When is the best time to plant spring grain?

Millet is a specialty grain crop in my country. There are three main production areas in my country: Northeast spring millet, Northwest spring millet and North China summer millet. As for spring millet, when is the best time to plant it? Let’s learn more about it below.

When is the best time to plant spring grain?

Spring millet is generally grown in the Northeast and Northwest. The sowing time for spring grain in Northeast China, such as Heilongjiang with a short frost-free period, starts around April 20, while in Liaoning, Jilin and eastern Inner Mongolia, it is from early May to May 20.

The sowing time of spring millet in Northwest China. Due to the large span of the Northwest region, millet planting is divided into early-maturing areas and medium- and late-maturing areas. The early-maturing areas are generally sown from late April to early May, including Chifeng and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, Datong in Shanxi, Zhangjiakou in Hebei, Yulin in Shaanxi, central Gansu and the Hexi Corridor, and southern Ningxia. The mid-to-late maturing areas are from early May to mid-May, such as central and southern Shanxi, Yan'an in Shaanxi, southern eastern Gansu, Chengde in Hebei, etc.

How to plant Spring Valley

1. Select the seeds and the land

Choose varieties that are suitable for local promotion. The recommended high-yield, early-maturing, lodging-resistant and disease-resistant varieties are Yugu 19 and Yugu 18. Choosing to plant millet in areas with high soil organic matter will help improve its stress resistance and high yield.

2. Seed treatment

2 to 3 days before sowing, choose a sunny day at noon to spread the seeds evenly on the ground; 1 day before sowing, use clean water to remove the empty seeds, then use 10% salt water to rinse off the full seeds, and then wash off the salt with clean water; mix the selected seeds with 0.1% systemic insecticide to prevent and control underground pests.

3. Land preparation and fertilization

Deep plowing before spring sowing can mature the soil, further improve the soil structure and enhance its water retention capacity. Apply a mixture of organic and inorganic fertilizers , and apply base fertilizer in conjunction with autumn ploughing. Apply 1500-2500 kg of high-quality organic fertilizer and 30-40 kg of superphosphate per mu.

4. Planting seeds

The machine sows millet seeds at a uniform depth and with high work efficiency. The sowing depth of spring rice should be 3~4cm. The depth of summer rice should be shallower, preferably 2 to 3 cm.

5. Seedling management

Check the seedlings and replenish them. When the missing seedlings and broken ridges are minor after the seedlings emerge from the soil, transplant them to replenish the seedlings. When the missing seedlings are serious, germinate the seeds in advance and replant them. Thin out the seedlings when millet has 2 to 3 leaves, and remove all the seedlings that have sprouted between the rows. During the 3-leaf period, remove diseased, weak and crowded seedlings, leaving only healthy seedlings. Transplanting is carried out at the 5-leaf stage, combined with thinning and transplanting, and shallow tillage , soil loosening, seedling removal and moisture conservation are carried out.

6. Field weeding

Use special herbicides for millet to control annual grass and broad-leaved weeds, and carry out targeted soil treatment when the millet seedlings are in the 3-5 leaf stage and before the weeds emerge from the soil. Be sure not to use herbicides when the grain seeds are touching the soil to prevent seedling damage and affect the emergence rate.

7. Management from heading to maturity

During the flowering period, apply 0.3% to 5% potassium dihydrogen phosphate per mu for foliar spraying. During the heading and filling stages, mix 30g of borax per mu with an appropriate amount of growth enhancer, add 50kg of water and spray on the leaves. After the filling period, the ear gradually becomes heavier to avoid bad windy and rainy weather, which may cause lodging and affect yield.

That’s it