CSH 16
The standard kharif grain-sorghum hybrid across the Deccan — bred for the rainy-season crop, not the post-rainy one.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Jowar (Sorghum)
- Type
- Hybrid
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 100–105 days
- Expected yield
- 25–30 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Clay / black soil
- Release
- Released 1997 by the National Research Centre for Sorghum (now ICAR-IIMR), Hyderabad
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, and 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 — grain quality that matters because rain during grain-fill is what triggers grain mould in the wet kharif season.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
100–105 days
Expected yield
25–30 q/ha
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
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 fetched 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
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.