tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post946980159960279941..comments2018-11-29T21:54:37.049-06:00Comments on Watch Out For The Bull: Double Crop Grain Sorghum UpdateRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-28920544745470939912015-08-28T14:41:43.764-05:002015-08-28T14:41:43.764-05:00Depending on the hybrid and the planting rate, sor...Depending on the hybrid and the planting rate, sorghum will grow a main stalk then it will start to grow secondary stalks from the base of the plant (similar to suckers on a corn plant). Depending on the fertility, the weather, etc. more tillers will continue to come up until harvest. Winter wheat also grows tillers (or stools out), in fact it needs to tiller to get higher yields. <br /><br />If an early frost burns the plant but doesn't kill it completely, tillers will start growing from the base (for some unknown reason, those are usually called suckers) and those suckers are the ones that can kill your cattle with prussic acid poisoning after a frost. <br /><br />The problem is that the tillers don't all emerge at the same time so the bigger head on the main stalk will be ready to harvest while a bunch of smaller heads will still be green. Nobody will buy grain sorghum unless the moisture levels are below 14% because it's impossible to dry in the bin, so you have to wait for the little green heads to dry, while the birds and deer eat the ready to harvest grain (ask me how I know all that). <br /><br />To avoid most of that, I've tried to plant hybrids that are less prone to tillering, but I still think it's important to manage planting rates to deal with excessive tillering. The irritating part is about picking a lower tillering grain sorghum is that most hybrids claim they are somewhat less prone to tillering, while at the same time the company's literature talks about grain sorghum's tillering advantage compensating for a thinner stand compared to other crops like corn. <br /><br />Writing all that makes me wonder why I'm even messing with trying to grow such a temperamental crop. <br /><br />I doubt if I'll get the call to do any advertisements anytime soon about why people should be growing more grain sorghum saying stuff like "It's great if you can somehow manage to harvest it before the birds and deer eat it, and it's great for cattle grazing if you follow the instructions to avoid killing them". "Grain sorghum, the less glamourous, more finicky alternative to corn, at least it costs less to grow". Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-53149003550251601872015-08-28T13:57:24.968-05:002015-08-28T13:57:24.968-05:00Learned a new word today, tillering. Never heard t...Learned a new word today, tillering. Never heard that until now. I don't have any grain sorghum experience but what you are describing makes sense. It will be interesting to see if your thoughts on planting rates come to fruition here this fall.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214319366049620074noreply@blogger.com