Lesson 4 Growing Sorghum

Next Generation Science/Common Core Standards Addressed! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Work! 1. Identify sorghum and its uses. 2. Identify areas where sorghum is grown. 3. Describe the different types of sorghum. 4. Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production.

Terms Cultural practices Inflorescence Listing Lodging Shattering Microsoft.com

Interest Approach View this sorghum seed sample from the crop seed identification set. Describe these seeds, noting the coloring, size, and shape. Compare these seeds to other samples from the seed identification set. Compare coloring, size, and shape. Explain the differences in types of sorghum versus the other crop seed samples shown. Continue with the rest of the lesson.

What is sorghum and how is it used? Sorghum includes a group of grasses used as livestock feed and in making a number of products consumed by humans.

What is sorghum and how is it used? Sorghum grass originated in Africa and Asia where it is also used as a food for humans. Sorghum currently ranks fifth in worldwide grain production.

What is sorghum and how is it used? A. Grain sorghum is also referred to as milo. Grain sorghum is one of four types of sorghum grown in the United States.

What is sorghum and how is it used? Grain sorghum, like other crops, can be classified according to a number of factors. One factor is the color of the grain. The four basic colors of grain sorghum are yellow, white, brown, and mixed. Most of the sorghum grown in the U.S. is yellow. New Mexico grain sorghum is concentrated in the eastern NM in the Portales, Clovis and Tucumcari area. Although, sorghum may be found anywhere in the state.

What is sorghum and how is it used? B. Grain sorghum can be used as an animal feed. White sorghum is considered equal in value to corn. Grain sorghum can also be used to manufacture wax, starch, alcohol, and gluten feed.

What is sorghum and how is it used? Sorghum flour can be used to manufacture paper and adhesives. Grain sorghum is also used for pasture and silage.

Identify areas where sorghum is grown. Objective 2 Identify areas where sorghum is grown.

Where is sorghum grown? II. Sorghum is primarily grown in warm, humid climates.

Where is sorghum grown? Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are some of the leading producers of sorghum. California and Arizona can also produce grain sorghum using irrigation. New Mexico’s crop is relatively small and is raised both irrigated and as a dry land crop.

What are the different types of sorghum? III. Grain sorghum is the most widely grown sorghum in the U.S. However, there are four types of sorghum; the other three types are sweet sorghum, broom corn, and grass sorghum. Sweet sorghum is commonly used as forage. Sweet sorghum is also known as cane and can be used for making sugar, syrup, and molasses.

What are the different types of sorghum? A. Broom corn is a sorghum grown for its 1- to 3-feet long inflorescences. An inflorescence is the floral portion of a plant. The inflorescence of the broom corn plant is used for making household brooms. Most of the broom corn raised for making brooms is currently grown in and imported from Mexico.

What are the different types of sorghum? B. Grass sorghum is also known as Sudan grass. These grasses can be grown as pasture but are generally baled or chopped.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. IV. Grain sorghum is a warm-season crop that can be grown using a variety of cultural practices. Cultural practices are the procedures used in producing a crop.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. Grain sorghum grown for human consumption should be a white variety. The variety chosen should mature within the areas growing season and be resistant to pests common to that area.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. B. The variety chosen should also resist lodging and shattering. Lodging is the bending or breaking of stems that are not strong enough to hold the plant. Shattering is the loss of grain or seed from the inflorescence or head of the plant.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. C. Grain sorghum matures in 60 to 150 days depending on the variety. Cultivars are classified as early, medium, or late. Early varieties mature more quickly than late varieties. Late varieties tend to produce more grain.

Sub surface irrigated sorghum!

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. D. Grain sorghum planted as a summer annual should be planted after the frost season is over. The soil temperature should be a minimum of 55° F with 65° F being more preferable. Planting dates range from early April to late May.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. E. Grain sorghum can be planted on prepared seedbeds or no-till fields. Preparing the seedbed would include disking under the crop residue from the previous season followed by an additional disking before planting.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. F. Grain sorghum can be planted with a drill or row planter are usually spaced 20 to 40 inches apart but can be as narrow as 18 inches. G. Grain sorghum may be planted using a process known as listing. Listing is the planting of seed in the bottoms of shallow furrows to make better use of moisture.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. H. Plant populations of grain sorghum may be as high as 100,000 plants per acre and as low as 24,000 plants per acre. Population varies with available moisture. The number of seeds per pound varies with the variety and may range from 12,000 to 20,000 seeds. A seeding rate of 2 to 8 pounds per acre will produce a desirable plant population.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. Grain sorghum is suited to areas with limited rainfall because its roots can use up to 90 percent of the available moisture to a depth of 35 inches. Grain sorghum requires significant moisture levels during production, as much as 0.3 inches of water per day during blooming and 0.2 inches of water per day during grain formation.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. J. The root system of the grain sorghum plant is also capable of using existing soil nutrients efficiently. Two pounds of nitrogen per 100 pounds of grain is a general rule of thumb when fertilizing. Grain sorghum grows best in a soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Since grain sorghum so efficiently uses available nutrients, fertilization will be required when rotating with other crops.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. K. Like all crops, grain sorghum is susceptible to a number of pest problems. One of the major pest problems for grain sorghum are birds. A flock of birds can eat more than 185 pounds of grain per day. Gas-fired guns, balloons, and scarecrows can be used to reduce bird damage.

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. L. Common grain sorghum insects include the greenbug, sorghum webworm, and sorghum midge. Insecticides can be used to reduce insect damage.

Green bug sorghum webworm sorghum midge

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. M. Grain sorghum diseases include seed rot, damping-off, leaf blight, rust, and downy mildew. Planting disease resistant varieties, crop rotation, and using pesticides can reduce disease damage.

Seed Rot Damping Off Leaf Blight

Rust Downy mildew

Explain the cultural practices of sorghum production. N. Grain sorghum should be harvested shortly after maturity. Lodging, shattering, and pest damage are more likely to occur if harvesting is delayed. Grain sorghum should have a moisture level below 20 percent with 13 percent being favorable for the United States number one grade grain sorghum.

Review / Summary Sorghum includes a group of grasses used as livestock feed and in making a number of products. Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are some of the leading producers of sorghum. California and Arizona can also produce grain sorghum using irrigation. Grain sorghum is the most widely grown sorghum in the U.S. Grain sorghum is a warm-season crop that can be grown using a variety of cultural practices.

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