Sorghum Seed Latest Prices and Detailed Planting Methods

Sorghum is one of the common cash crops, also known as shushu, taoshu, muji, etc. It is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Sorghum in the grass family. It is widely cultivated in China, with the largest plantings in various parts of Northeast China. The grain of food sorghum is used for food and brewing; the stalks of sweet sorghum can be made into syrup or eaten raw; the panicles of broom sorghum can be made into brooms or pot scrubbers. Now let us take a look at sorghum seed prices and planting methods!

How much is sorghum seed per jin?

The price of sorghum seed is generally around 6 to 10 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on the variety. For example, forage-type sweet sorghum seed is generally around 15.00 yuan per jin, imported high-yield sorghum seed is around 30 yuan per jin, white sorghum seed is around 12.00 yuan per jin, and wild sorghum seed is around 16 yuan per jin. It is worth noting that variety selection is one of the most economical and effective technical measures for increasing sorghum yield. The growth period of the variety must suit the local climatic conditions; it should be able to mature safely before frost, and the growth period should not be too short.

Site selection and land preparation for sorghum

1. Site selection: Sorghum has a well-developed root system and strong water and nutrient uptake capacity, so flat, loose and relatively fertile plots should be chosen for planting. Because it is drought-tolerant, waterlogging-tolerant, salt-alkali-tolerant and barren-tolerant, low-lying waterlogging-prone plots or barren, dry saline-alkali plots can also be planted, and it has no strict requirements for the previous crop.

2. Land preparation: The quality of land preparation for sorghum is the key to achieving full stands and determining yield. Before sowing, fine land preparation must be carried out, with harrowing level and fine. Autumn land preparation is recommended to ensure spring soil moisture, carrying out autumn plowing, autumn harrowing and autumn ridging.

3. Crop rotation: Sorghum should not be continuously cropped. A reasonable rotation method is the key to increasing sorghum yield. The ideal previous crop is soybean, followed by corn, potato, etc. Because it is sensitive to pesticides, plots where long-residual pesticides were applied to the previous crop should be avoided.

Sowing methods for sorghum

1. Seed selection and sunning: Before sowing sorghum, carry out winnowing or screening to eliminate small seeds, shriveled seeds and diseased seeds, and select large, plump seeds as production seed. At the same time, choose fine sunny weather to sun the seeds for 2 to 3 days to improve seed sprouting vigor and germination rate.

2. Chemical seed dressing: Dressing sorghum seed with a high-quality seed coating agent can control smut, seedling-stage diseases, nutrient deficiency disorders and underground pests, etc. It is also possible to dress seed with 25% triadimefon wettable powder at 0.3 to 0.5% of the seed weight.

3. Sowing time: The determination of sorghum sowing date is based on the growth period of the variety, soil temperature and soil moisture. Late-maturing varieties should be sown early at the proper time, early-maturing varieties should be sown late at the proper time. In mountainous areas with severe spring drought, sloping land and sunny plots, sow early at the proper time; in low-lying waterlogging-prone and flat land, sow appropriately late.

4. Sowing density: The sowing density of sorghum follows the principle of “dense on fertile land, sparse on poor land”. Usually with 65 to 70 cm ridges, drill in double rows on the ridge at equal spacing, with staggered seedlings, a small row spacing of 12 to 15 cm, a plant spacing of 18 to 20 cm, and a stand of 120,000 to 150,000 plants per hectare.

5. Sowing depth: The suitable sowing depth for sorghum is 3 to 4.5 cm. In low-lying wet places it can be slightly shallower, while dry plots should be sown with pre-sprouted seed and watered planting. The sowing depth should be flexibly controlled according to different soil types: clay soil is compact and prone to crusting, so it should be sown shallowly; sandy soil has poor moisture retention, so it can be sown appropriately deeper.

Planting methods for sorghum

1. Thinning and final singling: After sorghum emergence, thin the seedlings at the 3 to 4 leaf stage and finalize the stand at the 5 to 6 leaf stage. When finalizing the stand, keep seedlings at equal spacing and keep strong, normal seedlings; do not keep double plants or second-growth seedlings. Also remove off-type plants to improve purity and give full play to the yield-increasing effect of improved varieties.

