Divisi
When to plant Sorghum in Centre East
Tunisie
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 | Moderate | |
| When to plant | 4 Oct 2026 – 24 Oct 2026 opens in 1 week | 21 Jan 2027 – 9 Aug 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 1.6 t/ha | about 5.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 2 Jan 2027 to 13 Mar 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 meets its needs | 68% | |
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 4 Oct 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
No seasonal forecast reaches Centre East yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.
Planting after 24 Oct 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Centre East
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For sorghum in Centre East, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 88%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.
The 2026 season in Centre East
| Rain in a typical year | About 308 mm in a typical farming district |
|---|---|
| Across its districts | From about 238 mm in the driest of 4 districts to about 314 mm in the wettest |
| This season's rain | Rain close to usual — plan around about 308 mm falling roughly when it always does |
| What that supports | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth |
| Ground this covers | 5 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 82% | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 200 mm |
|---|---|
| 7% | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 122 growing days · about 340 mm · October to March |
| 4% | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 190 mm |
| 4% | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 158 growing days · about 360 mm · October to March |
| 3% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 182 growing days · about 410 mm · September to April |
last updated 18 September 2026 · from all 4 areas within it
Limited water holds back about 40% 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 Centre East
| Planting material | About 100,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 7 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 3 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 8 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 Centre East 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.
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 Centre East?
Centre East rates as moderate for sorghum.
When should I plant sorghum in Centre East?
Typically 4 Oct 2026 to 24 Oct 2026, typical season.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Centre East, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
