Introduction
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ] commonly known as jowar in India, belongs to the grass family, Poaceae. It is ranked fifth among the world’s most important crops and native to Sub-Sarahan Africa, is traditionally grown for grain both as food (Africa and India) and as animal feed (Developed countries like USA, China, Australia, etc.) and stalks as animal fodder. In India, sorghum is cultivated during both Kharif (rainy ) and rabi (post-rainy) seasons mainly as a rainfed crop (92% of the area) with about 85% of the production concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, all falling under the warm semi-arid region. Hence, sorghum is one of the major food crops in drought-prone environments but has great potential for crop improvement for food, feed, fodder and biofuel production (“FFFF”). India and Africa account for the largest share (70%) of the global sorghum area, while the USA, INDIA, Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Australia are the major sorghum producers. In India, Kharif sorghum is grown in most of the states, while rabi sorghum is largely confined to contiguous Deccan plateau regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
Varieties
| Uttar Pradesh | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSV 27, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Haryana | CSV 28, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Rajasthan | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSV 31, CSH 34, CSV 27, CSV 31, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Maharashtra | PDKV-Hurda Kartiki, SPH-1635, CSH 35, PDKV- Kalyani, CSV 34, CSV 28, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSH 35, CSV 27, SPH 1641, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54), M-35-1(Maldandi) |
| Gujarat | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSV 31, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSH 35, CSV 27, CSV 31, GNJ-1, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Madhya Pradesh | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSH 35, CSV 27, RVJ 1862, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Karnataka | CSV 28, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSH 35, CSV 27, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Andhra Pradesh | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSV 31, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSV 27, CSV 31, PSV-56, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
| Telangana | CSH 33, CSV 28, CSV 31, CSH 28, CSH 29, CSH 30, CSH 32, CSH 34, CSH 35, CSV 27, Sona (NSH 27), Krishna (NSH 54) |
Seed rate and spacing
Seed Rate of 35-40 kg/ha is well enough and sowing should be carried out by drilling @ row to row distance 25 cm. Seed broadcasting should be avoided. The seed should not be sowed more than 2-3 cm deep.
Soil Requirement
One should avoid rocky soil 1 to 2 ploughing followed by 2crosswise harrowing are required for a good seedbed. As the jowar or sorghum crop does not tolerate waterlogging, the field should be prepared with well drainage.
Fertilizer doses
The main field should be added with 10 to 15 tonnes of farmyard manure to make the soil rich in nutrients. At the time of sowing basal application of 60:40:40 NPK should be applied. 35 kg N/ ha should be applied after 1 month of planting. 60 to 65 kg N / ha Should be applied in Low rainfall and dry area at sowing time. In sulfur deficit soil 45-60 kg sulfur/ha should be added which not only improves biomass but also quality. for any other nutrient deficiency, soil testing should be done and accordingly, apply manures and fertilizers at the time of field preparation.
Pest of Jowar
1.Shoot fly:Atherigona soccata
Nature of damage: The maggot bores inside the stem and cuts the growing point. Central shoots dry and produce “dead heart” symptoms.The infested plant produces side tillers.
Management Practices: Seed treatment: Imidacloprid 48% FS @12ml/kg seed or Thiamethoxam 30.00% FS 3 gm/ 10 Kg seed
Soil application: Carbofuran 3% CG @ 33kg/ha (13kg/acre) or Phorate 10% CG@18kg/ha (7kg/acre) Foliar spray: Quinalphos 25% EC @1500ml/ha in 500-1000 lit of water(600ml/acre in 200-400 liter.of water) or Oxydemeton–methyl 25% EC@1000ml/ha in 500-1000 lit of water (400ml/acre in 200-400 lit of water)
Dust application: Malathion 5% DP @ 20 kg/ha ( 8 kg/acre)
2.White grub:Holotrichia consanguinea
Nature of damage: Yellowing and wilting of leaves.Drying of the entire crown. Affected canes come off easily when pulled. Cause extensive damage to the roots and base of the shoot.
Management Practices: Inter-cropping with Sunflower and Pigeon pea reduces the incidence of white grub. Collect and destroy the adult beetles immediately after the first showers when they visit Neem/ Acacia trees mating.
