UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 383 , 



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Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief. 



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Washington, D. C. 



August 15, 1916 



NEW SORGHUM VARIETIES FOR THE CENTRAL 

 AND SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 



By H. N. ViNALL, Agronomist, and R. AV. Edwards, Scientific Assistant, Office 

 of Forage-Crop Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Description and adaptation of the new vari- 

 eties of sorghum 2 



Dwarf hegari 3 



Improved feterita 4 



Dwarf feterita 4 



White milo 



Schrock kafir 7 



Comparison of the field records of the new sor- 

 ghum varieties 8 



Value of the varieties in different portions of 



the Great Plains 10 



Region adjacent to Chillicothe, Tex 10 



Region adjacent to Amarillo, Tex 12 



Region adjacent to Hays, Kans 12 



General conclusions 13 



INTRODUCTION. 



New varieties of sorghum are constantly appearing, and nearly 

 every year one or more are exploited. In many instances these are 

 well-known forms masquerading under new names, but there are 

 also a large number which are truly different from those in common 

 cultivation. One prolific source of these new sorghums is the cross- 

 pollination which takes place naturally between different varieties. 

 The sorghums being open fertilized and the pollen readily carried 

 by the wind, there is abundant crossing between varieties whenever 

 two kinds which are being grown in adjoining fields come into bloom 

 at the same time. Occasionally, also, new strains are brought over 

 from foreign countries by friends or relatives of residents of the 

 United States. In addition to the varieties which arise in a more 

 or less spontaneous manner, a large number have been introduced 

 for trial through the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, 

 and many are created in the breeding work of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and the State agricultural experiment 

 stations. 



Among the resultant host of new forms, remarkably few are found 

 of sufficient value to compete successfully with the best standard 



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