After last year, the sugarcane aphid in sorghum was very much on the forefront of everyone’s mind when it came to choosing a variety to plant in 2017. There were some varieties that had showed good to excellent tolerance to the sugarcane aphid in 2016, but could have a yield drag when compared to other sorghum in a year without the pest. Choosing between yield and tolerance in a year with down prices became a hot topic before planting time.

For 2017, Josh Debes agreed to plant a sorghum variety plot for Barton County extension.  He decided to have a larger plot with 14 varieties in case sugarcane aphid came back during the growing season. With a larger field, if spraying was necessary, we could work with various spray recommendations to see what controlled the pest the most effectively. Each variety was eight rows and 1,233 feet long. This came out to approximately a half acre per variety. Since SCA was not a concern this year in Barton County, we did not see how each variety tolerated SCA, but we did get a larger field overall to observe during the growing season. 

The plot was planted on June 6, 2017 and fertilized with 100# Nitrogen. It was then harvested on Oct. 30. For the entire plot, the average yield was 105.39 bushels per acre (bu/A) and the test weight average was 56.88. DeKalb’s variety Pulsar was the top variety at 117.8 bu/A and a test weight of 57.3. In descending order from there was Sorghum Partners 8905 (116.9), Pioneer P85G46 (114.7), Phillips PSF 637(114.0), Sorghum Partners 73B12(110.8), DeKalb DKS33-07 (108.6), DeKalb  DK 44-20 (106.5), Alta ALT 1203 (106.4), Alta ALT 2115 (105.4), Heartland Genetics HG 35-W (100.1), Pioneer P20 (95.5), Heartland Genetics HG 23-R (94.7), Phillips PSF 698 (94.4), and Heartland Genetics HG 49C (89.6). 

I would like to thank Josh Debes for planting the 2017 sorghum test plot for K-State Research and Extension. Without people like Josh that are willing to take the time to plant a plot, area growers would not have the chance to see firsthand different varieties growing side by side to help make educated decisions about their own production. If you know anyone, or if you would like to help out by planting a demonstration or research plot, please contact the extension office or e-mail me for more information. Again, without people like Josh, the educational plots cannot happen.

Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. One can contact her by e-mail at aboor@ksu.edu or calling 620-793-1910.