Amazing Crop! Sorghum Survives Army Worm Attack

As we move forward with our Sorghum Production Program in the Southern Philippines, we are making great discoveries during our actual field operations.
One of the major findings I made was the apparent resilience of Sorghum to attacks by the dreaded Army Worm which had devastated many Corn crops in other parts of the country.
In at least two locations now, our Sorghum crops which were attacked by Army Worms survived and continued to produce grains.
The Army Worm attacks were so bad that in our trial area in New Esperanza, Mlang, Cotabato, I actually gave up on four plots of young Sorghum because the leaves were literally tattered.
To my surprise, however, the young Sorghum survived and produced big grain heads which are now nearing maturity.
Initially, I could only come up with one practical explanation and that is the fact that, unlike Corn whose cobs are soft and succulent at a young stage, the Sorghum’s grains are attached to a hard upper stalk called the “peduncle.”
The only damage the Army Worm could inflict on the Sorghum is in its leaves which are soft when it has not reached maturity.
The attack, however, ceases as soon as the Sorghum matures as the leaves become hard and tough for the Army Worms.
This quality, added to the fact that Sorghum could survive long dry spells, requires less fertilization, grows ratoons to allow farmers to harvest three times with just one planting and contains higher protein of 11%, makes it a good back up grains crop to Corn in the production of feeds for our poultry and livestock.

#farmingisendlesslearning!
(Video by Frederick Frades, Braveheart Farms.)