KAFIR AND DURRA 



KAFIR AND DURRA 



385 



as dura, durrah, durrha, dourah, doura, dhurra, 

 dhoura, dhura) is applied to all tall-growing suc- 

 culent crops, whether maize, sorghum, or others, 

 and subordinate specific names are used with it to 

 designate special kinds. The word milo is a corrup- 

 tion of the Latin milium, a name that has long 

 been applied to various plants that are commonly 

 known as millets. - 



Cultivation of kafir and durra. 



By E. G. Montgomery and C. W. Warburton. 



Kafirs and durras all come from rather dry, or 

 semi-arid regions. All are considered drought-re- 

 sistant, are similar in general appearance, and are 

 cultivated principally as forage crops. While the 

 kafir is principally grown for forage, it unquestion- 

 ably has great value as a grain crop in semi-arid 

 regions. In Kansas, in 1899, about one-seventh of 

 the acreage was grown for grain, the remainder 

 for forage. 



Habits of growth. 



The plants average four to seven 

 feet in height, are erect, with rather 

 thick and short-jointed stems, and very 

 compact heads ten to twelve inches in 

 length. The rOots do not extend so 

 deep as those of maize, but the root 

 system is somewhat more dense in the 

 upper eighteen inches of soil. Few of 

 the roots are more than three feet 

 deep. Kafir extracts soil moisture to a greater 

 extent than maize, because of its long-continued 

 growth in the fall. A valuable characteristic of the 

 plant in dry regions is its ability to cease growth 

 and remain dormant for several weeks during a 

 period of drought. When hot, dry winds come, the 

 leaves will roll up and the plant may remain with- 



extent. The culture has had rapid development in 

 Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California. Kafir and 

 durra are peculiarly adapted to the drier sections 

 of these states, owing to their ability to withstand 

 hot summer winds and long droughts. They have not 

 proved popular north of the 42d parallel, as none 

 of the varieties mature satisfactorily that far north, 

 while in the inore humid regions east of the Missis- 

 sippi river other forage crops seem more desirable. 



The culture of kafir probably reaches 1,500,000 

 acres at present. Its development was especially 

 rapid in the period from 1893 to 1899, when some- 

 what dry conditions prevailed in the Great Plains 

 region. In that period the production increased in 

 Kansas, which has always been its greatest pro- 

 ducer, from 46,000 acres in 1893 to 618,000 acres 

 in 1899. 



Two state experiment stations have made care- 

 ful tests of the grain and forage produced in com- 

 parison with maize, with the following results : 



'^' 



Fig. 580. 

 Yellow milo (or ' 'milo"). 



out growth for weeks. When rains come again, 

 growth is resumed normally. If the crop is cut the 

 stalks will sprout again, in the South, and produce 

 a second and perhaps a third crop. 



Distribution. 



The growing of kafir and durra in the United 

 States is very recent, at least to a commercial 



B25 



*Average for six years, 1894 being excluded. 



The above results were obtained under conditions 

 too dry to be favorable for maize, as is indicated 

 by the yields. Under conditions most favorable to 

 maize, the kafir is usually at a disadvantage. The 

 weight of a bushel of kafir is fifty-six pounds. 



Varieties. 



The three principal varieties of kafir are Red, 

 White, and Blackhull. The principal difference 

 in appearance is in the color of seed and hulls, 

 from which the names are derived. White kafir 

 usually averages four to five feet in height under 

 fair conditions. Red kafir grows six to eight inches 

 taller, and yields more fodder and grain. The 

 seed-coat, however, has an astringent taste, mak- 

 ing it less desirable for stock-food than grain from 

 the white variety, which is not astringent. Black- 

 hull kafir produces a yield of grain and forage 

 about equal to the Red kafir, and the grain is not 

 astringent, and therefore is considered by many to 

 be the more desirable. 



The leading varieties of the durra group are the 

 Yellow milo. Brown durra, White durra or Jeru- 

 salem corn (rice corn, Egyptian corn). 



Yellow milo is grown rather extensively in some 

 sections, especially in western Oklahoma and the 

 Panhandle of Texas. It matures in about two 

 weeks less time than kafir, and hence can be grown 

 at higher altitudes and farther north than can 

 that crop. The grain of Yellow milo is larger and 

 more brittle than kafir, and hence is more easily 

 masticated by stock. This crop is cultivated in 

 every way the same as kafir. It is seldom grown 



