30 BULLETIN 698^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. ] 



very coo], wet weather during the last three weeks of August, which I 

 was coincident with the first half of this period. The duration of the ■ 

 total growing period is about 105 to 110 days under Panhandle con- • 

 ditions. The shortest duration of the growing period was 91 days, ■ 

 in 1914, and the longest was 119 days, in 1915. The first was a dry ! 

 season, marked by much reduced yields; the second a very wet | 

 season in which enormous yields were obtained. i 



The average row space intended for each plant of milo under ' 

 Panhandle conditions is about 6.5 inches. Approximately this spac- ; 

 ing has been obtained three times in the 9-year period, in the ; 

 years 1912, 1913, and 1916. In the four years, 1908, 1909, 1914, and j 

 1915, the spacing has varied between 9 and 16 inches, while in the '. 

 other two years, 1910 and 1911, the stands obtained were very thin, : 

 the plants being 26.3 and 20.9 inches apart, respectively, in the two ■ 

 years. The average spacing of plants dui'ing the nine years has been ' 

 13.7 inches. The stands vary somewhat with the conditions at sow- ; 

 ing time. Either a cold, wet spring or an extremely dry soil may 

 reduce germination and consequent stand. Dry soil was the cause : 

 in 1910, but the exact cause in 1911 is not known, as the stands of ' 

 Dwarf milo and BlackhuU kafir were not markedly reduced that i 

 year. i 



The average stalk space is determined by conditions occurring ' 

 during the progress of the early vegetative period and influencing : 

 the production of suckers. The average space in inches per stalk \ 

 varies less than the space per plant, which shows the adaptation of j 

 these plants to equahze stand by means of tillering. The average 

 stalk space in all plats in the nine years has been 5.7 inches, and i 

 only once has it appreciably exceeded 7 inches. This exception was \ 

 in the year 1910, when the same drought that lowered germination j 

 also inhibited excessive tillering. The percentage of suckers in i 

 the total number of stalks varied from 37.3 in 1913, when a thick ! 

 stand was accompanied by a dry growing season, to 66.7 per cent j 

 in 1915, when a fairly thin stand and excessive moisture both con- i 

 duced to abmidant tillering. In five out of the nine years, more than i 

 half the total stalks were suckers. In three of these years the yields I 

 were below normal. In the 9-year period 52.3 per cent of the i 

 total number of stalks were suckers. It is a question whether the I 

 free tillering of mdo is wholly an advantage. Were it less pronounced j 

 the crop probably could make better yields in seasons of deficient | 

 moisture. The average height of milo under conditions obtaining in 

 the Panhandle is about 4 feet. 



The average of erect heads in milo in eight years was 86.9 per 

 cent. . Practically no heads were produced in 1913. The lowest 

 average was 61 per cent, in 1908. In four of the eight years more 



