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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #344666
Research Project: Precipitation and Irrigation Management to Optimize Profits from Crop Production

Location: Soil and Water Management Research

Title: Improving water management in sorghum cultivation

Author
item BELL, JOURDAN - Texas A&M Agrilife
item Schwartz, Robert
item MCINNES, KEVIN - Texas A&M University
item XUE, QINGWU - Texas A&M Agrilife
item PORTER, DANA - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/8/2017
Publication Date: 7/4/2018
Citation: Bell, J.M., Schwartz, R.C., Mcinnes, K.J., Xue, Q., Porter, D. 2018. Improving water management in sorghum cultivation. In: Rooney, W. editor. Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Sorghum Volume 1: Genetics, Breeding, and Production Techniques. Cambridge, UK. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. https://doi.org/10.19103/AS.2017.0015.15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.19103/AS.2017.0015.15

Interpretive Summary: Grain sorghum is a drought tolerant crop that has been grown across the American Great Plains since the early 20th century, primarily as a feed crop. Grain sorghum is well adapted to the semi-arid U.S. Great Plains because it can withstand periods of water stress. Under ideal conditions and management, modern hybrids can yield over 175 bu/acre, but in semi-arid regions, plant available water is a major limiting factor for production. While early cultivation of grain sorghum was under dryland production it was recognized that the efficient use of water including precipitation and stored soil moisture was critical for improved performance. This chapter presents a synthesis of strategies and practices of efficient water management for dryland and irrigated sorghum production in the U.S. Great Plains.

Technical Abstract: Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is a drought tolerant crop that has been grown across the American Great Plains since the early 20th century, primarily as a feed crop. Physiologically, grain sorghum is well adapted to the semi-arid U.S. Great Plains because it can withstand periods of water stress. Under ideal conditions and management, modern hybrids can yield over 11,000 kg/ha, but in semi-arid regions, plant available water is a major limiting factor for production. While early cultivation of grain sorghum was under dryland production it was recognized that the efficient use of water including precipitation and stored soil moisture was critical for improved performance. This chapter presents a synthesis of strategies and practices of efficient water management for dryland and irrigated sorghum production in the U.S. Great Plains.