28 BULLETIN 976, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



plant. The four intermediate rates ranged from 4.5 to 9.4 inches 

 to the plant. In 1916 the first five rates ranged from 2.1 to 7.5 

 inches of row space to the plant in the different rates. The sixth 

 rate was abnormally thin, averaging 26.4 inches of row space to the 

 plant. In 1917 the rates ranged from 3.1 to 12.2 inches of row 

 space to the plant. In 1918 the thick rate had 1.5 inches of row 

 space to the plant and the thin rate 12.7 inches, with the four inter- 

 mediate rates ranging from 2.5 to 6 inches of row space to the plant. 

 In 1919 there were only five rates, the first two plats having the 

 same stand. The thick rate had a stand of one plant to 2.7 inches 

 of row space, while the thin rate was abnormally thin, averaging 

 one plant to 22.6 inches of row space. In the three intermediate 

 rates the row space to the plant ranged from 6.5 to 16 inches. 



The average stalk space in the different rates does not show the 

 wide range that the plant space does. This is due to the difference 

 in the number of suckers produced, the thin rates having the larger 

 number. The percentage of suckers varies from year to year, but 

 usually increases as the stand decreases. 



The percentage of erect heads ran high in most plats in all the 

 years. Thin stands have a tendency to produce pendent heads, 

 though conditions during heading time influence their production. 



The total crop yield ranges from 7,730 pounds from the rate with 

 4.5 inches of row space to the plant in the favorable season of 1915, 

 to 900 pounds from the 12.7-inch rate in 1918. It varies greatly 

 from the different rates in the same year, and from the same rates 

 in different years. In the favorable seasons of 1915 and 1919, the 

 thicker rates produced best, while in the less favorable seasons of 

 1914, 1916, and 1917 the thinner rates yielded highest. The high 

 grain yields can not always be correlated with high total crop yields. 

 This may be due in part to the development of suckers. A produc- 

 tion of suckers which do not develop heads may increase the total 

 crop yields, but the percentage of grain may then be less than in 

 cases having fewer suckers and a higher percentage of stalks bearing 

 heads. To determine the best rate of seeding it is necessary to study 

 averages which cover a series of years. These are shown in Table 

 XIII. 



The annual and average acre yields of Dwarf milo in rows spaced 

 7 feet apart are shown in Table XIII. Four rates are here repre- 

 sented. In the first or thick rate, the space per plant ranges from 

 2 to 3 inches in the different years; in the second rate, from 4 to A.\ 

 inches; in the third rate it is approximately 6 inches; and in the fourth 

 it ranges from 8 to 12 inches. 



Seasonal conditions play an important part in the grain yields. 

 In the four years from 1914 to 1917, which include one fair, one good, 

 and two poor seasons, the average is in favor of the thin rate. In the 



