Millet is a highly effective warm-season annual crop for attracting mourning doves, offering a dependable food source for hunters and land managers. Doves prefer millet because its seeds are small and easily accessible, unlike larger grains that require more effort to consume. Planting millet requires precise timing to ensure the seed heads mature and dry down just before the opening of dove season in late summer or early fall. The type of millet selected directly influences the necessary planting window, making crop variety the first consideration in the planning process.
Selecting the Most Effective Millet Variety
The choice of millet variety dictates the required number of growing days before the seeds are ready for dove season. Three types are commonly used, each with a distinct maturation rate. Brown Top Millet is the fastest-maturing option, typically reaching seed maturity in a short 60 to 70 days. This rapid growth cycle makes Brown Top a popular choice for planting later in the summer or for managers who need to adjust quickly to weather delays.
Proso Millet (often marketed as Dove Proso) takes slightly longer to mature, generally requiring about 75 days. Although it has a longer growing period, Proso Millet yields a greater volume of seed than Brown Top and retains its seeds longer, often dropping them until the first frost. Utilizing a mix of Brown Top and Proso Millet allows managers to stagger maturity dates, extending seed availability.
German Millet, also known as Foxtail Millet, differs from the other two primarily in its growth structure. This variety is primarily a forage crop, producing more leafy material and less seed volume compared to Brown Top or Proso. While doves will feed on its seeds, the dense leafy growth of German Millet often necessitates more intense manipulation, such as burning or heavy disking, to expose the fallen seeds to the ground.
Calculating Optimal Planting Dates by Region
Determining the precise planting date requires working backward from the desired maturity date, typically the last week of August or the first week of September, just before dove season opens. The goal is to have the millet fully mature and beginning its natural dry-down process. To find the optimal planting day, subtract the variety’s required growing days, plus an additional 7 to 14 days for seed drying and field manipulation, from the local season opener.
Planting must occur after the danger of frost has passed and when the soil temperature has consistently reached at least 65°F, which is necessary for proper germination. In the Southern United States, where the growing season is longer, this window generally opens in mid-May and extends into early July. For instance, planting Brown Top Millet in mid-June allows 60 to 70 days for maturity, placing the seed set in mid-to-late August, followed by the manipulation period leading up to the September opening.
In the Midwest and Northern US, the growing window is more compressed, requiring a calculated approach to avoid late-season frost damage. Planting should target the earliest possible date once the soil temperature is stable to maximize the growing period. Managers in these regions often rely heavily on the faster-maturing Brown Top Millet. Planting even a few days too late risks the seed heads not fully maturing before field manipulation must begin.
Staggering plantings helps ensure a continuous supply of mature seed. Plant a small portion earlier (perhaps late May), then subsequent plantings every two to three weeks until mid-July. This practice acts as a buffer against unpredictable weather or early-season armyworm infestations. The final planting should be timed so the millet reaches maturity during the second or third week of August, allowing a buffer for field preparation steps.
Preparing the Millet Stand for Dove Season
Millet produces a thick stand of vegetation that must be managed to make seeds available on the ground. Doves are weak scratchers and prefer to feed on seeds exposed on bare soil, avoiding areas with thick litter. Once the millet seed heads have fully matured and the plants begin to turn brown, manipulation is necessary to bring the seed to the ground.
Manipulation should be timed precisely, ideally beginning one to two weeks before the dove season opening date. Manipulating the field too early risks the seed deteriorating or being consumed by other wildlife. The most common methods involve mowing, disking, or a controlled burn.
Mowing the field in strips is an effective technique, dropping the seed onto the ground while leaving some standing millet for cover. After mowing, the thick layer of cut vegetation (litter) can still block dove access. A controlled burn is often used to remove this debris and expose the bare soil beneath, but the millet must be completely dry for a successful burn. Disking can also be used in strips, but it buries some seed, making it unavailable to doves. To maintain a fresh food source throughout the season, managers often manipulate a new section of the field every few weeks after the opener.