IMPORTANCE OF SORGHUM 



817 



that the head is drooping instead of erect, has been widely 

 recommended for sirup production in the South. It is late 

 in maturing and is inferior to Sumac for the production of 

 forage. 



415. Importance. The sweet 

 sorghums are grown quite gener- 

 alh^ for forage in the South and 

 Southwest and to a less extent in 

 other portions of the country. 

 In the Central states, corn is the 

 principal coarse forage crop, and 

 sorghum occupies a minor place, 

 though it is grown in a limited 

 way. No accurate figures on the 

 total acreage devoted to the pro- 

 duction of sorghum for forage are 

 obtainable, but in Kansas, where 

 the crop is perhaps more impor- 

 tant than in any other state, 500,- 

 000 acres are grown annually. It 

 is quite probable that not less 

 than two million acres of sor- 

 ghum are grown in the United 

 States every year. 



416. Culture. The methods 

 of growing sorghum for forage 

 are Uke the methods of growing corn for fodder or for 

 silage, except that the sorghums are always planted in drills 

 rather than in hills. The crop grows well on a wide range 

 of soils, though it does best on those of more than average 

 fertility. The plant has a vigorous root system, which en- 

 ables it to use quick-acting fertilizers to good advantage. 



The seed may be sown with the corn planter, using spe- 

 cial plates, or with the grain drill, using all or only a part of 

 the holes. ^Tien grown in rows and cultivated, the crop 



J 



P'igure 109. — The compact panicle 

 of Sumac sorghum, a popular 

 variety in the South. 



