After a two month wait I was finally able to secure 15 sacks of grain sorghum for planting. This should be enough to seed 15 hectares or about 37 acres. Our "winter", or rainy season is well underway and I'll get this stuff in the ground as quickly as possible. With a bit of luck, I should be able to get two grain harvests from it, and perhaps even bale what's left over after the second harvest.
Here in the great socialist fatherland of Venezuela, finding items such as seed, fertilizer, and spare parts is now a full time job. There's a lot of land sitting idle because producers just can't find what they need to get the job done.
In years past I typically bought grain sorghum that was imported from Brazil, grown in their summer and harvest in their fall...the month of May specifically. Apparently there's little seed import taking place these days, which is not surprising given the state of things. I noticed on the tags that this seed was grown in Venezuela, in this same state actually, and had been harvested in mid-April. That means it was grown during the dry season and almost certainly produced with an irrigation system.
A couple of years ago I planted a few hectares of grain sorghum during our summer and with my irrigation system managed to produce a crop for harvest. Yields were quite a bit lower than I normally get during our rainy season, but still decent. Realizing today that the grain I'd bought had been produced here in this state during our summer, this got me to wondering why I couldn't do the same. Since I don't see any improvements on the importation front anytime soon, perhaps I could produce enough for my needs as well as sell some seed to others who wish to plant?
With that in mind, here's my question.
Aside from being sure that the humidity levels are low enough in the seed when I harvest, what else would I need to do to protect the seed after harvest and assure a decent germination rate upon planting?
My plan would be to time my harvest no later than 15 April. Within a month to 45 days thereafter, under normal conditions, we'd be receiving enough rainfall to begin planting for the rainy season.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Here in the great socialist fatherland of Venezuela, finding items such as seed, fertilizer, and spare parts is now a full time job. There's a lot of land sitting idle because producers just can't find what they need to get the job done.
In years past I typically bought grain sorghum that was imported from Brazil, grown in their summer and harvest in their fall...the month of May specifically. Apparently there's little seed import taking place these days, which is not surprising given the state of things. I noticed on the tags that this seed was grown in Venezuela, in this same state actually, and had been harvested in mid-April. That means it was grown during the dry season and almost certainly produced with an irrigation system.
A couple of years ago I planted a few hectares of grain sorghum during our summer and with my irrigation system managed to produce a crop for harvest. Yields were quite a bit lower than I normally get during our rainy season, but still decent. Realizing today that the grain I'd bought had been produced here in this state during our summer, this got me to wondering why I couldn't do the same. Since I don't see any improvements on the importation front anytime soon, perhaps I could produce enough for my needs as well as sell some seed to others who wish to plant?
With that in mind, here's my question.
Aside from being sure that the humidity levels are low enough in the seed when I harvest, what else would I need to do to protect the seed after harvest and assure a decent germination rate upon planting?
My plan would be to time my harvest no later than 15 April. Within a month to 45 days thereafter, under normal conditions, we'd be receiving enough rainfall to begin planting for the rainy season.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
