What Is the Price of Sorghum Seeds? A Detailed Guide to Planting Methods
Sorghum is one of the common economic crops, also known as shushu, taoshu, muji and so on. 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 for brewing liquor; the stalks of sweet sorghum can be made into syrup or eaten raw; and the panicles of broom sorghum can be made into brooms or pot scrubbers. Below, let us take a look at sorghum seed prices and planting methods!
How much does a jin of sorghum seed cost?
The price of sorghum seed is generally around 6-10 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 yields. The growth period of the variety must suit the local climate conditions; it should be able to mature safely before frost, yet 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 a strong ability to take up water and nutrients, so it is best to choose level, loose, fairly fertile plots 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 is not strict about the previous crop.
2. Land preparation: The quality of land preparation for sorghum is the key to securing a full stand and determining yield. Before sowing, fine land preparation must be carried out, with the soil harrowed level and fine. Autumn land preparation is recommended to ensure good spring soil moisture, carrying out autumn plowing, autumn harrowing and autumn ridging.
3. Crop rotation: Sorghum should not be grown continuously. Reasonable crop rotation is the key to increasing sorghum yields. The ideal previous crop is soybean, followed by corn, potato and so on. Because sorghum 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, shriveled and diseased grains, and select large, plump seeds for production use. At the same time, choose fine sunny weather to sun the seeds for 2-3 days to improve seed germination 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. You can also use 25% triadimefon wettable powder at 0.3-0.5% of the seed weight for seed dressing.
3. Sowing time: The sowing date for sorghum is determined based on the variety's growth period, soil temperature and soil moisture. Late-maturing varieties should be sown early at the right time, and early-maturing varieties sown late at the right time. In mountainous areas, sloping land and south-facing plots with severe spring drought, sow early at the right time; in low-lying, waterlogging-prone and level land, sow appropriately late.
4. Sowing density: The sowing density for sorghum follows the principle of "dense on fertile land, sparse on poor land." Usually with 65-70 cm ridges, sow in double rows on the ridge at equal spacing in drills, in a staggered seedling arrangement, with a small row spacing of 12-15 cm and a plant spacing of 18-20 cm, keeping 120,000-150,000 plants per hectare.
5. Sowing depth: The suitable sowing depth for sorghum is 3-4.5 cm. In low-lying wet spots it can be slightly shallower; in dry plots, pre-germinate the seed and sow in water-holding holes. The sowing depth should be flexibly controlled according to different soil types: clay soil is tight and prone to crusting, so sow shallow; sandy soil has poor moisture retention, so sow appropriately deep.
Planting Methods for Sorghum
1. Thinning and final singling: Thin sorghum seedlings at the 3-4 leaf stage and single them at the 5-6 leaf stage. When singling, keep plants at equal spacing and keep strong, upright 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 intertillage: For sorghum, the first intertillage during the seedling stage is carried out together with final singling, and the second 10-15 days later. Around jointing, intertillage should be combined with topdressing and earthing up, to promote sorghum growth while enhancing wind resistance, lodging resistance and the soil's ability to store water and conserve moisture.
3. Irrigation management: The water requirement of sorghum at the 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 a moderate amount at the jointing-to-booting stage, flowering stage and grain-filling stage.
4. Rational topdressing: When topdressing sorghum, do not leave the fertilizer exposed on the soil surface. After topdressing, water promptly. Each topdressing and watering should be controlled as appropriate according to crop growth and weather conditions.
① After sorghum emerges, apply a seedling-promoting fertilizer according to emergence conditions.
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 monopotassium phosphate to promote early maturity and increase yield.
Disease Control in Sorghum
1. Seedling blight
[Damage] The disease can occur when sorghum has grown to 4-5 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. The seed also turns brown.
[Control] Implement crop rotation of more than 3 years, maintain rational dense planting, apply fully decomposed organic fertilizer, drain promptly after rain, and strictly prohibit flood irrigation. In the seedbed, apply Weibao or Sanbao Qihua for general prevention once before transplanting.
2. Anthracnose
[Damage] At the seedling stage, the disease attacks leaves and leaf sheaths, causing leaf blight and dead seedlings. In the middle and late stages, it attacks the stem base and panicle, causing stem rot and panicle rot, with symptoms on leaves and leaf sheaths being the most obvious.
[Control] After harvest, promptly dispose of diseased residues, implement crop rotation of more than 3 years, and strictly carry out seed treatment. In epidemic years or in individual severely diseased fields, apply fungicide from the booting stage; Weibao or Sanbao Qihua can be used.
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 are affected first and it gradually spreads upward. In severe cases, sorghum leaves die prematurely from the bottom upward.
[Control] After autumn, plow the land deeply in a timely manner. In the late growth stage, topdress promptly. As early as possible, remove 1-2 old leaves from the lower part of diseased plants, and apply fungicide at the early stage of the disease.
4. Smut
[Damage] Sorghum smut includes head smut, loose smut, covered smut, flower smut and long-grain smut, five kinds in total, all of which damage the panicle.
[Control] Rotate with non-host plants, use fully decomposed organic fertilizer, and when the "wumi" galls appear but before they rupture, promptly pull out diseased plants and bury them deeply or destroy them in a centralized manner.
5. Armyworm
[Damage] The larvae cause damage, mainly occurring in May-June during the sorghum seedling stage. In outbreak years, they can eat all the sorghum leaves and stems, causing serious losses.
[Control] Use sugar-vinegar basins, black light lamps and so on to trap and kill adults and reduce the pest population. According to forecasting, apply pesticide 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 to feed near the growing point, causing dead heart seedlings or deformed panicles.
[Control] Sow at the right time, promptly pull out dead heart seedlings, use poisoned bait to trap and kill adults, and use poisoned soil spot applications or pesticide solution poured 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 the lower leaves of sorghum to suck sap, causing affected leaves to turn red in mild cases and to 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 spray pesticide 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 feeding can bite off the growing point and cause dead heart seedlings; later, stems that are bored are prone to wind breakage and death.
[Control] For control, it is best to apply pesticide twice, around sorghum flowering and at the early grain-filling stage. Qingyuanbao, Sanbao Qihua, Lujing biological agents, Bt formulations and so on can be used.