m3 
UNITED " 
STATES DEPARTMENT, OF AGRICULTURE 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER. January 25, 1916 
BREEDING MILLET AND SORGO FOR DROUGHT ADAPTATION. 
By A. C. Dillman, Physiologist, Office of Alkali and Drought Resistant Plant 
Investigations. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
The place of millet and sorgo in the agricul- 
ture of the Great Plains 1 
Adaptations to drought in millet and sorgo. . 2 
Climatic conditions 3 
Breeding millet for adaptation to drought ... 4 
CONTENTS 
Page. 
Breeding sorgo for adaptation to drought 8 
Comparative yields of sorgo, millet, and other 
annual forage crops in the central and 
northern Great Plains 12 
Water requirement of millet and sorgo 15 
Conclusions 18 
INTRODUCTION. 
In the course of investigations which have as their object the per- 
fection of methods for testing the comparative drought resistance of 
crop plants and for breeding drought-resistant varieties, two strains 
of millet and one of sorgo have been developed. These strains give 
evidence of being more uniform, more productive, and better adapted 
to the climatic conditions of the north-central Great Plains than the 
varieties generally grown in that region. The object of the present 
publication is to point out those characteristics of the new strains 
which indicate their value to dry-land agriculture in the Great Plains 
region. 1 
THE PLACE OF MILLET AND SORGO IN THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 
GREAT PLAINS. 
It is becoming more and more evident that successful farming in 
the Great Plains must include the raising of live stock. The estab- 
i By cooperative arrangement with the Office of Forage-Crop Investigations these strains will be tested 
at numerous dry-land stations in comparison with other varieties of the same crops, in order that their 
relative merit and range of geographical adaptation may be fully ascertained. It seems desirable, however, 
to publish an account of them at this time, since they give every indication of being superior to the ordinary 
commercial varieties of sorgo and millet which are now grown in the northern portion of the Great Plains 
area. 
The earlier results of these investigations have been reported in a previous publication, which also 
gives fuller details of the plant-breeding methods. See Dillman, A. C, Breeding drought-resistant forage 
plants for the Great Plains area, U. S. Dept Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 196, 1910. 
14648°— Bull. 291—16 1 
