Divisi
When to plant Sorghum in Nkayi
Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe
Known here as mapfunde · amabele
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 | 4 Nov 2026 – 24 Dec 2026 opens in 5 weeks | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 4.0 t/ha | about 5.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 2 Feb 2027 to 13 May 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 14 Nov 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Nkayi 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 24 Dec 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Nkayi
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 96% |
For sorghum in Nkayi, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 96%. 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 2026/27 season in Nkayi
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | November 2026 to April 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 699 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, November 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 +1.9 °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 one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 17 September 2026
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 Nkayi
| Planting material | About 100,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 16 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 7 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 19 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 Nkayi 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.
Where to sell Sorghum nearby
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 Nkayi?
Nkayi rates as favourable for sorghum.
When should I plant sorghum in Nkayi?
Typically 4 Nov 2026 to 24 Dec 2026, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Nkayi, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
