62 BULLETIN 981, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



It is quite probable that in time we shall have recognized grades of 

 Sudan grass seed, applying equally well to all strains of the grass, if 

 differing strains are actually developed. Stipulations such as were 

 adopted by the Chicago Board of Trade June 20, 1916, for timothy seed 

 might be applied to Sudan grass seed. These require " prime " seed to 

 be "good average color, clean, sound, not too much hulled, and reason- 

 ably free from foul or foreign seed." Descriptions of the grades of 

 Sudan grass seed would need to be more definite, but these descrip- 

 tions would necessarily have to be similar to those already found 

 satisfactory for other grass seeds by the trade. 



When grades are established they should indicate, in addition to 

 more closely defining the color requirements, the definite percentages 

 of inert matter and foreign seed allowable in each grade. Sudan 

 grass seed grades, to be useful, must be based on some such specifica- 

 tions as follows : 



(1) Condition of seed. 



(a) Color: Bright and free from discolorations due to weathering or disease. 



(b) Plump, sound, and dry. In condition for storing. 



(2) Purity of seed. 



(a) Inert matter: Reasonably free from dirt, broken stems, etc.. the percent- 



ages allowable in different grades to be specified. 



(b) Foreign seed : The percentages of weed seed allowable in different grades 



to be given and certain dangerous weeds, like Johnson grass, to be spe- 

 cifically named, the presence of such seeds to be considered cause for 

 classing the sample as "No grade. ' ' 



BREEDING FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT. 



Considerable work has been done at the different agricultural ex- 

 periment stations in breeding Sudan grass; but so far little progress 

 has been made in producing a new strain that seems likely to prove 

 more valuable than the Sudan grass as it came direct from Africa. 

 Dwarf strains with finer, more leafy stems have been segregated from 

 the parent variety, but these dwarf strains yield less than the pure 

 Sudan grass. Larger, coarser strains were obtained by crossing Sudan 

 grass with sorghum. These coarse-stemmed hybrids make higher 

 yields than pure Sudan grass, but the hay therefrom is poor in qual- 

 ity, and such forms are not able to compete with sorghum and corn 

 as fodder and silage crops. 



Considering these facts, one of the best opportunities for success 

 seems to lie in the development of a grass sorghum like Sudan grass, 

 able to resist the attacks of red-spot, or sorghum blight. In attempt- 

 ing to develop such a strain many crosses of Sudan grass with Tunis 

 grass, tabucki grass, and Kanlerun grass have been made. Not 

 enough work with these hybrids has been done to warrant a state- 

 ment as to their value. Several of these hybrids look promising from 

 a forage standpoint, but the work so far has been done in southern 



