BREEDING MILLET AND SORGO FOR DROUGHT ADAPTATION. 9 



DAKOTA AMEER SORGO, A NEW FORAGE VARIETY. 



The name Dakota Amber is here proposed for the strain A. D. I. 

 No. 341-10-4, which is a selection from Minnesota Amber (S. D. 

 No. 341). This strain of sorgo is of a distinct type and comes true 

 when not crossed with other forms of sorghum. It most nearly re- 

 sembles the Minnesota Amber type, but it is more dwarf in habit of 

 growth and is 15 days earlier in maturing than the Minnesota Amber 

 variety. The plants are slender, 4^ to 5 feet high, bearing 3 to 5 

 stems nearly equal in height; leaves 7 or 8 per stem; panicle rather 

 compact, 5 or 6 inches long; seed oval, cinnamon color; 1 glumes 

 black, shining, with slight hairiness at base. 



This variety is valuable on account of its earliness, excellent forage, 

 and good seed production. It will mature perfectly at the Belle 

 Fourche Experiment Farm, Newell, S. Dak., in 90 days. This sta- 

 tion is in latitude 44° 42' N., and has an altitude of 2,900 feet. It is. 

 probable that this variety will mature wherever Northwestern Dent 

 corn will ripen. 



The forage, on account of the fine stems and comparative leafiness, 

 is of excellent quality. The stems are uniform and equal in height. 

 Each stem produces a seed head, or panicle, which makes a ripening 

 field very uniform in appearance. The leafy character of the variety 

 is well shown in Plate II, figures 1 and 2. 



In the latitude of Kansas and Nebraska the larger types of sorgo 

 (Red Amber, Orange, and ordinary Minnesota Amber) will, no doubt, 

 produce larger crops than this dwarf variety (Dakota Amber). 

 Throughout the Dakotas and Montana, however, and at higher alti- 

 tudes farther south in the Great Plains, this early variety is likely 

 to prove a valuable addition to the few forage crops grown there. 

 The yield of this variety can be increased, where drought is not too 

 severe, by planting somewhat thicker than is recommended for the 

 larger varieties. Thicker planting compensates for the small size of 

 the individual plants. 



The seed production of this variety is remarkably good. Under 

 average conditions of moisture supply it will produce from 15 to 25 

 bushels of seed per acre. At Akron, Colo., in 1912, under rather 

 unfavorable conditions, the yield of seed was 14 bushels per acre, 

 while at Newell, S. Dak., on soil that was fallow the previous season, 

 the yield in 1913 was over 28 bushels per acre. It is an easy matter, 

 therefore, to increase the variety and secure seed for forage planting. 



In perfectly clean seed of Dakota Amber sorgo there are about 

 26,000 seeds per pound, but in ordinary seed, which contains a large 

 proportion of hulls, there are about 16,000 or 18,000 seeds per pound. 



1 Ridgway, Robert. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, pi. 29. Washington, 1912. 

 14648°— Bull. 291—16 2 



