GRAIN SORGHUMS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 11 



EXPERIMENTAL METHODS. 



The prime objects in conducting the experiments reported herein 

 were to determine the best time to sow the crop and the rate of seed- 

 ing from which the best yield can be obtained and to compare yield 

 and composition of crops from home-grown seed with those from 

 imported seed. These experiments were conducted in plats under 

 conditions which conform as closely as possible to good farm practices. 



PLAT EXPERIMENTS. 



The plats used in these experiments were 8 rods long by 1 or 2 

 rods wide, containing either a twentieth or a tenth of an acre each. 

 The rows were 132 feet long and 42 inches apart, each row repre- 

 senting approximately 0.01 of an acre. In some cases 10 rows 

 constituted a plat, and in others 5 rows. In sowing the seed the 

 rows were made longer than 132 feet, and when the plants were 

 about 1 foot high the ends of the rows were trimmed to the proper- 

 length. Each plat was bordered on either end by a road, but the 

 sides of the plats adjacent to the roads at the ends of the series were 

 protected by guard rows from undue influence from that source. 



CROP ROTATION. 



The crop rotation practiced on the experimental area for at least 

 the past six years has been cowpeas, small grains, and grain sorghums, 

 in the order named. 



METHOD OF SEEDING. 



A 2-row corn drill fitted with special sorghum plates was used 

 for sowing the crop in all these experiments. Seeding was done at 

 a rate heavy enough to insure a thick stand under normal conditions, 

 with the idea of obtaining a stand sufficient for these experiments 

 if the conditions were unfavorable. Occasionally, the desired stand 

 was not obtained. When the plants were from 6 to 10 inches high 

 the plats were thinned by hand, wherever possible, to the stands 

 desired. 



METHODS OF OBTAINING DATA. 



The data on plant and stalk spacing and on the occurrence of 

 suckers and heads were obtained by actual counts of the plants, 

 stalks, and heads in all the rows of each plat for which such data 

 are presented. The percentage of suckers is determined by dividing 

 the difference between the number of stalks and the number of 

 plants by the number of stalks. The percentage of erect heads in 

 Dwarf milo is determined by dividing the number of erect heads by 

 the total number of heads produced, and the percentage of headed 

 stalks is the number of stalks that bore heads divided by the total 

 number of stalks in the plat. The growing period as given here is 

 the total time elapsing from seeding until the crop is ripe. The 