2. Timely cultivation: The first intertillage during the sorghum seedling stage is carried out together with final singling, and the second is carried out 10 to 15 days later. Around the jointing stage, intertillage should be combined with topdressing and hilling up to promote sorghum growth while enhancing wind resistance, lodging resistance and the soil's water storage and moisture conservation capacity.

3. Irrigation management: The water requirement during the sorghum seedling stage accounts for about 10% of the total water requirement over 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 appropriately at the jointing to booting stage, flowering stage and grain-filling stage.

4. Reasonable topdressing: When topdressing sorghum, do not leave fertilizer exposed on the soil surface. After topdressing, water promptly. Each topdressing and watering should be controlled as appropriate according to crop growth, weather and other conditions.

① After sorghum emergence, apply seedling-promoting fertilizer according to the emergence situation.

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

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

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

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

Disease control for sorghum

1. Seedling blight

[Damage] The disease can occur when sorghum grows to 4 to 5 leaves. It starts on the lower leaves and then spreads upward. Infected leaves develop purple-red streaks that gradually merge, causing the leaves to gradually die from the tip, and the seed becomes brown.

[Control] Implement crop rotation of more than 3 years, maintain reasonable close planting, apply fully decomposed organic fertilizer, drain promptly after rain, strictly prohibit flood irrigation, and use Weibao or Sanbao Qihua for one general preventive application in the seedbed before transplanting.

2. Anthracnose

[Damage] At the seedling stage, it damages leaves and leaf sheaths, causing leaf blight and dead seedlings. In the middle and late stages, it damages the stem base and panicle, causing stem rot and panicle rot. Symptoms on leaves and leaf sheaths are the most obvious.

[Control] After harvest, promptly handle diseased residues, implement crop rotation of more than 3 years, strictly carry out seed treatment, and in epidemic years or individual severely affected fields, apply chemicals from the booting stage. Weibao or Sanbao Qihua can be used as the chemical.

3. Purple spot disease

[Damage] It occurs in the middle and late stages of sorghum growth and mainly damages leaves and leaf sheaths. The lower leaves become diseased first and gradually spread upward. In severe cases, sorghum leaves prematurely die from bottom to top.

[Control] After autumn, promptly deep plow the land, topdress promptly in the late growth stage, remove 1 to 2 old lower leaves of diseased plants as early as possible, and apply chemicals for control at the early stage of disease onset.

4. Smut

[Damage] Sorghum smut includes head smut, loose smut, covered smut, flower smut and long-grain smut, all of which damage the panicle.

[Control] Rotate with non-host plants, use fully decomposed organic fertilizer, and promptly pull out diseased plants and bury them deeply or destroy them after the “wumi” appears but before it ruptures.

5. Armyworm

[Damage] The larvae cause damage, mainly occurring during the sorghum seedling stage in May to June. In outbreak years, they can eat all sorghum leaves and stems, causing serious losses.

[Control] Use sugar-vinegar basins, blacklight lamps and other methods to trap and kill adults to reduce the pest population. According to forecasting, apply chemicals promptly before the larvae reach the 3rd instar.

6. Sorghum shoot fly

[Damage] The larvae damage sorghum. Newly hatched larvae mostly enter the heart leaf from the funnel or leaf gaps before 7 o'clock, then bore through the gaps between the heart leaves into the vicinity of the growing point to feed, causing dead heart seedlings or panicle malformation.

[Control] Sow at the proper time, promptly pull out dead heart seedlings, use poison bait to trap and kill adults, and use poison soil spot application or chemical solution pouring into the heart.

7. Aphids

[Damage] They generally occur during the sorghum seedling stage and the heading to grain-filling stage. Adults and nymphs mostly gather on the underside of lower sorghum leaves to suck sap, causing damaged leaves to turn red in mild cases and wither in severe cases.

[Control] Intercrop with soybean at 6:2 to improve field ecological conditions, use yellow sticky boards to trap and kill them, and apply chemical sprays for control at the early stage of occurrence.

8. Sorghum striped stem borer

[Damage] Damaged leaves show small net-like spots and many irregular small holes. After the 3rd instar, it begins boring into stems. Early boring can cut off the growing point and cause dead heart seedlings, while later stem boring can easily cause wind breakage and death.

[Control] For control, it is best to apply chemicals twice, around sorghum flowering and at the early grain-filling stage. Qingyuanbao, Sanbao Qihua, Lvjing biological preparations, Bt preparations, etc. can be selected.