Grain Sorghum Dessication (Prostko)

Seems like I am getting more questions this year about the dessication of grain sorghum.  The change in the weather has everyone getting ants in their pants.  Growers need to know that the use of harvest-aids in grain sorghum has shown little effect in reducing grain moisture content.  A summary of 2 older papers is as follows:

1) Hurst, Harold.  1991.  The Use of Dessicants For Field Drying Grain Sorghum With and Without Weeds.  Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Bulletin #974.

"Overall, these studies did not result in any distinct advantage for application of dessicants to reduce grain sorghum moisture."

2) Olson, B.L.S, T. Baughman, and J.W. Sij.  2001. Grain Sorghum Dessication with Sodium Chlorate and Paraquat in the Texas Rolling Plains.   Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources 14:80-83.

"Results from our 2-year study indicate that dessicant applications were generally ineffective (and most likely uneconomical) in reducing grain moisture in late-planted grain sorghum."

In my opinion, the major (only?) benefit of using a harvest-aid in grain sorghum would be to reduce the amount of green plant material that goes through the combine and might end up in the grain.  I know of only 3 things that will dry down grain sorghum seed: time, a hard freeze, and/or a grain dryer.

Wheat Weed Control 2015-2016 (Culpepper)

The circular for controlling annual ryegrass and wild radish has been finalized. You can access the circular on the UGA Weed Science Web-page.  The link is listed below   This publication is also included in this blog (if you click on the picture, it can be viewed in a larger format).  If you want laminated handouts for your growers send me an e-mail including 1) the number of copies that you want and 2) the address that you want them sent to.  I will have laminated copies for this circular and other circulars during our December 9^th training but I realize this will be too late for growers wanting to experiment with Zidua or Fierce.  I would encourage everyone to try a few acres of these new herbicides if ryegrass is a problem.

http://www.gaweed.com/HomepageFiles/2016%20wheat%20-%20Final%20-%20Oct%205.pdf

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