CSH 16 Jowar Seed — Sowing & Yield Guide

Quick facts

Crop: Jowar (Sorghum)
Type: Hybrid
Season: Kharif
Maturity period: 100–105 days
Seed rate: 7–8 kg per ha, about 3 kg an acre
Expected yield: 25–30 q/ha
Suitable soil: Clay / black soil
Disease resistance: Moderate grain mould tolerance
Release: Released 1997 by the National Research Centre for Sorghum (now ICAR-IIMR), Hyderabad

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

About this variety

CSH 16 is a kharif (rainy-season) grain sorghum hybrid from the cross 27A × C43, released in 1997 by the National Research Centre for Sorghum (now ICAR-IIMR), Hyderabad. It is recommended across the Deccan grain-sorghum belt — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. It is particularly known for good-quality, mould-tolerant grain. Independent field studies in eastern India found its bold, round, lustrous grain fetching up to 21% higher market price than other kharif cultivars. That matters because rain during grain-fill is what triggers grain mould in the wet kharif season.

Should you pick this variety?

Pick CSH 16 when your kharif jowar is sold rather than eaten at home and dull, mould-marked grain has been costing you price — holding grain colour through a wet harvest is the one job this hybrid was bred for. If you want weight instead, CSH 30 gives 40–43 q/ha against 25–30 here, with more fodder. If buying hybrid seed every year does not suit you, CSV 27 is open-pollinated. And do not sow it after the monsoon: the post-rainy crop belongs to M 35-1, CSV 216R or PKV Kranti.

Sowing & cultivation

Sowing timeThird week of June to the first week of July, with the onset of the monsoon (ICAR-IIMR kharif sorghum leaflet)
Seed rate7–8 kg per ha, about 3 kg an acre
Spacing45 cm between rows and 12–15 cm between plants, which gives about 180,000 plants per ha
Sowing methodICAR-IIMR names CSH 16 and CSH 30 as short-duration hybrids (105–110 days) that suit a sorghum and pigeon pea intercrop in 2:1 rows, with no extra fertiliser for the pigeon pea. Treat the seed against shoot fly before sowing
Fertilizer60:30:20 kg NPK per ha on shallow soil in low-rainfall areas, and 80:40:40 on medium to deep soil in moderate to high rainfall areas. Give half the nitrogen at sowing and half 30–35 days later, with all the phosphorus and potash at sowing

Full Jowar (Sorghum) growing guideSowing time, nutrients, irrigation, pests, costs and prices for Jowar (Sorghum) as a whole crop. This is the advice that holds for every variety.

Pest & disease considerations

Major diseases

Documented as producing bold, round, lustrous grain that resists mould discolouration better than other kharif cultivars, commanding a market-price premium in field comparisons

Advantages & considerations

Why farmers may choose it

Grain up to 21% higher market price than other released and locally popular cultivars, in independent field comparisons in eastern India
Wide official recommendation — one of the most extensively grown nationally released kharif sorghum hybrids, spanning nine states

Suitable regions

States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.

Maharashtra
Karnataka
Andhra Pradesh
Telangana

Keeping the grain bright: what the premium asks of you

The whole case for CSH 16 is grain that reaches the mandi clean. Grain mould in kharif jowar is not really a disease you spray away — it is rain falling on a head that is already filling. The hybrid was bred so that its bold, round grain holds its colour through that wet spell, and the field comparisons in eastern India that recorded up to 21% more price were paying for exactly that look.

So the variety does half the job and the harvest does the other half. Watch the heads rather than the calendar: once the grain is hard and the glumes have dried, a crop left standing for a week of showers loses the grade the seed was bought for. Cut, thresh and get the grain onto a dry floor or a tarpaulin, and spread it thin enough to dry through rather than heaping it damp.

If your jowar is eaten at home and never graded by a buyer, this is a smaller matter and tonnage is the better thing to buy — CSH 30 at 40–43 q/ha against 25–30 here. The price premium only comes back to you if someone is actually paying for colour.

Where the planting material comes from

This is a hybrid, so seed kept from your own harvest will not breed true. The next crop comes up uneven in height, maturity and yield. Buy fresh certified seed every season and keep the bag tag until harvest.

How it compares with other varieties

Every Jowar (Sorghum) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.

Variety	Best for	Maturity	Yield	States
CSH 16this page	Kharif jowar grown to sell — bold grain that keeps its colour through a wet harvest	100–105 days	25–30 q/ha	Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
CSH 30	The heaviest rainfed kharif crop here — grain and a big fodder stack off one field, on a stalk that stands till you cut it	105–110 days	40–43 q/ha	Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
CSV 216R (Phule Yashoda)	More grain than Maldandi off a rainfed post-rainy field, and a 240–270 cm plant for the fodder stack	115–120 days	18–22 q/ha	Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat
CSV 27	Kharif jowar where you keep your own seed — mould-resistant grain and the heaviest fodder figure here, 193 q/ha	112–118 days	26–28 q/ha	Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan
M 35-1 (Maldandi)	A post-rainy crop on deep black soil with no irrigation at all — grown for roti grain and premium kadbi, not for tonnage	120–130 days	12–16 q/ha	Maharashtra, Karnataka
PKV Kranti	Post-rainy jowar on medium-to-deep land that gets water — white grain and the sweetest stalk of the rabi varieties here	105–110 days	16–20 q/ha	Maharashtra

Other Jowar (Sorghum) varieties in the finder, for comparison.

Tools for this crop

The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Jowar (Sorghum) is selling for.

Subsidy and government support

Schemes that help with the cost of Jowar (Sorghum) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.

Frequently asked questions

Why does CSH 16’s grain fetch a higher market price?

Field comparisons in eastern India found its bold, round, lustrous grain held its quality — resisting the discolouration that grain mould causes in other cultivars during wet kharif harvests — well enough to fetch up to 21% more than other cultivars in the same trials.

Can I sow CSH 16 as a post-rainy (rabi) jowar?

No. It was bred for the rainy-season crop, where rain during grain-fill is the main risk. A post-rainy crop lives on moisture stored in the soil and needs a rabi variety — M 35-1 or CSV 216R where there is no irrigation, PKV Kranti where there is water.

What does the higher market price for CSH 16 grain actually depend on?

On the grain reaching the market bright and free of mould marks. Field comparisons in eastern India got up to 21% more for its bold, round, lustrous grain than for other cultivars in the same trials — but that is the price of clean grain, not of the name. Cut the heads as soon as they are ready, dry them properly, and do not leave a ripe crop standing through rain.

Can I keep seed from my CSH 16 crop for next year?

No — CSH 16 is a hybrid, and seed saved from a hybrid crop loses much of its yield the next season. Buy fresh certified seed each year, or grow CSV 27, an open-pollinated kharif variety whose saved seed comes up true.

CSH 16 or CSH 30 for my kharif jowar?

CSH 30 gives more weight: 40–43 q/ha against 25–30 q/ha for CSH 16, with a bigger fodder stack. CSH 16 is the one to take when you sell the grain and its colour decides the price, because it was bred to hold colour through a wet harvest. It also matures a little sooner, 100–105 days against 105–110.

How strong is CSH 16's cover against grain mould?

It has moderate grain mould tolerance, which is not the same as resistance. A wet harvest can still mark the grain, so cut on time and dry the heads well. If you want a variety listed as resistant to grain mould, CSV 27 is the open-pollinated one to look at.