8 CIRCULAR 4 21, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



ing. The average 5-year yield of the delayed-seeding wheat was 2.8 

 bushels per acre. The corresponding group of plots seeded at the 

 normal time produced 7.0 bushels per acre. The destruction of a 

 crop of weeds did not compensate for the lower yield resulting 

 from later seeding. 



Corn produced an average yield of 14.3 bushels of grain per acre. 

 This is lower than the yields of small grains. However, in most 

 years corn produced a fair yield of stover, which gives it a value 

 beyond its grain production. Corn fits into rotation practice well, 

 and yields of grain following corn are generally above the average. 



Sorgo produced an average yield of 4,159 pounds per acre. This 

 is far above the yield of any other forage crop. Sorgo has proved 

 to be a valuable feed for beef cattle and an excellent feed for horses 

 and other livestock. It apparently deserves a place of much higher 

 importance in the agriculture of the section than it now occupies. 

 The factors that seem to limit the acreage in this section are the 

 necessity for careful cultivation of land to eliminate weeds before 

 planting and the danger of livestock being poisoned by pasturing 

 on the stubble in the fall. In spite of these drawbacks, the acreage 

 of sorgo, the most productive feed crop, could be increased mate- 

 rially to the advantage of the country. 



Experiments described on other pages show that the yields of 

 grain following sorgo are nearly as high as those following corn. 

 The value of sorgo as a crop not relished by grasshoppers was demon- 

 strated in some sections of western South Dakota in 1931. 



The average yield of second-year and third-year alfalfa was 1,517 

 pounds per acre. The yield of third-year alfalfa was higher than 

 that of second-year. The average second-year and third-year yield 

 of bromegrass was 1,372 pounds per acre. The yield of third-year 

 bromegrass was sharply lower than that of second-year bromegrass. 

 Neither alfalfa nor bromegrass proved adapted to short rotations, but 

 alfalfa appears to be much better fitted for use in permanent fields. 



Growth of medium red clover was discontinued in 1922, after it 

 had clearly demonstrated its lack of adaptation to the section. 



Second-year sweetclover averaged 1,638 pounds of hay per acre 

 during the period 1920-32. During the same period alfalfa aver- 

 aged 1,187 pounds per acre. Sweetclover is not adapted to growth 

 in permanent fields as a hay crop, because it is a biennial. It fits 

 into rotation practice much better than alfalfa. Its chief value in 

 this section, particularly on lighter soils, is as a pasture crop in the 

 same field with native grasses. At certain stages of growth the 

 sweetclover is readily eaten by livestock, but sweetclover alone does 

 not make a desirable pasture for dairy cows. 



Potatoes produced an average yield of 83.1 bushels per acre. The 

 average percentage of marketable tubers did not exceed 70. In 

 heavy soil, like that at the Ardmore station, the growth of potatoes 

 beyond the quantity needed for home use is not justified. On lighter 

 soils potatoes have been much more productive. 



Great Northern beans were grown only 3 years. In one of these 

 years a fair yield was obtained. The other 2 years beans were a 

 failure, but yields of other crops were also low. Further trials are 

 necessary to determine if bean production offers a possibility of 

 success. 



