320 FIELD CROPS 



pensive to make it commercially profitable. The produc- 

 tion of sorghum sirup has decreased rapidly in recent years, 

 owing to the manufacture of glucose and other sirups. In 

 Kansas, where 500,000 acres of forage sorghum are grown 

 annually, only 13,000 acres are used for sirup production. 



SUDAN GRASS 



419. Sudan grass is an annual sorghum similar in ap- 

 pearance to Johnson grass, but which has fibrous roots instead 

 of thick, fleshy perennial rootstocks. It is an annual which 

 has most of the good qualities of Johnson grass as a producer 

 of large quantities of fine, nutritious haj^ without the ob- 

 jectionable feature of being difficult to eradicate w^hen it is no 

 longer wanted. It was introduced by the Department of 

 Agriculture from Sudan in 1909, and immediately came into 

 popular favor, so that it is now grown extensively in the 

 southern half of the United States, particularly in the drier 

 sections. 



420. Description. Sudan grass when sown broadcast or 

 in drills for hay usually grows from 3 to 5 feet high, with 

 stems slightly smaller than a lead pencil. When grown in cul- 

 tivated rows the stems are taller and larger, sometimes reach- 

 ing a height of 8 to 9 feet. The plant differs from Johnson 

 grass principally in having broader and more numerous 

 leaves, thus making it a better haj^ plant, and in the charac- 

 ter of its roots, as previously mentioned. 



421. Adaptation. Sudan grass may be grown successfully 

 for hay almost anywhere in the southern and central United 

 States, but most valuable in the southern Great Plains, 

 where its drought-resistance and quick growth make it an 

 excellent hay crop. It is also valuable for hay in the 

 Southern states generally, except in Florida and the sandy 

 sections along the coa'st, where other grasses succeed better. 

 In the irrigated sections of the Southwest and California it 

 is second only to- alfalfa as a hay crop, while in the central 



