To optimize the lodging-resistant cultivation scheme for forage sweet sorghum （Sorghum bicolor （L.） Moench cv. ‘Jingxi’） in Kashi， Xinjiang， a split-plot design was used with two plant spacings （Z₁： 10 cm， Z₂： 20 cm） and six row spacing configurations （equal row spacing： 30， 40， 50 cm； wide-narrow row spacing： 20+40， 30+50， 40+60 cm）， resulting in 12 plant-row configuration treatments. Agronomic traits， stem chemical composition， stem mechanical strength， and field lodging rate were measured over two harvests. The results showed that plant–row configuration significantly affected lodging-related traits. Across both harvest s， equal row spacing of 50 cm and wide-narrow row spacing of 40+60 cm exhibited lower lodging rates. Among these， the equal row spacing of 50 cm （H₅） treatment produced the highest stem mechanical strength and the best accumulation of fiber components. Correlation analysis revealed fundamentally different lodging resistance mechanisms between the two stubbles： lodging resistance in the first stubble depended on the synergistic enhancement of stem diameter， wall thickness， and mechanical strength， whereas that in the second stubble relied on the accumulation of stem fiber components （acid detergent fiber， neutral detergent fiber， lignin） to maintain strength. Comprehensive evaluation of both stubbles indicated that the H5 configuration （equal row spacing of 50 cm）， whether combined with Z₁ or Z₂ plant spacing， significantly improved the overall lodging resistance of ‘Jingxi’ and was the optimal pattern under the experimental conditions. These findings provide a specific technical scheme and theoretical basis for lodging-resistant cultivation of forage sweet sorghum in arid regions.

Forage sorghum  /  Row-plant spacing configuration  /  Lodging resistance  /  Stem mechanical characteristics  /  Fiber components