{loan 91.2 “o, 195: floi/o Sorghum Production i/o Zeros TEXAS, AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION R. D. LEWIS. DIRECTOR. COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS lNf COOPERATION WITH THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONTENTS y Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . y Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utilization oi Sorghum Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feed ior Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use as Human Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. _; Industrial Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sorghum Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a Land Preparation, Planting and Cultivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v . . . . . ..-. » Date oi Planting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rate oi Planting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .< Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.» _ Fertilizer Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54. * Irrigation Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Harvesting. Drying and Storage . . . . . . . _ . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , Harvesting oi Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . a Drying and Storage oi Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 Sorghum Diseases and Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..l Sorghum Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seed Rot and Seedling Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . Sorghum Leai Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Sorghum Smuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . .. _ Root and Stalk Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..l Sorghum Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soil-iniesting Insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Insects Attacking Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . p . . . . ., Insects Attacking Stored Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. y Seed Treatment ior Disease and Insect Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 V Sorghum in Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . .._l Early History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. l » Sorghum Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Early History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Mechanization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .l History oi Sorghum Hybrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. _ ‘A Recommended Varieties and Hybrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W p The Sorghum Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2_ Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I v Leaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ \ Adaptation . . . ." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' \ Eiiect oi Climate on Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. 2 V Reproduction in Sorghum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 26L Normal Blooming and Fertilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 23 Male-sterility and Cross Pollination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 26 Cytoplasmic Malelsterility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 _Maniiestations oi Hybrid Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . .- 27? Sorghum Seed Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .y . . . . . . . . . .30- Production oi Seed oi Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30; Production oi Hybrid Seed '. . . . .y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Production oi Seed oi Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..3l§ Female Parent . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31“ Male Parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Sources oi Parental Seed ior the Seed Grower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3l .1 Isolation oi Parental and Seed Grower Crossing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 31 ‘_. Oiitype Plants in Sorghum Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 a ' Plants Due to Cross Pollination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32; Abnormal Plants Not Due to Cross Pollination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32‘ Sorghum Breeding Obiectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 i Sorghum Hybrid Breeding Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34; General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Development oi A Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35". Development oi R Lines f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._.3§ _v Other Sources oi Information . . . . . ._ . