Grain Sorghum

Grain sorghum, or milo, is a heat-loving food and livestock-feed cereal. It tolerates drought after establishment but needs water for good grain fill and a locally adapted grain cultivar.

Sun

Full sun

Water

Keep moist through establishment and grain filling; avoid waterlogging

Spacing

8 in

First harvest

90–130 days

Tips

• Sow 1 inch deep after soil reaches roughly 65°F; use local row spacing and population guidance.
• Prepare a weed-free seedbed and control weeds before the crop canopy closes.
• Fertilize from a soil test; avoid excessive nitrogen and irrigate at flowering and grain fill when needed.
• Protect ripening heads from birds and harvest hard mature kernels; dry and thresh promptly.
• Green sorghum, young regrowth and frost- or drought-stressed forage can contain dangerous cyanide and nitrate; obtain forage testing and local livestock advice before feeding foliage or residues.
• Sound mature grain is different from hazardous forage; moldy grain still needs rejection or testing.