EXERCISE 48 



A STUDY OF THE SORGHUM PLANT 



Statement. The yield of kafir, milo, feterita, or other grain sorghum will depend greatly on the 

 variety chosen. Some varieties require as much as one hundred and thirty-five days to mature, while 

 others will mature in less than one hundred days. Some varieties are adapted to poor soil, others to 

 rich soil ; some to high altitudes, others to low altitudes. 



Object. To study the characteristics of the varieties of grain sorghums. 



Materials. A mixed lot of sorghum seed containing black-hull kafir, pink kafir, yellow milo, white 

 milo, feterita, Freed sorghum, kaoliang, Jerusalem corn, brown durra, shallu, and varieties of sweet 

 sorghum ; the heads and stalks of the different varieties to be studied ; description of the varieties 

 as contained in the publications named in the references. 



Directions, i . From a mixed lot of sorghum seed pick out twenty-five grains of each kind of grain 

 sorghum. Place each kind on a separate piece of paper. Compare each kind of seed with seeds of a 

 known variety and thus identify each lot. Compare each kind of seed with, the heads of the different 

 varieties and with the printed descriptions. Identify each lot and submit the results to the instructor 

 for verification. 



2. Fill in the form on the opposite page, giving the color, relative size and shape of seed, length 

 and shape of heads, and, if growing in the field, height of stalk, number of leaves per stalk, relative 

 juiciness and sweetness of the stems, and the date of ripening. 



3. Write a statement of the principal uses to which two selected types of sorghums studied are 

 put, how they are grown, and the kind of season and soil which is best suited to them. 



Questions. What are the leading varieties of sorghums in your community? Which is the more 

 drought-resistant, corn or sorghum? Can you explain why? Describe the climate to which the sor- 

 ghums are best adapted. How are sorghums planted ? How cultivated ? How harvested ? How utilized? 



References. Waters, H.J. Essentials of Agriculture, pp. 223-230. Borman, T. A. Sorghums, The Kansas 

 Farmer Company, Topeka. Bailey, L. H. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. II, p. 384. The Mac- 

 millan Company. Bulletin 218 (iqi8), Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. 



Fig. 58. Types of sorghum heads 

 From left to right: kafir; sweet sorghum; milo maize; feterita. (Courtesy of the Kansas State Agricultural College) 



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