Divisi
When to plant Sorghum in Cross River
Nigeria
Known here as dawa
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor — mapfunde, mtama, amabele, mapira, dawa, mashilla) is the toughest of the grain cereals: a tall, C4 grass that keeps standing and yields when heat and dry spells have already beaten maize.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 10 Feb 2026 – 23 Sep 2026 closed for this season | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 3.5 t/ha | about 4.1 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 11 May 2026 to 10 Feb 2027, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–140 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 92–168 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 25 Feb 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Cross River leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 23 Sep 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Cross River
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 76% |
For sorghum in Cross River, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.
The 2026 season in Cross River
| When the rains are expected | February 2026 to December 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 2,742 mm in a typical farming district |
| Across its districts | From about 1,730 mm in the driest of 18 districts to about 2,846 mm in the wettest |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — February, September, October and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +0.6 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 3 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 78% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 319 growing days · about 2,210 mm · February to December |
|---|---|
| 12% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 291 growing days · about 1,870 mm · March to December |
| 7% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 256 growing days · about 1,750 mm · March to November |
last updated 17 September 2026 · from all 18 areas within it
Frost and pest pressure hold back about 15% of yield here.
What sorghum needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | sandy loam, loam, clay loam or clay |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 7.5 |
| Rain it needs | About 450–650 mm across the season |
| Spacing | 70 cm between rows, 15 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc and sulphur |
What it takes to grow sorghum in Cross River
| Planting material | About 100,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 14 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 6 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 17 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 92–168 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a sorghum crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Sorghum with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Cross River as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Sorghum in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will sorghum grow well in Cross River?
Cross River rates as favourable for sorghum.
When should I plant sorghum in Cross River?
Typically 10 Feb 2026 to 23 Sep 2026, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Cross River, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
