Breeding and selection of sorghum for regions above 50º latitude

Seed set at 51 degrees Northern latitude NOW possible

  • Sorghum bicolor has poor emergence in cold soils and seed set during cool weather
  • Earliness at 51º not necessarily earliness at 34º latitude, differential responses
  • Grain yields in Chile above 6 mt per ha for Dutch bred materials
  • Sowings late May and June have a faster development then earlier sowings
  • Later sowings may have sterility and may not have viable seeds

Feed: Characteristics of Dutch bred sorghums at 51º NL

  • Biomass yields almost equal or higher maize
  • Biomass yields of tall sorghums up to 29 t dry matter per ha, but these are more prone to lodging

Plant heights

  • Plant heights tend to vary with temperature regime
  • Medium tall varieties can produce heights over 2 m at 51º Northern latitude, in sowings from early May to mid June


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