Brown Top Millet is a fast-growing, warm-season annual grass highly valued by hunters and wildlife managers for its effectiveness as a dove attractant. The plant produces small, hard seeds preferred by mourning doves, yielding a high volume of food on the ground. Its rapid maturation period makes it an excellent choice for planting in late spring and early summer. This guide focuses on the practical timing and techniques necessary to ensure a successful food plot for doves.
Optimal Planting Windows
Timing the planting of Brown Top Millet is the most important factor for maximizing its effectiveness for the September dove season opener. As a warm-season crop, planting should only occur after the danger of the last frost has passed and soil temperatures consistently exceed 65°F. Planting too early risks poor germination or cold-weather damage to young seedlings.
The general planting window for Brown Top Millet in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions typically runs from mid-May through the end of June. In the Deep South, planting can begin in April and extend into mid-August, though later plantings usually result in lower seed yields.
Planting too late, especially past the first week of July, risks the seed not reaching full maturity before the season begins. A staggered approach, where portions of the field are planted two to three weeks apart, can help ensure a continuous supply of seed availability throughout the dove season. The goal is to have the seed heads fully developed and ready for manipulation by late August.
Necessary Site Preparation and Planting Technique
Successful establishment of a Brown Top Millet plot begins with proper site preparation, focusing on creating a firm, weed-free seedbed. Although the millet tolerates a wide variety of well-drained soils, a basic soil test is beneficial to determine fertilizer and lime needs. Brown Top Millet performs best in soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 7.0.
Before planting, the area should be lightly tilled with a disk or harrow to break up the soil surface and control existing weeds. This action helps eliminate competition for light, water, and nutrients. The seed requires good contact with the soil for successful germination, and a cultipacker or roller can be used after tilling to firm the seedbed.
The seeding rate varies, but broadcasting 20 to 30 pounds per acre is a common practice for dove plots. If using a drill, the rate can be slightly reduced. Planting depth is crucial: the seeds should be covered very lightly, ideally between 1/4 and 1/2 inch deep. Planting the seed deeper than half an inch significantly reduces the germination rate and stand density.
Maturation and Dove Hunting Season Alignment
Brown Top Millet typically reaches seed head maturity within 60 to 70 days from the planting date. To align with the traditional September 1st dove season opener, the planting date must be calculated backward from a target maturity date in mid-August. This calculation ensures the crop is fully mature and ready for manipulation well in advance of the first hunting day.
The crop should ideally be mature by late July or early August, allowing several weeks for post-maturation management. For example, a mid-June planting date would result in maturity near the middle of August. Having the seed heads dry and ready at least two to three weeks before the season is important because doves prefer to feed on seeds that have already fallen to the ground.
If the planting is done too late, the seed heads may still be green and intact when the season starts, which is less attractive to doves. The two to three week buffer allows time for plot manipulation and for the doves to become accustomed to feeding in the field.
Maximizing Seed Availability (Plot Management)
Once the millet has fully matured and the seeds are dry, the standing crop must be manipulated to drop the seed onto the bare ground where doves prefer to feed. Doves have short legs and generally avoid feeding in tall, dense vegetation or heavy thatch.
Manipulation Techniques
The most common and effective manipulation techniques include:
- Mowing
- Shredding
- Light disking
- Burning
Strip mowing is a recommended practice, involving cutting lanes through the field while leaving adjacent strips of standing millet. This method creates bare ground access while providing a continuous food source. Mowing should begin two to three weeks before the season opener, with additional strips cut every week to refresh the available seed supply.
Alternatively, a light disking can be used to incorporate some of the dead plant material and seed into the soil, while still leaving much of the seed on the surface. Burning the mowed strips is another technique that removes thatch quickly and exposes the seed, but this requires adherence to local burn regulations. Plot manipulation for dove hunting is heavily regulated by federal and state migratory bird laws concerning baiting. Any manipulation must be considered a “normal agricultural practice,” so managers must check with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or local game wardens before manipulating the crop.