Jowar Crop: Get more profit at low cost by doing advanced farming of jowar crop, know complete information

Jowar Crop: As soon as you hear the name of jowar, a scene of the village is created in your mind, where you are enjoying the taste of jowar roti and butter on it. You also know that along with being tasty, jowar is full of nutrients, which are very beneficial for health.

Jowar crop comes in the major category in India and it is grown in Kharif season. This crop is rain-fed. Its special thing is that it is also a good diet for animals. Jowar crop grows even in drought as well as tolerates waterlogging in the land.

Sorghum is mainly cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan. By the way, let us tell you that the origin of this crop was 5000-8000 years ago on the South Africa and Egyptian Sudanese border. The scientific name of sorghum is Sorghum bicolor L. This crop is also called ‘The King of Millets’.

Sorghum crop gives good profit at low cost, sorghum is an excellent crop for good yield at low cost. Along with knowing the improved varieties of sorghum, you will definitely like to cultivate sorghum by knowing about its sowing to market.

Selection of soil for preparation of sorghum crop

Farmers can grow sorghum crop in many types of soil. In which it grows well in sandy soil, clay, loamy soil, soil with drainage. At the same time, the pH value of 6.0 to 8.0 of sufficient fossil soil is most suitable.

Best time for sorghum cultivation

Sorghum is cultivated in both Rabi and Kharif seasons. If you are a farmer of North India, then sorghum is sown here in the first week of July. Sorghum should be sown with the first monsoon rain. At the same time, in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, sorghum crop is grown in Rabi season. Here sowing is done between 15 September and 15 October.

Right plant number for higher production in sorghum crop

For sorghum crop production, the plant number of 180,000 per hectare is considered correct in good varieties and hybrid varieties. Farmers can get seeds by keeping the plants at a distance of 12 cm in rows at a distance of 45 cm. The number of plants of new grain and Kadbi varieties like Jawahar Jowar 1022, Jawahar Jowar 1041 and CHS18 should be 2,10,000 per hectare. This can be achieved by keeping the distance between rows at 45 cm and the distance between plants at 10 cm.

Improved varieties of Jowar

HC 260, HC 171, MFSH 3, CSH-18, Jawahar Jowar- 741, Jawahar Jowar-938, Yellow Amla, Lavkush, Jawahar Jowar- 1041 and SPV-1022 variety, CMH-9, CSB-13, CSH-14, Jowar Vrisha, CSB-15 and CSH-16 varieties are the main ones.

Seed treatment in Jowar crop

Before sowing the Jowar crop, one kilogram of seed should be treated with 2.5 grams of Thiram. This leads to good germination and also prevents Kanduwa disease. To save the crop from termite attack, treat it with Chlorpyrifos at the rate of 25 ml per kg of seed.

Fertilizer in Sorghum Crop

For Sorghum cultivation, nourish the soil by adding 4-6 tonnes of green manure or cow dung manure before sowing. At the beginning of sowing, add 20 kg of nitrogen (44 kg urea), 8 kg of phosphorus (16 kg single super phosphate), 10 kg of potash (16 kg muriate of potash) per acre. Add the full quantity of phosphorus and potash with half the quantity of nitrogen at the time of sowing. After this, add the remaining fertilizer after 30 days of sowing.

Irrigation of Sorghum Crop

For good yield in Sorghum cultivation, irrigate at the time of flowering and grain formation. Let us tell you that in Kharif season, the crop can be irrigated one to three times depending on the rainfall. In Rabi season, irrigation should be done as per the need. If there is water shortage, then irrigate before and during flowering.

Diseases in Sorghum Crop

Like other crops, Sorghum crop is also affected by pests or diseases. Pests like stem fly, stem borer, leaf hopper, grain midge, hairy caterpillar and aphid attack Sorghum, while Kandwa disease, ergot, Sorghum rust, root rot and downy mildew are the main diseases of Sorghum. 

Disease management for sorghum crop

Treatment of grain smut disease- Treat the seed with fungicide like- Captan or Vitavax Power at the rate of 2.5 grams per kilogram of seed.

Ergot disease- Sorghum affected with ergot disease should be cut and burnt. Spray 2 to 3 times with 0.2% Thiram at the time of grain formation. This reduces the effect of the disease.

Stem rot- This disease is seen in sorghum crop grown in Rabi season in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. To prevent this disease, crop rotation and intercropping system should be adopted.

Sorghum rust- This is also a fungal disease and disease resistant varieties should be grown to prevent it. Spray a fungicide called Dithane M-45 twice at an interval of 10 days.

Root rot- This disease is also spread by fungus, to prevent this disease, treat the seeds with fungicide chemicals like thiram or captan at the rate of 2.5 grams per kg of seed before sowing.

Downy mildew- Symptoms of this disease are first seen on the new leaves of the plants. The plants affected by the disease should be uprooted and burnt. At the same time, before sowing the seeds, treat them with Apron-35 SD or Ridomil MZ-72 at the rate of 2.5 grams per kg of seed.

Harvesting of sorghum crop

Harvesting of sorghum crop should be done very wisely. First of all, harvest the sorghum plants. Separate the cobs from the plant and dry the pods and separate them. These grains should be dried and stored when the moisture content is 10 to 12 percent.

What is the production of sorghum per hectare?

Farmers can produce about 28 to 35 quintals per hectare from the indigenous varieties of sorghum. On the other hand, hybrid varieties yield about 35 to 40 quintals per hectare.

Market price of jowar crop

According to government data, the minimum support price of jowar has increased by 108 percent between 2014-15 and 2023-24. The MSP of jowar (Maldandi) was Rs 1550 per quintal in 2014-15, which reached Rs 3225 per quintal in 2023-24. On the other hand, the MSP of jowar (hybrid) was 1530 in 2014-15, which is Rs 3180 per quintal in 2023-24.

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