1. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition After completing this Lesson, you would be able to answer: 1. Why application of manures and fertilizers is important in sorghum cultivation? 2. How the gap between actual and potential sorghum yields could be reduced? 3. What is the misnomer regarding fertilizer application in sorghum cultivation? 4. What is the usual notion (thinking) about potassium application to sorghum crop? Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition

2. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition The low yields in sorghum is generally due to the crop being grown under less favorable conditions like poor soils, erratic rainfall conditions etc. Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition Poor sorghum crop due to moisture stress.

3. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition Additionally, sorghum is grown by many farmers in a traditional form of agriculture i.e. without any fertilizer application and with little or no use of manures etc. Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition Sorghum crop grown without fertilizer application

4. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition There is a wide gap between the national average yield (less than 700 kg/ha) and the potential achievable yield (more than 3,000 kg/ha). Inadequate availability of essential nutrients could be one of the reasons for such a wide gap in sorghum yields. Nutrient removal and yield Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition

5. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition Nutrients Required for yield of 1000 kg of sorghum grain/ha Source: http://www.samara.co.zw/seedco/grosorg.html#03 http://www.samara.co.zw/seedco/grosorg.html#03 Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition

6. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition Approximate Nutrient Requirements for Grain Sorghum Based on Growth Stage for 7,500 kg/ha yield Source: http://nueces-tx.tamu.edu/AG/Livestoc/PASTURE/Crpnutie.pdf Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition

7. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition Sorghum, because of its fibrous root system, extracts soil nutrients from the soil very efficiently. Consequently, some farmers consider that sorghum requires little or no fertilizer. Sorghum production without fertilizer application is obtained only at the expense of soil-stored nutrient levels. So, in poor soils the crop eventually give low yield. Grain sorghum responds profitably to a balanced application of plant nutrients.

8. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut Module 5: Sorghum Plant Nutrition General thinking is that most of the Indian soils are rich in potassium and so there is no need to apply potassium to sorghum. The correctness of this statement has to be verified by soil testing. If a soil contains less than 150 kg/ha of available potassium, recommended dose of potassium application results in higher sorghum yields. Lesson 1: Importance of sorghum nutrition