HOME PROJECTS 375 



HOME PROJECT 19 



GROWING SUDAN GRASS 



With the growing popularity of this new forage crop, it 

 is well for the student to undertake as a home project the 

 growth of at least one-tenth of an acre of sudan grass. 



The plant. It is a tall annual grass growing from a height 

 of six to eight feet. The stems are fine and leafy. They stool 

 out to as many as twenty to one hundred stalks from a single 

 root. The sudan grass lacks root stalk, and can never become 

 a troublesome weed. 



Seeding. In the spring, at about the time the corn is 

 planted, the same ground and the same seed-bed preparation 

 required for corn may be used for the sudan grass. Sudan 

 grass may be sown in midsummer after oats, wheat, or rye. 

 Sow one-half of the area broadcast, and the other half drilled 

 in rows thirty-six inches apart. It would be well to have 

 about one pound of seed for this project. The drilled por- 

 tion of the plot should be cultivated to keep down the weeds 

 during its early growth. 



Cutting 1 . Sudan grass is a rapid grower, and may be cut, 

 under favorable climatic conditions, twice during the season. 

 It is best cut when in full bloom, and early cutting is advis- 

 able when more cuttings are expected. The grass can be cut 

 with a mower or a binder, and the hay cures readily in bun- 

 dles. 



The second crop, if allowed to mature, may yield an excel- 

 lent crop of seed, and, since the price of seed varies from 

 fifty cents to one dollar per pound, the production of sudan 



