SUDAN GEASS ,AND RELATED PLANTS. 2 



venient width of cultivated rows. Moisture, seed, and cultur 

 equipment are the chief factors to be considered in deciding upc 

 the exact method. 



Because of its smaller size Sudan grass seed should be plantc 

 shallower than sorghum; usually from half an inch to 1^ inches deep 

 best on moist or heavy soils, while from 1 to 3 inches is better on dj 

 or lighter land. Planting deep in loose or dry soil often secures betti 

 conditions for germination, but does not seem to have any appr 

 ciable effect on the depth at which the Sudan grass plant forms i 

 root system. In some tests at the Arlington Experimental Farm, Ve 



Fig. 17. — The effect on the seedling of planting Sudan grass seed at different depths. From left to rig 

 (1) half an inch, (2) linch, (3) 1J inches, (4) 2 inches, (5) 3 inches. 



seeds planted from half an inch to 3 inches deep all produced plan 

 with the crown just beneath the surface of the ground. (Fig. 17.) 



Experiments to permit exact comparisons of results from differei 

 planting methods under widely varying conditions were begun i 

 1913. Data for work extending over one to four years at each < 

 23 agricultural experiment stations are presented in Table IV. 



Table IV shows that no one method has given uniformly superk 

 yields in any region. The plant's vigorous root system exhausts s 

 completely the available plant food and moisture in rows of an 

 width here reported that yields usually bear a definite relation only t 

 factors of climate, soil, and culture. 



