12 BULLETIN 291, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
YIELDS OF EARLY AND LATE TYPES OF SORGO UNDER CONDITIONS OF DROUGHT. 
There is no doubt that the later and larger growing varieties of 
sorgo will produce a greater tonnage of forage in a favorable season 
than the smaller forms, but in a dry season the earlier kinds are likely 
to produce the larger crop. The advantage of an early variety was 
shown at the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm in 1913, where two 
types of sorgo were grown under different conditions of soil moisture. 
The two sorgos compared were Red Amber, which is late in maturing 
in this locality, and Dakota Amber, a very early variety. They were 
grown under two conditions of soil moisture: (1) On plats which 
produced millet the previous season and were entirely exhausted of 
any stored moisture, and (2) on plats which were fallow in 1912 and 
were in excellent moisture condition at the time of planting. The 
total dry matter produced is shown in Table VI. 
Table VI. — Forage production of early and late types of sorgo under conditions of limited 
and of ample soil moisture supply at Newell, S. Dak., in 1913. 
\ 7 arietv. 
Red Amber (late maturing) 
Dakota Amber (early maturing) No. 341-10-4. 
Air-dry forage per acre 
(pounds). 
Series A; 
moisture 
limited. 
1,500 
2,150 
Series B ; 
moisture 
ample. 
7,600 
4,500 
The plats which had been in millet (series A) suffered considerably 
from lack of moisture and were harvested August 25, 79 days after 
planting, the plants having by that time reached the limit of their 
growth. The plats which had been fallowed (series B) contained 
available moisture throughout the season and were harvested Septem- 
ber 11, 96 days after planting. At this time the seeds of Dakota 
Amber were fully mature, while the seeds of Red Amber were in the 
early dough stage. Under conditions of drought the early strain 
produced 43 per cent more air-dry forage, but where both were 
enabled to approach maturity under favorable conditions of moisture 
the later strain produced the larger crop by 69 per cent. 
COMPARATIVE YIELDS OF SORGO, MILLET, AND OTHER ANNUAL 
FORAGE CROPS IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 
The farmer will desire to know which of the two crops here dis- 
cussed is the more profitable under dry-land conditions and also how 
they compare in value with other annual forage crops which are 
suitable for growing in the Great Plains. Variety tests conducted 
in the Great Plains region by the Office of Forage-Crop Investigations 
of the Bureau of Plant Industry 1 have shown that the saccharine 
i Vinall, H. N. Annual forage crops for the dry lands. In Jour. Amer. Soc. Agron., v. 5, no. 3, p. 176- 
181. 1913. 
