EFFECTS OF AGROMETEOROLOGICAL FACTORS ON SORGHUM YIELD AND QUALITY AT DIFFERENT SOWING DATES IN JIANGXI PROVINCE, CHINA.

Sorghum varieties J67 and Jiniang 2nd (JN2) were used as test materials in this experiment. Regression analysis and multivariate comparison were used to explore the relationship between sorghum yield, quality and climate factors in different sowing dates, which provided a theoretical basis for the study of sorghum adaptability in Jiangxi region, China. The results showed that the inter annual, sowing date and sorghum yield reached significant (P < 0.05) and extremely significant level (P < 0.01), respectively. The yield of J67 and JN2 was the highest on the 25th April, and 5th May, respectively, and the average yield was 34.67% and 11.85% higher than that of other sowing dates. The content of protein, fat and starch increased first and then decreased with the delay of sowing date. The relationship between effective precipitation and yield is linear function, while the relationship between effective temperature, daily average temperature, sunshine hours and yield is quadratic function. In addition, the climate factor that has the greatest impact on the quality is the daily average temperature, while the hours of sunshine have the least impact. The results showed that suitable sowing date was the key to the formation of sorghum yield and grain quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]