2 BULLETIN 188, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
years, 1907 to 1914, inclusive, was only 24.4 bushels per acre. It is 
during years when the rainfall is low that milo shows a marked 
superiority over corn and oats, and it is probable that the figures 
given above do not do justice to milo. The results obtained at the 
experiment farm and by farmers who have given the crop a fair trial 
indicate that grain sorghum can be made a highly satisfactory grain 
crop in the San Antonio region if the proper varieties are grown 
and the necessary cultural methods are followed. 
CAUSES OF UNSATISFACTORY YIELDS. 
SORGHUM MIDGE AND THIN STANDS. 
One of the chief difficulties encountered in the production of the 
gram sorghums in the vicinity of San Antonio has been the sorghum 
midge. It has been found, however, that by using reasonably 
quick-maturing varieties and planting them early a good crop can 
be produced before the midge appears in sufficient numbers to do 
serious damage. This matter has already been made the subject of 
a publication. 1 
There are still numerous instances in which the yields have been low 
on certain farms. From the observations made on these farms, and 
also at the experiment farm, it appears that unsatisfactory yields are 
due, in many instances, to thin stands. Thin stands frequently 
result from thin seeding, which the farmers practice in the belief that 
with the low rainfall of the region thick seeding is not advisable. In 
this section thin stands permit excessive tillering or branching of the 
plants, and this results in delayed and nonuniform maturity. The 
thin stands and unsatisfactory maturity appear to be chiefly responsi- 
ble for the low yields. 
The tillers and branches of sorghum plants flower and mature 
later than the main stalks. The successful production of sorghum in 
the midge-infested regions depends upon the crop getting past the 
flowering stage before the midge appears. Earliness is of prime im- 
portance. As is shown in the results obtained in 1913, there may be 
years when there will be no great increase in yield from thick seeding. 
This was due to the fact that even the late-flowering heads were 
mature before the midge appeared. On the other hand, when, 
because of unfavorable weather conditions or for other reasons, plant- 
ing is so delayed that the crop is in flower at about the time the 
midge appears, as was the case in 1914, uniform flowering is of prime 
importance if good yields are to be expected. 
TILLERS AND BRANCHES. 
All sorghums, when widely spaced in the row, produce an abundance 
of tillers and less frequently branches under the same conditions. 
Tillers are produced at or near the surface of the ground and appear 
when the plant has reached a height of only a few inches, but their 
i Ball, C R., and Hastings, S. H. Grain-sorghum production in the San Antonio region of Texas. 
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 237, 30 p., 1912. 
