Source: The Crop Doctor, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)

There’s no secret in growing a top sorghum crop, according to New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSWDPI) agronomist Giles Butler.

But, Giles told the RECENT Fifth Australian Sorghum Conference, many northern New South Wales growers still haven’t adopted management practices that give them the best chance of growing that top sorghum crop. 

Giles’s sorghum research is carried out under the Eastern Farming Systems project backed by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), which was also the “platinum” supporter of the sorghum conference.

The GRDC invests about $1.3 million a year in research directly related to sorghum and even more in generic areas that indirectly benefit sorghum growers, like weed and pest management.

More than 180 growers, researchers, seed company representatives and other grains industry people attended the three day conference, which included a field trip to the QDPI&F’s Hermitage Research Station, centre of the national sorghum research program.

Giles told the conference there was still need for grower improvement in the area of yield targeting – considering soil moisture and likely in-crop rainfall before fertilising accordingly and possibly adjusting things like row spacings.

But, overall, he said the checklist for successful sorghum growing was spelled out in a NSWDPI AgFact http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/summer-grains/p335.pdf

Top growers were doing everything on the “checklist” and reaping the rewards but yield dropped off as recommended activities were dropped from the “list”.

The AgFact stressed the importance of even placement of seed down the rows – something made easier by the greatly improved planters available now – and of management of nitrogen and other nutrients.

The approach needed to be different in the drier growing areas of north west NSW – like those around Walgett and Coonamble – where most good growers had moved to wide or skip row planting configurations.

This shifted crop water use from pre to post anthesis, restricting overall biomass but contributing more to eventual yield.

North-west NSW growers “doing the job right” could expect yields around 3.3 tonnes per hectare, making sorghum a viable crop option.

Weed control was essential in all sorghum crops, particularly in skip rows, and growers needed to set up each crop as an individual crop.

In the end, though, Giles admitted, climate – available soil water and in-crop rainfall – would have the overriding impact on yield. 

“Doing everything right” would maximise a grower’s chance of getting a top crop in most seasons.