Effects of the planting date on sorghum crop in cerrado region

Abstract

The influence of planting date on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) tillage was assessed at EMBRAPA/Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Milho e Sorgo (CNPMS) in the cerrado (savana) region of Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil, over a three-year period (1976-1979). The planting season began in the first October fortnight and proceeded bi-weekly through eight fortnights. Daily meteorological and phenological observations at emergence, bloom stage and physiological maturity stage were done. Period between October 19 and November 16 showed to be the most adequate for grain sorghum planting. Early planting at the beginning of the rainy season (7/Oct.) experienced moisture stress caused by a short ten to fifteen-day drought period (“veranico”) which caused damages to the germination and development of sorghum. For the five hybrids, the plantings done from December on showed a decrease in productivity, caused mainly by soil moisture stress during the blooming period.