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .» . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 k SUMMARY l Grain sorghum is the second crop in Texas in money value, being exceeded only by cotton. Sorghum a grain crop in the United States is exceeded in production only by wheat and corn. As a world food -~- sorghum ranks third. being exceeded only by rice and wheat. In 1956 and 1957, sorghum occupied g- rcent of the harvested crop acreage in Texas. Annual grain sorghum production in Texas has been more 100 million bushels five times since 1949 with a maximum production of 238 million bushels in 1957. The jage annual monetary value of the crop in Texas since 1949 has been 130 million dollars. _ Sorghum is grown on substantial acreages for grain in about 135 Texas counties. The large area of entrated production is the High Plains. The Rio Grande Plain around Corpus Christi. including Nueces, » Patricio and Refugio counties, also is intensively planted to grain sorghum. Other counties with 20 ~ 0 thousand acres of grain sorghum are scattered on the Rolling Plains, Blackland Prairie, Gulf Coast l- 'e and the Rio Grande Plain. a The chief use for sorghum grain in the United States is as feed for poultry, cattle, sheep and swine. grain, which contains 12 percent protein, 3 percent fat and 70 percent carbohydrates, compares rably with corn as a feed grain. The starch from sorghum grain can be used for food products, ives and sizing for paper and fabrics. I j Cultural practices for sorghum are similar to those required by other row crops such as cotton and v The method of seedbed preparation and later cultivation depends largely on the soil, climate and l kind of equipment available. In the more humid areas of the State, sorghum is planted in the top eds, but, in the drier areas, it is planted in the bottom of a lister furrow. The optimum depth of planting ‘- out 2 inches. The amount of cultivation required is determined larqgL by rainfall, with a cultivation " w: fo . - - . - trol after each rain. Texas planting dates range from February in the south to Iune ‘ e north. Fall plantings can be made in South Texas. Planting rates vary from 2 to l0 pounds of seed . acre. 1 Many Texas soils will produce a profitable crop of sorghum grain without the addition of plant food, but soils are deficient in one or more of the three major plant nutrients. The value of a grain sorghum -- on dryland does not justify a large outlay for fertilizer. However, any existing deficiency should be ected, otherwise production will be low. Where water is available for irrigation and high yields are ed, fertilization usually is profitable. _ Although sorghum is a drouth-tolerant crop, it responds well to supplemental irrigation. Under irrigation, hum will use rainfall equally as well as irrigation water. In most of Texas, rainfall will provide half ‘more of the 21 to 23 inches of water needed for large yields of sorghum grain. LThe sorghum grain crop is threshed from standing stalks with a combine, usually before frost. In the er areas of the State, the moisture content of grain threshed from green stalks frequently is low enough allow immediate storage of grain without drying. In the more humid areas, however, it usually is ary to dry the grain before it can be stored safely. Information on equipment and methods of storing _ drying sorghum on the farm or in commercial elevators is available. i Diseases and insects which attack sorghum in Texas are described briefly in this publication. Seed ents for the control of some disease and insects are available. Y Sorghum has been grown in Texas since about 1857. Only forage and sirup varieties were available first, but grain varieties were being grown before 1900. Sorghum improvement in Texas began in 1904. r important grain varieties were first headed by hand, but since 1940 shorter varieties of combine height I e been grown. The problems of hybrid seed production in sorghum were solved recently and hybrids e grown widely for the first time in 1957. Since hybrids produce more grain than varieties, it is presumed they will replace the varieties. ever, until farmers accept hybrids and hybrids to meet all needs are produced, some varieties still recommended. Recommended varieties and hybrids for the three Texas regions