SORGHUM VAEIETIES FOR THE GREAT PLAINS. 13 



varieties, aJthough Dwarf hegari and feterita made small yields of 

 forage, as did also the Dwarf kafir. Insects completely destroyed 

 the plantings of Dwarf milo, this variety appearing especially sus- 

 ceptible to the attacks of both chinch bugs and grasshoppers. 



In 1914, which was an average season but with several periods of 

 rather acute drought, feterita. White milo, and Dwarf kafir made 

 especially good yields of grain and fair yields of fodder. The high 

 grain yields of feterita and Dwarf kafir may have been partly due 

 to the thin stands of these two strains, but this can not be offered 

 as a reason for the good showing of the White milo. Dwarf hegari 

 produced a good yield of fodder, but the seed yield was rather low. 



In the season of 1915, which was very cold and wet during the 

 spring and early summer, all the sorghums started poorly and had 

 to be replanted. The cold weather was disastrous to feterita and 

 retarded the growth of the kafirs to such an extent that they failed 

 to mature fully before frost, BlackhuU kafir and Schrock kafir 

 being in the milk stage and Dwarf kafir in the soft-clough stage when 

 frost came. Dwarf hegari. White milo, and Dwarf milo made almost 

 equally good yields of grain, but the milos both outyieldecl Dwarf 

 hegari in fodder. The quality of Dwarf hegari fodder, however, is 

 considerably better than that of the milo, so that the advantage of 

 the milos in this feature is more apparent than real. In the averages 

 for the two years, White milo appears to be much the best from a 

 grain standpoint, while Dwarf hegari, feterita, Dwarf milo, and 

 Dwarf kafir, averaging about 10 bushels less in grain yield than 

 the White milo, are approximately equal to it and to each other in 

 forage yield. From these results one must conclude that the best 

 general-purpose sorghum for this region is Dwarf kafir, since the 

 fodder is much superior to that of the milos or feterita (fig. T). 

 For a purely grain sorghum, White milo deserves a more extensive 

 trial, especially in the northwestern part of Kansas, southwestern 

 Nebraska, and eastern Colorado. Ordinary BlackhuU kafir and 

 Schrock kafir, although more leafy and perhaps producing a better 

 quality of fodder than Dwarf kafir, are not early enough in maturing 

 to warrant their growth in western Kansas. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



Schrock kafir has been introduced in the tabulation (Table I) 

 merely because of the interest which has been aroused in it and to 

 provide data to answer questions regarding its comparative value. 

 It will be seen that its long growing season prevents it from being a 

 success at Hays, Kans. Farther south, however, at both Chillicothe 

 and Amarillo, Tex., it made good yields, and in 1915 it was the 

 highest yielding sorghum at Woodward, Okla. Even with such results 



