Friday, March 27, 1998

Interest in grain sorghum evident at Abilene meeting

By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor

Grain sorghum continues to be a top rotation crop with cotton here on the Rolling Plains.

Beyond its rotation value, it also can save the day in some years when weeks of stormy spring weather make it too late to plant cotton.

The interest in this crop was clear at the Grain Sorghum Production Meeting put together by Ag Agent Gary Bomar earlier this week at Abilene Ag Service & Supply.

Dr. Billy Warrick, Texas A&M agronomist, San Angelo, said yield is always important - but it's not the only factor in selecting varieties to plant.

Disease resistance, drought tolerance, insect resistance and stalk strength are among some of the other factors.

"We need medium to medium-late maturity groups (in this area)," Warrick noted. "They are the most conducive to yield here."

Warrick looked at many years of results from Runnels County. The adjacent county has conditions very similar to Taylor County when it comes to growing grain sorghum.

"Look at several years of data, never just one year's performance," Warrick said.

For example - look at a variety that has been in the top three consistently for several years.

Aside from production tips, Warrick emphasized that the grain sorghum market is driven by the far bigger corn market.

When considering forward contracts for grain sorghum, the corn market prospects must be considered since grain sorghum rides the coattails of corn.

Know your nutrient levels

Dr. Todd Baughman said a good seedbed is essential to catch any April and May rainfall in preparation for planting grain sorghum and getting the crop off to a good start.

The Texas A&M agronomist with headquarters at Vernon advised farmers to know their nutrition.

As a rule of thumb, it takes about 50 pounds of nitrogen and 30 pounds of phosphorus per acre to produce a grain sorghum crop.

But you may already have some fertilizer - especially nitrogen - already in the soil.

A good soil test can let you know how much existing nitrogen and other nutrients you have at the start.

Fertilizer can be put down as a pre-plant application and also as a sidedress early in the growth of the sorghum plants.

Don't overplant the seed

When planting, aim for 30,000 to 40,000 grain sorghum plants per acre.

"Above 40,000 plants per acre...and you're basically planting weeds," Baughman noted. "At that point, you begin to have plants competing with other plants for moisture."

Keep a tight window on planting if the weather allows you to do so.

When a producer plants grain sorghum over April, May and June dates, he may become so spread out with his sorghums' growth stages that he helps to build pesky midge populations.

Billy Vinson, a seasoned Abilene farmer who also operates Billy Vinson Seed & Fertilizer at 7909 Westlake Road, said 7 to 9 pounds of sorghum seed per acre has worked well for him in achieving plant populations between 30,000 and 40,000 plants when planting in an early planting widow (late March or early April).

That amount of seed allows for an expected 75 to 85 percent germination range, Vinson said.

Baughman said Texas A&M studies showed solid grain sorghum did just as well as skip-row in this area.

The A&M specialist heavily advised never planting grain sorghum in a johnsongrass-infested field.

"Grain sorghum and johnsongrass are kissing cousins," Baughman cautioned.

Remember - don't use yellow herbicides a pre-plant incorporated treatment on a field where you know you are going to plant grain sorghum. These herbvicides do a great job of killing weeds - and to them, grain sorghum is a weed.

If you get stuck planting sorghum in an emergency where you had intended to plant cotton on yellow herbicide-treated ground, you can bust up and move that dirt and then plant grain sorghum into clean soil. If you are skillful enough at this, (break under the herbicide dirt shield) you might get away with it. (Obviously, it has been done in emergencies).

Bill Lyles of Warner Seed Company strongly advised farmers to "never put all your eggs in one basket."

"Always plant more than one hybrid," Lyles advised.

Plant a variety with good post-flowering drought tolerance and proven stay-green qualities, Lyles added.