Grain sorghum producers in Oklahoma must schedule management practices to maintain their profit margin. Timely application of production inputs is important in limiting costs and preventing a crop failure. Planning ahead and predicting when certain input decisions will be arising is one way to avoid split second decisions and possible profit reductions.

A yearly planning guide allows producers to visualize or document the steps they will consider when producing a crop in a particular field. This calendar is designed as a guide or reminder for producers to check on equipment, pesticide needs, fertilizer, seed purchases, planting, irrigation and harvest. This calendar is intended to help producers in constructing their own personal calendar which will reflect each producers needs. A personal calendar for grain sorghum will allow producers to check progress on particular inputs. A calendar can also serve as a guide for hired help or scouts when they have the responsibility to keep track of a particular field or operation.

Use of the Calendar

This calendar outlines the crop growth stage and crop management decisions that should be made at a particular time in the growing season. Producers can use this calendar for irrigated or dryland grain sorghum planted in May through June. Double cropped or late planted grain sorghum would begin the actual growing season in July, with pollination generally occurring after the hottest part of August. The time frame for each management decision will vary with location in the state. Grain sorghum will grow through each stage listed to maturity. Identifying the growth stage may be in many cases more useful than the actual date in making management decisions.

Additional Information

CR-2096 Mono- and Double-Cropped Wheat and Grain Sorghum

E-866 Hybrid Grain Sorghum performance Trials in Oklahoma, 1989

AGEC-203 Estimating Yield and Economic Returns from Replanting Corn

AGEC-1100 Maintaining Quality of Stored Grain

AGEC-1101 Aeration and Cooling of Stored Grain

PSS-2034 Grain Sorghum Planting Rates and Dates

PSS-2225 OSU Soil Test Calibrations

EPP-7157 Field Key to Larvae in Sorghums

EPP-7170 Control of Sorghum Insects

EPP-7180 Stored Grain Insect Control in Oklahoma

EPP-7458 Integrated Pest Management for Oklahoma Crops

Stephen Hawkins

Extension Sorghum Specialist

Bill Massey
Area Entomologist

Ervin Williams
Extension Plant Pathologist

Mark Hodges
Area Agronomist