MINOR CEREALS 



135 



growth. This group of plants is thus of vast importance as grain 

 crops for the southern portion of the semi-arid plains region. Between 

 1899 and 1909 the acreage in the United States of kafir and milo grown 

 for grain increased from 266,000 to 1,635,000 acres. 



Most of the grain sorghum produced in the United States is grown 

 in the Great Plains region, east of the Kocky Mountains, extending 

 from southwestern Nebraska to northwestern Texas, a limited amount 

 also being grown in Arizona, Utah, and California. Thruout much of 



Fig. 39. — Heads of Different Types of Grain Sorghums 



From left to right: 1 and 2, yellow milo; 3, white Kaoliang; 4, brown Kaoliang; 

 5, feterita; 6, red kafir; 7, pink kafir; 8, black-hulled kafir. (From Breeder's 

 Gazette. ) 



the grain sorghum belt these crops are more sure, and, even on good 

 soil, give larger yields than corn. The grain sorghums commonly 

 yield 25 bushels per acre, with maximums of 75 bushels for kafir, 46 for 

 milo, and 80 for feterita. 1 



Grain sorghums as feeds. — The non-saccharine, or grain, sorghums 

 include kafir, milo, feterita, kaoliang, and the less important durra and 

 shallu: The seeds of the various sorghums are similar in composition, 



i Piper, Forage Plants, p. 273. 



