626 



THE FARMERS HANDBOOK. 



in. If the final cut for hay is made about the middle of March in districts 

 on the tablelands and slopes, the seed should mature in May. On the coast, 

 the cut could be left until April. 



The seed can he stripped from the standing crop by an ordinary wheat 

 harvester, but owing to the irregular manner in which the seed ripens and 

 to the manner in which it clings to tlie plantSj a great deal of choking 

 and waste is occasioned by this method. A simpler and more effectual one 

 is to cut the glass with the reaper and binder, and after it has been 

 thoroughly dried in the stack to thresh it with the ordinary wheat header. 

 Yields of 400 lb. of seed per acre are common in the interior of the State. 

 The seed weighs ab.mt 32 lb. per bushel. 



Fertilisers and Soil. 



Sudan grass responds very readily to fertilisers. At Tallawang (Mudgee) 

 with an application of 1 cwt. of superphosphate per acre, the yield from the 

 first cut was 1 ton 18 cwt., as against I ton 2 cwt. on the unmanured plot. 

 The addition of potash further increased the yield. The results fiom the 

 addition of fertiliser are just as marked on irrigable land. An application 

 of 1 to 2 cwt. of superphosphate per acre is therefore recommended in 

 sowing 8udan grass. 



Cows depastured on Sudan Grass and Japanese Millet, Yanco Experiment Farm. 



Sudan grass will grow on practically all classes of soil. Even on the 

 poor sandy soils of the coast, by the application of fertiliser, good results 

 have been obtained. The best yields so far appear to have been obtained 

 from the granite soils of the wheat-growing districts and elsewhere on the 

 black soils (alluvial or basaltic). 



Natural Crossing and Variation. 



Sudan grass crosses very readily with the sweet sorghums, and for this 

 reason should not be grown near a sorghum paddock. Although good 

 results (particularly an increase in vigour) may be obtainable as the result 

 of such a cross, a patchy crop is sure to follow when the resulting seed is 