are shown in Figure 9. y Sorghum is a species of tropical origin, but is cultivated now in latitudes as high as 40 degrees and at f‘ udes as high as 5,000 feet. Sorghum is a “short day" species, but many of the varieties grown in the ted States are relatively insensitive to photoperiod. The time of heading in sorghum is influenced by ‘perature as well as by photoperiod. and sorghum varieties vary in their sensitivity to both temperature photoperiod. For this reason, varieties that head together at one location may not do so at another. e Sorghum normally is self-fertilized as normal flowers are perfect, but both genetic and cytoplasmic e-sterility exists within the species. The occurrence of male-sterility allows the easy production of rid seed. ;_ Grain hybrids now grown are characterized by earliness, a slight increase in height and tillering and <1 bstantial increase in grain production. I Methods of pr duction of seed of varieties, of male and female parents of hybrids and of hybrids are j ribed. ‘l g Several kinds" of offtype plants are found in sorghum fields. The most objectionable are due to lamination with pollen from an undesired source. The number of offtype plants of this kind can j reduced by growing seed fields with sufficient isolation. A few abnormal type plants are not the result cross pollination and are described briefly. Sorghum breeding continues with the intention of improving the crop for the farmer, feeder and industrial Breeding objectives are described. Breeding methods that can be used to improve the crop or to produce parents of sorghum hybrids are "bed. “ . Q HUTCHIN- ROBERTS SON .63»;- 0' glL O Q WILBAR- GER Q MOTLEY Q COT TLE Q DICKETQS ARCHER CQQKE BMW" FANNIN O MONTAGUE GRAYSON O T"R°°"' uum uovxms MORTON STONE — KENT Q DALLAS wooq . PALO PINTO PARKER VAN l-lARRiSON FlSHEa Q ZANDT mur- gum Q QURRY Q H000 JOHNSON . ELLIS Q 0/ . ' g \»< NAVARRO O . MEL . _ ‘ comm: s - enown ./ .'5°5°“E -/\- . _ FREE- ‘Wémvuuou - Lug- \ SYONE _ ‘ . \ McLENNAN 51'0"; ' , \o 0 EASTLAND JAYLOR Q HENDERSON ANDREWS ERATH . agino STER~ LING GLASS- COCK COKE WINKLER ECTOR LOVING nuosvem cuussasou . ‘ O cam: UPTON REAGAN . . “Mus W convum E - muou TWO corzervo - v . ' . ' LEON REEVES cnizu SAN \ 0 . . O nus . _ . . . - _ Z . . Sh“ BEL r. ROBERT- ./ “W”. ' Q . Q Q SON - roux nun / a .. BURNET I ~ / ' PECOS JEFF DAVIS ‘x SCHLE ICHER WALKER MENARO MiLAM Q °“°°"E" mason LLANO SAN Q JAMIIIO KIMBLE SUTTON \ O aumco 1n . ' S cuesmc ‘"5 O \ L55 You u MyAQASTROPX/ y. ‘. ‘j ' ‘(AYETTE ‘ - ¢QMAL ‘nanny. / Q . Q . - ' >.. COLORADO , / TERRELL ‘ AUSTIN KERR HARRIS BREWSTER VAL VERDE EDWARDS PRESIDIO a aanoemx ' FORT . /-. I esuo ‘ r . sank. 9 wmuALEXLAvAcA / . \ . KINNEY UVALDE Q . O _ _ WHARTON Baum“ _/ WILSON / \ . . ' _ S 9 O ' ' oswnr \_ \ . Q Q w‘ Q . MATADORDA Z AVAL A Q . - Q rmo ATASCOSA Ywmss Q ¢ - GOLIAD O LA SALLE MAVE RICK UMIMT ¢ \ as: MULLEN "WE 0.1x . O ' GRAIN SORGHLJVM ACREAGE I954 "STATE TOTAL - 5,6l7,407 I DOT I 5000 ACRES JTM WELLS KENEDY neuns 1. A nrs-rnmunon or GRAIN SORGHUM ACREAGE m TEXAS. 1954. THE COVER PICTURE A grain sorghum seed grower crossing field on the High Plains oi Texas. The hybrid produced was Texas y HE SORGHUM SPECIES includes grain sorghum, i sweet sorghum, Sudangrass and broom- ‘I but this bulletin is concerned only with 'n sorghum. 7 Sorghum is thought to have originated in “ca. It was known in ancient times since a _'ng depicting sorghum was found in an . rian ruin dating from 700 B. C., and there » records of sorghum in India in the first g ury A. D. Statistics on world production of sorghum are equate, but the total area devoted to the crop ' grain production is thought to be more than million acres. It is the chief food grain in _ of India, China, Manchuria and Africa. It '2 own on all the continents below latitudes of degrees and on many of the islands of the East West Indies. As a world food grain, sorghum "s third, being exceeded only by rice and t. A-s a grain crop in the United States, A hum is exceeded in production only by wheat ~ corn. §__ Sorghum is the second crop in Texas from the dpoint of money value, being exceeded only by a n. Excluding Sudangrass, sorghum was é on 26.8 percent of the total harvested crop ‘age in Texas during 1946-57. In 1956-57, it e up 37 percent of the Texas harvested crop g ge and its harvested acreage the latter year »= larger than that devoted to cotton. Sorghum is grown for grain, forage, silage, mcorn, pasture, starch and sirup. Prior to j , the acreage harvested for forage exceeded t for grain, but since that time, the acreage for grain has exceeded that grown for ige. The upsurge in grain production that n in 1941 resulted from thedemand for grain y ng World War II, the development of adapted ,'n sorghum varieties that could be harvested elopment of sorghum hybrids. There have been wide fluctuations in grain hum production because of acreage controls ‘cotton and wheat, seasonal conditions unfavor- e for the planting of cotton or wheat, and to 1:! 