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Cereal growing guide
Jowar is a hardy, heat-loving grain sorghum grown largely on rain or stored soil moisture. Sow it into warm, moist soil at the start of the monsoon, keep weeds down early and harvest as soon as the grain matures.
Use clean, plump seed of a variety suited to the season: kharif grain types for the monsoon, or the locally recommended rabi types where jowar is sown on stored moisture after the rains. Choose a variety that matures after the rains have ended, which reduces grain mould.
Not needed. Sorghum seed absorbs water readily.
Not needed. Jowar is a warm-season grass and needs warm soil, not cold.
Not needed for garden sowing. Sow dry seed into moist soil.
Wait until the soil has reached 16-18 °C (60-65 °F); University of Arkansas uses 18 °C (65 °F) at 5 cm depth in the morning. Across most of India this is met for the kharif crop; sow from the last week of May to July, within 7-10 days of the monsoon onset.
In moist soil sow 2.5-4 cm (1-1.5 in) deep; deeper seed emerges slowly and stands thin out. On rainfed fields TNAU sows at about 5 cm and covers with soil so the seed sits in moist soil.
A well-drained soil with a fine, firm seedbed. TNAU places fertiliser in the furrow with a seed-cum-fertiliser drill and sows the seed over that line.
Sow into soil that is moist from rain or irrigation. Established jowar copes with dry spells, but a dry seedbed gives poor, uneven stands.
No light is needed for germination. Grow in an open, sunny field; jowar does not tolerate shade.
Seedlings appear quickly in warm, moist soil; in cool soil or at depths below 4 cm emergence is slower and stands are thinner.
Not used. Sow directly in rows 45 cm (18 in) apart with plants 15 cm (6 in) apart, about 8-10 kg of seed per hectare. In a small plot, sow two or three seeds per station and thin to the strongest seedling.
Keep the crop weed-free for the first month; young sorghum grows slowly and competes poorly. ICAR-IIMR applies half the nitrogen and all the phosphorus at sowing and the rest of the nitrogen 30 days after sowing (80 kg N and 40 kg P2O5 per hectare in total).
In the first weeks look for seedlings whose central leaf has dried (deadheart): this is shoot fly damage. Pull out and destroy them to keep a healthy stand.
TNAU sows jowar in paired rows 60 cm apart with plants 15 cm apart, and drops pulse seed 10 cm apart in the furrows between the pairs. The pulse rows use the space between the jowar pairs.
This guide covers grain jowar. For a multi-cut green-fodder crop, see the Sudan grass guide: sorghum-sudan types regrow after cutting and need their own cutting rules.
Harvest when the grain is hard and the plant has reached physiological maturity. Cut the heads, dry them in the sun, thresh, and store only thoroughly dry grain in a cool, dry place.
Pre-monsoon or early sowing is the single most useful step: it avoids shoot fly, makes use of the rains and brings maturity after the wet weather, which limits grain mould.
Sow jowar at the start of the rains for a hardy, drought-tolerant grain crop.
For the kharif crop, from the last week of May to July, ideally within 7-10 days of the monsoon onset. In Tamil Nadu TNAU sows rainfed jowar before the north-east monsoon, mostly in September and early October.
Not when they are young. Young plants and fresh regrowth can release prussic acid. Wait until plants are at least 45-50 cm tall, and avoid feeding for 10 days after a killing frost.
About 2.5-4 cm in moist soil. Sow up to 5 cm only when the surface is dry and the seed must reach moisture; deeper seed emerges slowly.
