The changing face of sorghum planting windows – Breeza dryland 2018/19

Abstract

Key findings • The planting time for sorghum can be moved earlier than the traditional 16–18 °C soil temperature without negatively affecting crop establishment and grain yield. • Defining the minimum soil temperature required is still tenuous as temperatures are variable in late winter–early spring and there is still the risk of mild and severe frosts. • Planting sorghum earlier (September as opposed to late October) at Breeza moved the flowering window forward and resulted in improved grain yields in 2018/19. • Varying plant population did not affect final grain yield at this site in this season. This was primarily due to there being more primary heads as the plant population increased, but this was offset by fewer fertile tillers being produced.