WMOD00570

• Title: Precipitation Enhancement Effects of Sorghum, Using a Daily Growth Model
• Date: 4/1/1982
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

Table 1. - Site-specific data related to the grain sorghllJm model
I
Site I
V ar i ab 1 e Concordia, Good1and, Ok.1 ahoma Lubbock, San Angelo
Kans. Kans. City, 0 k 1 a . I Tex.
Tex.
I
Latitude, degrees 40 39 35 34 32
Row spacing, cm 76 96 109 91 102
Sowing depth, cm 4 3 4 3 4
I n it i ally avail ab 1 e 18 20 19 9 30
so i 1 water, cm
Maximum available 28 25 24 46 !51
soil water, cm 1/ May 10 May 15 2/ Apr 11 5
Planting date June 10 June 18
Date meteorological Ap rill Apr 11 1 March 1 March 11- Feb. 1
data begin
1974 grain sorghum 23,000 9,000 '}./ 800 4/ 27,00@ 28,000
pl anted area, ha 5/ Fine 1andY
So 11 type Silty clay Si lt Fine silty C1 a.y loam
loam loam loam loam I
Cl imate Mo i st Dry Moist Semiarid Semiarid
subhumid subhumid subhumid
Years of record 17 29 21 32 30

1/ Maximum amount of water a plant can extract from a particu1a~ soil.
2/ Though the nominal planting date is May 15, farmers wait forla good rain
before planting. A close watch is kept on the sorghum and, if water stress
becomes too great, the crop is harvested even if immature. As ~t Good1and,
pumping costs for irrigation water are causing farmers to consi~er changing
to more dry1and grain farming. I
3/ Sorghum acreage at Good1and has increased significantly in recent years,
~upplanting corn, due to the cost of pumping from the Ogallala ~quifer for
irrigated corn. I
4/ The small area planted in sorghum at Oklahoma City is because sorghum is
only planted when cheatgrass contaminates wheat. The contaminated wheat is
harvested for hay, and sorghum is planted in its place. I
5/ Latest available Census of AgricuJture (U.S. Department of C0mmerce,
T976). Examination of earlier censuses suggests these areas ar~ probably
typical of areas p1 anted in other years. I

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