Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research Services, supported by the Texas Sorghum Producers, run trials on the research project “Optimizing Grain Sorghum Seeding Rates for Anticipated Hydrologic Conditions,” according to AgriLife Today.
“What we are trying to do with this project is determine: If we have an idea what the weather is going to be and the seasonal rainfall outlook, can we alter our management practices based on those long range forecasts?” said Dr. Ronnie Schnell, AgriLife Extension specialist in soil and crop sciences.
If the forecast can be utilized, he said, this could give producers an opportunity to reduce seeding rates significantly if drier than normal conditions are expected, as well as other yield-based inputs such as nitrogen to match anticipated moisture conditions.
The optimum seeding rate is complicated by the variability of pre-season soil moisture and in-season precipitation.