, weather and other conditions.

(1) After the sorghum seedlings emerge, a seedling-promoting fertilizer can be applied depending on how the seedlings come up.

(2) At the jointing stage of sorghum, apply 1000 kg/mu of decomposed farmyard manure and 10-15 kg/mu of urea.

(3) At the booting stage of sorghum, apply 1000 kg/mu of farmyard manure and 20 kg/mu of urea.

(4) At the grain-filling stage of sorghum, apply 1000 kg/mu of farmyard manure and 8-10 kg/mu of urea.

(5) From the heading stage to the grain-filling stage of sorghum, spray an appropriate amount of potassium dihydrogen phosphate to promote early maturity and increase yield.