48 



BULLETIN 836, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



pounds, green weight, produced 142 pounds, or 32.2 per cent of cured 

 brush. From these data it is apparent that broom corn harvested 

 in the dough stage gives a higher percentage of cured brush than 

 when it is harvested at either the flower or milk stage. To obtain 

 the highest yield of cured brush, therefore, broom corn should be 

 allowed to reach the dough stage before it is harvested. 



In 1917 the harvesting experiment was conducted on an area of 

 0.36 of an acre, which was divided into three equal and uniform 

 portions. The broom corn was harvested from one portion of 

 that area in the flower stage, from another in the milk, and from 

 the third portion in the dough stage. Owing to unfavorable grow- 

 ing conditions the crop was nonuniform in heading, which made 

 necessary several successive harvestings to get the heads as they 

 reached the desired stages of maturity. Counts were made of the 

 heads when harvested. Then they were thrashed and put on shelves 

 in the shed to cure. After the brush was cured the* dry weights 

 were obtained. From these weights the number of heads to the pound 

 of cured brush was determined for each stage, as shown in Table 

 XXIII. 



In 1918 broom corn was harvested at two stages only. Unfavor- 

 able climatic conditions prevailed at heading time, which made head 

 development slow and nonuniform, and no harvesting was done at 

 the flower stage. Later, heads were harvested in both the milk and 

 dough stages of development. These lots were harvested on the 

 same day and from the same rows of broom corn, as both stages were 

 present at the same time. After harvest the experiment was con- 

 ducted the same as in 1917. The 1918 results are shown in Table 

 XXIII. 



The results from the experiment in all three years tend to show 

 rather conclusively that the highest yield of cured brush will be 

 obtained when harvest is delayed until the seeds are in the dough 

 stage. 



Table XXIII. — Data from the broom-corn harvesting experiments conducted at 

 the Woodward (OkJa.) Field Station in the seasons of 1911 and 1918. 





Year and stage of development. 



Heads 

 har- 

 vested. 



Cured brush. 





Total. 



Heads per 

 pound. 



Season of 1917: 



Flower 



Number. 

 3,549 

 3,472 

 3,200 



811 

 546 



Pounds. 

 53.0 

 60.5 

 58.5 



18.3 

 15.6 



Number. 

 67.0 



Milk 



57.4 





54.7 



Season of 1918: 



Milk 



44.3 





35.0 









