Big Fort - Kern 800

Big Fort (Kern 800) is an F1 single-cut forage sorghum for the Kharif season — a tall, leafy, medium-maturing crop taken in one cutting at 75–80 days.

Please read this before you buy

Kern 800 gives one cutting. If you need repeat cuttings, ask your dealer about our multicut SSG instead.

Land and sowing window

• Soil: well-drained soil, pH 6.5–7.5. Sorghum grows on all soils but heavy loams with good drainage suit it best; one harrowing and two cultivator ploughings give a clean seedbed
• Sowing: Kharif, May to July depending on your area
• Best window: mid-June to mid-July (PAU); 25 June to 10 July in Haryana (HAU). A crop sown from early June to the second week of July largely escapes shoot fly, and monsoon-season sowing keeps HCN (prussic acid) risk low
• Climate: likes hot, dry weather; high humidity brings on red leaf spot

How to sow

• Seed rate: 6–8 kg per acre (hybrid seed; ICAR single-cut sorghum practice is 12–15 kg per hectare, i.e. 5–6 kg per acre) — one 1.5 kg pack covers about a fifth to a quarter of an acre
• Spacing: rows 25–30 cm apart with a seed-cum-fertiliser drill or pora; do not broadcast
• Depth: sow shallow into moist soil (wattar) and plank lightly
• Seed treatment: against shoot fly, treat seed with thiamethoxam 30 FS at 10 mL per kg (PAU) — then cut the fodder only after 45 days from germination. Sulphur dust 4 g per kg seed guards against grain smut
• Pack size: 1.5 kg

Manure and fertiliser (per acre)

• FYM: well-rotted manure before land preparation where available
• Irrigated or high-rainfall areas: 20 kg N (44 kg urea) and 8 kg P₂O₅ (50 kg SSP) at sowing, plus 20 kg N (44 kg urea) about one month later (PAU); HAU gives 10 kg N for the second dose
• Rainfed or low-rainfall areas: 20 kg N (44 kg urea) drilled in the rows at sowing
• Potash: only by soil test; on sandy, phosphorus-poor soils add 6 kg P₂O₅ (40 kg SSP) at sowing (HAU)

Water, weeds and pests

• Irrigation: regular irrigation in the early growth stages; it can be reduced as the crop matures. A summer-sown crop needs about 5 irrigations, a monsoon crop 1–2 depending on rain. Drainage must be good
• Before cutting: in a dry spell, irrigate about a week before harvest — it lowers HCN and keeps the fodder safe (PAU)
• Weeds: one hoeing at 15–20 days, or atrazine 50 WP 200 g per acre in 250 litres of water within 7–15 days of sowing (HAU)
• Pests: watch for shoot fly (dead hearts in the first month) and stem borer (from about 15 days). Scout regularly and spray only as per label / your state advisory, observing the waiting period before feeding. Uproot and destroy attacked plants
• Disease: grain smut — treat the seed; red leaf spot — avoid dense, humid stands and keep the field free of baru grass

Harvest

• Cutting: 75–80 days after sowing
• Stage: boot to milk stage (PAU: 65–80 days) — the stem is still juicy and the HCN risk is past. Never feed drought-stressed or very young sorghum
• Plant: tall (12–14 feet) and leafy, with low HCN, and good lodging tolerance
• Silage: surplus fodder can be ensiled at flowering to milk stage (30–35% dry matter), chopped to 5–8 cm

Crop practices follow state agricultural university recommendations for North India; confirm doses for your district with your Kern dealer or KVK.

Please quote product code KERN-800 when ordering.

Agronomy helpline: 9107062062

किसानों की ज़ुबानी

बिग फ़ोर्ट कण 800 — किसान सुरजीत सिंह, चोली