Soil application: Phorate 10% CG @ 25kg/ha (10kg/acre)
3.Stem borer: Chilo partellus
Nature of damage: Withering and drying of the central shoot -“dead heart”.Red mining in the midrib.Bore holes are visible on the stem near the nodes. Tender folded leaves have parallel “shot holes”.Affected parts of the stem may show internally tunneling caterpillars.
Management Practices: Grow resistant cultivars like E 302, E 303, IS 2205, ICSV 700 The stubbles should be ploughed up during winter and burnt to destroy the hibernating larvae. Sowing the lab/cowpea as an intercrop to minimize stemborer damage (Sorghum: Lab lab /cowpea 4:1). Set up light trap till midnight to attract and kill the stem borer moth.
Soil application: Carbofuran 3%CG@8kg/ha (3kg/acre) Quinalphos 5% G @ 15 kg/ha (6 kg/acre)
4.Shoot bug:Peregrinus maidis
Nature of damage: Plants become unhealthy stunted and yellow. The leaves wither from the top downwards. Panicle formation is inhibited and the plants die if the attack is severe. Honeydew secreted by the bug causes the growth of sooty mold on leaves. The midribs of the leaves turn red due to egg-laying and may dry up subsequently.
Management Practices: Conserve egg parasitoidsviz., Paranagrus optabilis, Octetrastichus indicus.Predators:Coccinella septumpunctatum, Menochilussexmaculatus, Geocoris tricolor
5.Sorghum midge:Contarinia sorghicola
Nature of damage: Pollen shedding due to egg-laying White pupal cases protruding out from the grains.Chaffy grains with holes.
Management Practices: Foliar spray:Malathion 50% EC@1000ml/ha in 500-1000 lit of water (400ml/acre in 200-400 lit of water) or Phosalone 35 % EC@1143ml/ha in 500-1000 lit of water (457ml/acre in 200-400 lit of water) or Dimethoate 30% EC@1650ml/ha in 500-1000 lit of water (660ml/acre in 200-400 lit of water)Dust application: Phosalone 4% DP @ 25 kg/ha (10 kg/acre)Quinalphos 1.5% DP @ 26.6 kg/ha (10.6 kg/acre)
6.Ear head caterpillar: Helicoverpa armigera
Nature of damage: Earheads are partially eaten with a chalky appearance. Fecal pellets are visible within the ear heads.
Management Practices: Set up of light traps till mid-night to monitor, attract and kill adults of earhead caterpillars.Set up sex pheromone traps at 12/ha to attract male moths of Helicoverpa armigera from flowering to grain hardening.
Diseases of Jowar
1.Leaf Blight: Helminthosporium turcicum
Symptoms: Small, reddish or tan spots develop on seedlings, the spots later enlarge and coalesce resulting in wilting of young leaves.On mature plants, long, elliptical, reddish purple or yellowish lesions develop,first on lower leaves and later progress to the upper leaves and stem.Chlorotic flecks, enlarged lesions and sporulating lesions on foliage and on stem.
Management Practices: Select a variety resistant/tolerant. Select healthy seeds. Treat the seeds materials with recommended fungicides. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation.
Foliar spray- Zineb 75% WP@ 1500 – 2000 gm/ha in 750 – 1000 litre of water ( 600 – 800 gm in 300 – 400 litre of water in 1 acre )
2.Anthracnose : Colletotrichum graminicola
Symptoms: Small red, orange, purple coloured spots on both surfaces of the leaves and leaf midribs. Infections of the leaf and stems continues and leads to invasion of the panicle and seeds. Infection of the panicles prevents grain fillings. Dark brown or black streaks encircling the seed are an indication of seed infection.
Management Practices: Growing resistant cultivars. Select healthy seeds. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation. Eliminate another susceptible plant such as Johnsongrass. In poorly rotated fields, plough under infested residue where erosion is not a problem.