2., gpectively, agronom st and superintendent, Substation . 12, Chillicothe, Texas; associate agronomist, in : ge of sorghum investigations, Substation No. 8, Lub- , Texas; research agronomist, Crops Research Di- 'on, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department Agriculture, Substation No. 12; assistant agronomist, satation No. 12 ; and agronomist emeritus, Substation ily with a combine, and, more recently, the I firain Burg/mm Production in Kai/as l. R. OlllNBY, N. W. KRAMER, I. C. STEPHENS, K. A. lAHR and R. E. KARPER * abandonment of wheat acreage. Restrictions on the planting of cotton and wheat in 1950, 1954 and 1955 resulted in an increase in grain sor- ghum culture to 6 million acres. Crops of 2% and 4 million acres were grown when acreage re- strictions were removed from wheat and cotton in 1951, 1952 and 1953. Annual grain production has been more than 100 million bushels five times since 1949, with a maximum production of 238 million bushels in 1957. The average annual monetary value of the sorghum grain crop since 1949 has been 130 million dollars. Average acre yields of grain have been 20.5 bushels since 1941 and 13.9 bushels during 1930- 41. This increase in acre yield is due partly to" the expansion of sorghum acreage grown under irrigation. Sorghums are grown on substantial acreages for grain in about 135 Texas counties. Only five counties were without some acreage of sorghum in 1954 when an agricultural census was taken, and in these counties there is little cultivated land. The large area of concentrated production is the High Plains. The Coastal Bend area around Corpus Christi, including N ueces, San Patricio and Refugio counties, also is planted intensively to grain sorghum. Other counties with 20 to 70 thousand acres of grain sorghum are scattered on the Rolling Plains, Blackland Prairie, Gulf Coast Prairie and the Rio Grande Plain. For convenience in recommending varieties and dates of planting, Texas is divided into three regions (Figure 9). Region 1 consists of the High Plains, which includes the Panhandle wheat- sorghum area and the South Plains cotton- 8.0 7.0 6.5 5.5 5.0 4,5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 MILLIONS OF ACRES LO TTTUTTIIIIIIIIIII O LIIIIIIIJIlllllllllllllllllll I929 1935 I940 I945 I950 I955 YEAR FIGURE 2. GRAIN SORGHUM ACREAGE IN TEXAS. 1929-57. 5 sorghum area. More than 1 1%; million acres of grain sorghum were reported under irrigation in this region in 1955. The principal areas within region 2 where sorghum is an important crop are the Rolling Plains, the Grand" Prairie and the Blackland Prairie. In all of these areas, cotton is an important crop and sorghum, small grains and corn are the grain crops. The important farming areas within Region 3 are the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Rio Grande Plain, Coastal Bend cotton area and Coast Prairie. In all of these areas, cotton is an important crop and sorghum and corn are complementary grain crops. UTILIZATION OF SORGHUM GRAIN Feed for Livestock The chief use for sorghum grain is as feed for poultry, cattle, sheep, swine, horses and mules. The grain, which contains about 12 percent pro- tein, 3 percent fat and 70 percent carbohydrates, compares favorably with corn as a feed grain. Sorghum grain contains slightly more protein but less fat than corn, and can be substituted for corn for almost all classes of livestock. Grain of the present sorghum varieties, like white corn, con- tains no vitamin A. Use As Human Food Sorghum grain is not used as human food in Texas, but about 75 percent of the world crop is eaten by humans. In parts of India, Africa and China, sorghum grain is the most important cereal. A large part of the cultivated land in much of India is planted to sorghum for human food and the grain is eaten in some form at each meal. The use of sorghum grain for human food in the United States could be expanded greatly if the need arose. Dextrose sugar and sirup from the wet milling industry are used in foods, par- ticularly canned fruits. The oil extracted fr the embryo of the grain is suitable for salad oi A “sugary” gene,» similar