millet question

[Drakehunter20]

hey all....
I have a 12 acre field that is flooded every year for ducks.....
we are looking into millet but here is the question.......when is the best time to plant?? do you plant it like any other crop or do you need to just spread the seed?? what type of millet do you reccommend?? I am wanting to plant early enough for wood duck/teal season next year and also was wondering how i would be able to do that and keep water from september to march and keep the millet also.......any imput is greatly appreciated oor any ideas of other crops also......main thing is a crop that attracts ducks and can stay flooded and maintain grain for long periods of time partially submerged

thanks guys

[SB]

It is hard to answer all of your questions without knowing all the details. As far as planting millet, I would recommend Chiwapa Japanese Millet (120 maturation) over regular japanese millet (60 day maturation). The longer maturation time for Chiwapa allows it to be planted earlier in the growing season when moisture is not as limited and not mature too early where the seed crop may sprout making it useless for waterfowl. Plant Chiwapa in the month of June. Plant 60 day Jap on or about August 1 on a mud flat. Chiwapa can be planted on a mud flat as well.

The best and cheapest way I have found to plant millet is with an airplane on a mud flat. Hold your water until you are with in a few days of planting. If the mud crusts over your planting success will decrease greatly.

Millet can be grown like rice, so you could put water on it for the Sept. teal season.

[okieguide]

So Chiwapa can be planted on mud flat? Does it need to be fertilized if planted on mud flat, because I do know that you don't have to Jap if planted on mud flat. Also what is your opinion on how well it handles July and August heat. How tall does it get?

[okieguide]

Also, can the Chiwapa grow in shallow water after it is up like Jap does?

[SB]

Chiwapa does not need fertilizing when planted on a mud flat that has a high organic content. I have not personally seen in grow in water like 60 day jap millet, but I have no reason to think it would not. I would not hesitate one bit to shallow flood it after it was well established. It is still a Japanese millet, just with a longer maturation time. It will handle the July and August heat in MS well.

Last year I saw some planted in the bottom of a catfish pond reach 6-8 ft tall. The pond had extremely high fertility. This year I'm watching some planted on soybean ground that is about belly button tall.

[acornman]

As a rule millet does not require much fertilizer when grown on wetland swales, depressions, etc. However it doesn't hurt to take a few soil samples ....just in case....if you think the area has been farmed to death in the past or no fertilizer has ever been used on adjacent fields.

If you think about it, most delta soils are high in fertility because of the nutrients bound to the sediments (clay / silt particles). That is what made the delta so attractive in the first place....farming on the fertilizer of the past.

In most instances, soil that accumulates in the bottom of a swale has come from the surrounding watershed (forests or fields); you have a concentrated source of plant nutrients in that swale. In fact, wetlands are generally considered "sinks" for nitrogen and phosphorous.

If you put too much nitrogen on millet....like Scot is saying in his post....it will grow way too tall; nitrogen enhances stem growth. You want to grow seed to feed ducks....not a 6 foot tall stem. The tall plants are susceptible to lodging and wind damage which could put your seed head in contact with the water before you intended.

The rule of thumb is that millet can be flooded up to 1/3 of the plant height during the growing season; it is like rice....get it up to 12 inches and then flood it about 3-4 inches deep. The flooding will control undesireable plants like cockle burr , coffeeweed, fall aster, and redvine.

Acornman