Sorghum Production and Management Practices

Field of sorghum

Sugarcane Aphids

Sugarcane Aphid A New Sorghum Pest in North America. A 2-page guide on sugarcane aphid distribution, seasonal occurrence, identification, management, and damage.
Sugarcane Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae): A New Pest on Sorghum in North America. University researchers discuss this pest and the most recent research on it.
Sugarcane Aphid: Management Guidelines for Grain and Forage Sorghum in Texas Published in 2016, this guide offers specific management information including detection, identification, pesticide use and more.
Defense Against the Sugarcane Aphid, a detailed guide from the Sorghum Checkoff on identifying and managing the sugarcane aphid
Transform WG Insecticide Receives Section 18 Approval for Nebraska Sorghum
Be on Guard for Sugarcane Aphids in Sorghum

Forage Sorghum Grower Tips

Variety Test Plots

Nebraska Sorghum Board and Nebraska Sorghum Growers

Sorghum Profitability Seminar Presentations

2017 Nebraska Sorghum Symposium Video Presentations (on YouTube)

Getting to Know Sorghum — Brent Bean, agronomist with the United Sorghum Check-off Program
Managing Key Inputs in Sorghum Production — Rick Kochenower, national agronomist with Chromatin, Inc.
Reducing Input Costs in Sorghum Production — Bob Klein, Nebraska Extension cropping systems specialist for western Nebraska
Weed Control and Herbicide Resistant Weeds — Rodrigo Werle, Nebraska Extension cropping systems specialist
Weather Outlook for the 2017 Sorghum Season — Al Dutcher, associate state climatologist

2015 Presentations

How to Manage Sorghum for Peak Performance — Brent Bean, Agronomist USCP
Importance of Improving Soil Health — Dan Gillespie, NRCS
Limited Irrigation of Sorghum — Chuck Burr, Nebraska Extension Educator
Spotlight on Sorghum — Jesse McCurry, United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP)

2013 Presentations

Nutrient Management-N, P, Soil Testing — Charles Wortmann, UNL Agronomy & Horticulture
Sorghum's Crop Water Use Efficiency/Limited Irrigation — Jenny Rees, UNL Extension
Sorghum Feed & Forage Value — Karla Jenkins, UNL Panhandle R & E Center
Sorghum Checkoff Update — Barbara Kliment, Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board
Time to "Rethink" Sorghum Advanced Biofuels — Doug Bice, Abengoa Bioenergy
Weather Outlook-Will the Drought Persist? — Al Dutcher, Associate Nebraska State Climatologist
Sorghum Production Budgets — Roger Wilson, UNL Ag Economics
Focus on Pheasants — Nebraska Game and Parks

Related Resources

Additional sorghum production information can be found at the United Sorghum Checkoff Program Web site and YouTube site.
Sorghum Production for Maximum Yields—Kraig Rooseboom, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
Cover Crop Effect in Sorghum-Soy-Wheat Rotation—Kraig Rooseboom, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
USCP Central and Eastern Plains Production Handbook
USCP Eastern Forage Production Guide
USCP Western Forage Production Guide
Sorghum U Links

Crop Disease Reports from the UNL Diagnostic Clinic

September 13, 2019

Diseases of corn, soybean, sorghum and alfalfa diagnosed by the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic in the last two weeks.

USDA Forecasts Record Nebraska Corn Harvest

September 12, 2019

Based on September 1 conditions, Nebraska's 2019 corn crop is forecast at a record 1.79 billion bushels, up slightly from last year's production. Soybean production is forecast at 287 million bushels, down 14% from last year. See forecasts for sorghum, surgar beets and dry beans too.

Figure 1. Through a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln research team is developing ways to maximize sorghum potentials across the United States.

Nebraska Team Merges Machine Learning, Plant Genetics to Maximize Sorghum Potential

August 22, 2019

Sorghum is emerging as a star player in the biofuels industry. With its water use efficiency, resistance to heat, and low cost of seed, it could outpace corn, with a little boost from improved genetics. To aid that, a UNL team was recently awarded a $2.7 million grant to work on a rapid, efficient method for characterizing its gene functions.

Figure 1. Corn growing on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus. A new Nebraska study has quantified the benefits of irrigation among nine U.S. crops by analyzing yields from 1950 to 2015. (Photo by Craig Chandler/University Communication)

Gap Growing Between Irrigated, Rainfed Crop Yields

August 13, 2019

A 65-year comparative analysis between U.S. yields of irrigated and rainfed crops has sounded a message to farmers, land managers and policymakers: Mind the gap. Researchers analyzed annual yields of nine crops on a county-by-county basis from 1950 to 2015.

A mature wheat field in eastern Nebraska. — Figure 1. A wheat field about ready to harvest and, in the background, a corn field in eastern Nebraska. (Photo by Paul Jasa)

Crop Condition Improves Slightly; Progress Still Behind

July 22, 2019

Crop condition improved slightly for corn and soybean, while crop progress continued to lag previous years in all categories for the week ending July 21. Wheat harvest was 33% complete, well behind the five-year average of 76%.

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