jaiy2,ic)i7 Variation of Water in Leaves of Corn and Sorghums 45 



The dry weight of a given area of milo leaf was always found to be 

 greater than an equal area of either com or kafir leaves at the same stage 

 of development. The average dry weight of a square meter of leaf for 

 all the observations made was 48.2 gm. for corn, 52.5 gm. for kafir, and 

 56.2 gm. for milo. The average difference between the minimum and 

 maximum amount of dry matter in the leaves for each square meter of 

 leaf from 7 a. m. to 7 p. m. was 4, 4.8, and 8.0 gm., respectively; for 

 com, kafir, and milo. The increase in dry matter began at daybreak 

 and the maximum amount of dry matter in the leaves occurred in niost 

 cases between 2 and 5 p. m. The rate of increase of the dry matter in 

 the leaves during the portion of the day when the climatic conditions 

 were severe was much higher for milo than for either corn or kafir. 



The results indicate that under the conditions of these experiments 

 the sorghums and, more particularly, milo can absorb water from the 

 soil and transport it to the leaves more rapidly in proportion to the loss 

 of water from the plant than can corn. As a result of this ability, the 

 sorghums can produce more dry matter for each unit of leaf area under 

 severe climatic conditions than the corn plant. 

 98972°— 17 4 