Seed treatment – Fluxapyroxad 333 g/L FS @ 1 ml/kg seed
Foliar spray – Foliar spray- Zineb 75% WP 1500 – 2000 gm/ha in 750 – 1000 litre of water ( 600 – 800 gm in 300 – 400 litre of water in 1 acre )
Mancozeb 75% WP @ 1500 – 2000 gm/ha in 750 litre of water ( 600 – 800 gm/acre in 300litre of water)
3.Rust : Puccinia purpurea
Symptoms: Scattered purple or red flecks on both surfaces of leaves. Pustules (uredosori) appear on both surfaces of the leaf as purplish spots which rupture to release reddish powdery masses. Pustule occur on the leaf sheath. Blackish brown uredinia and telia on a leaf, peduncle.
Management Practices: Select a variety resistant/tolerant. Select healthy seeds. Treat the seed materials with recommended fungicides. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation. Remove the alternate weed host Oxalis comiculata.
4.Downy mildew: Peronosclerospora sorghi
Chlorosis on the lower part of the lamina. New emerging leaves exhibit parallel stripes of green and white tissueStippled, necrotic lesions on leaf blades. Leaf shredding occurs. White downy growth is produced on the lower surface of the leaves. Plants may be stunted and chlorotic.
Management Practices: Crop rotation with other crops like pulses and oilseeds.Grow moderately resistant varieties
Slurry treatment- Metalaxyl 35% WS @600 g/ 100 kg seed with 0.75 – 1 litre of water
Seed treatment – METALAXYL M 31.8% ES @ 2 ml/ kg seed.
5.Ergot : Claviceps sorghi
Symptoms: Fungus infects the florets in the earhead (panicle) and prevents seed set in such florets. droplets of liquid honeydew exude from between the glumes of infected florets. Honeydew may range from colorless to start with to yellow, brown or white with a thin to viscous consistency.
Management Practices: Select a variety resistant/tolerant. Select healthy seeds/seedlings/ planting materials. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation.
6.Charcoal Rot : Macrophomina phaseolina
Symptoms: Infected stalks show an internal shredding at and above the ground line. The shredding can be observed by splitting the stalk and molting the deteriorated soft pith tissue leaving the tougher vascular strands.
Management Practices: Maintaining soil moisture through irrigation. A balanced fertilizer program is beneficial as high levels of nitrogen application with low levels of potassium may lead to charcoal rot. A high plant population should be avoided. Growing of drought-tolerant, lodging resistant variety.
7.Grain mold : Fusarium proliferatum
Symptoms: Discoloration of grains due to infection varies from light whitish, pinkish, grayish, to shiny black depending on infection and colonization by individual fungal species. Grains turn completely black. Grain development is affected resulting instead in chaffy florets or small grains on the panicle.
Management Practices: Select healthy seeds. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation.Crop rotation.Grow mold resistant cultivars.
8.Head smut : Sporisorium reilianum
Symptoms: Reduction in plant height, phyllodial phenotype of the panicle, premature tillering, and chlorophyll degeneracy in localized areas of the leaves. The young head enclosed in the boot is replaced by a large smut gall covered by a thick whitish membrane the membrane soon rupture open before the head emergence exposing a mass of dark brown to black powdery teliospore with characteristic witches brooms.
Management Practices: Use disease-free seeds. Grow resistant varieties. Follow crop rotation. Collect the smutted ear heads in cloth bags and dip in boiling water.
9.Loose smut : Sphacelotheca cruenta
Symptoms: All kernels in an infected panicle are smutted. Kernels are replaced by small smut sori. Plants are stunted. Panicles on them appear earlier than the healthy plants and most spikes with smutted glumes show hypertrophy. Abundant side branches Develop, the tillers are smutted.
Management Practices: Select a variety resistant/tolerant. Select healthy seeds/seedlings/ planting materials Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation.
10.Covered karnal smut : Sporisorium sorghi
Symptoms: Infected panicle individual ovules are replaced by conical to oval smut sori that are covered by persistent peridia that are larger than normal grain. each sorus is covered with a light pink or silver-white membrane, which later on ruptures to reveal the brownish-black smut spores.
Management Practices: Select a variety resistant/tolerant. Select healthy seeds. Follow proper spacing. Proper irrigation. Crop rotation
Seed treatment — Sulphur 80% WP@ 3-4 gm/ kg seed
