UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1386 
Washington, D. C. ▼ July, 1926 
SOME PANICLE CHARACTERS OF SORGO 
HORACE B. COWGILL, Assistant Agronomist, Office of Sugar Plants 
Bureau of Plant Industry 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction 1 
Review of the Literature 3 
Characters Useful in Classifying and Identifying Types and Varieties 7 
Description of Plant 8 
Vegetative Portion 8 
The Inflorescence 9 
Characters of the Vegetative Parts 10 
Characters of the Panicle 10 
The Peduncle 11 
Contrasted Panicle Characters 11 
Length, Furrowing, and Color of the Axis 13 
Pubescence of the Axis 14 
Branches of the Panicles 14 
Pubescence of the Branches 15 
The Fertile Spikelet 15 
The Sterile Spikdet 25 
Varietal Groups 28 
Descriptions of Varieties 30 
Effuse Group 30 
Contracted Group 32 
Compact Group 34 
Literature Cited 36 
WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1926 