to the one thatp A duces sweet corn, is available in sorghum. Duri, World War II, a dessert similar in taste a quality to tapioca was manufactured from a W3,‘ type of sorghum starch. Theipure food laws p vented calling the sorghum“ product tapioca, .1 the manufacturer is again using imported sava starch. Pop sorghum is a desirable c0. fection. ‘ ? Industrial Uses A Sorghum grain always has been a potent source of industrial raw materials, but it was n, until World War II that it became widely us for anything except livestock feed on the fa where it was grown. Sorghum grain contaif more protein (16.5 to 11.5 percent) than do corn. The starch content of grain sorghuy (73 to 63 percent) is about the same as that it corn, and the starch is similar to corn starch. seed-coat of sorghum contains a wax similar If carnauba wax that is used in making polishes f furniture and shoes and in making carbon pape a sealing wax, electrical insulation and other u. ucts. Processing grain sorghum as a source grain alcohol began during the war and, in 194 a the alcohol industry used 2 billion pounds, nearl half of which went into industrial alcohol. Small amounts are used similarly at present. . The starch from grain sorghum can be for food products, adhesives and sizing for papeli and fabrics. The grits obtained from th_ endosperm can be used in brewing just as co . grits and broken rice are used. A wet-milling plant at Corpus Christi, with p I yearly capacity of 6 million bushels of sorghunfi grain, manufactures starch, dextrins, dextrose, FIGURE 3. THE BLUEBONNET PLANT OF THE CORN PRODUCTS REFINING COMPANY. CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS. i- rose sirup, edible oil, several by-products and livestock feeds. Plants at Plainview, Texas, Dodge City, Kansas, are using a dry-milling ] ess to produce a livestock feed and a low pro- flour which can be substituted for starch in ~- uses. - _ SORGHUM CULTURE d Preparation. Planting and Cultivation Cultural practices for sorghum are similar to ’: required by other row crops such as cotton '~ corn. The method of seedbed preparation and ': cultivation depends largely on the soil, ate and the kind of equipment available. The F. tractor and much of the same equipment _; used to plant and cultivate all the different t crops on the same farm. The cultivated rows ally are 36 to 42 inches apart, but in many es, a 40-inch row is becoming standard. Land preparation usually is done as soon as ible after the preceding crop has been ' ested. Land is prepared in the fall in a large T of the State, but, in parts of West Texas, “ esting is not completed until winter sets in i land preparation is delayed until the early p’ g. Land may be prepared in a number of i s, including breaking with a disc or mold- ' d plow, subsurface tillage, bedding and re- ‘ ing with a lister or large sweeps, discing and eling, or combinations of these methods. The in is planted so that the land is free from ds behind the planter. In the more humid areas of Texas, sorghum lanted in the top of beds, but, in drier areas, nting is done in the bottom of a lister furrow. optimum depth of planting is about 2 inches “ sorghum seed should not be covered by more n 3 inches of soil. The amount of cultivation ietermined largely by rainfall, with a cultiva- a necessary for weed control after each rain il the sorghum plants are large enough to sup- b: Weed growth by competing for light, mois- ' and plant food. Two or three cultivations l ally are made. Cultivation consists of loosen- 2' the soil in the middles to a depth of 2 or 3 1_ es, uprooting weeds that appear in the middles f) covering small weeds that emerge in the ls. Cultivation should cease before the plants i, in the boot stage. Destruction of roots at any f: is detrimental to the crop. Sorghum " uently is cultivated the first time with a harrow irotary hoe, or with a sled cultivator with ves that slice through the beds and small eps that throw soil to the young plants. Later tivations usually are made with sweeps. Sor- a m stands better when soil is thrown to the ts to give the stfalks support. £j‘Many acres of sorghum in the Panhandle are in with a grain drill and Weeds are controlled , a harrow or rotary hoe, or with applications ..2,4-D. 2,4-D, which controls most broadleaved g- can be used if there is no cotton or other susceptible crop in the vicinity. The herbicide is applied when the sorghum plants are 4 to 12 inches tall. Date of Planting Texas stretches 700 miles from south to north and the frost-free period varies with latitude and altitude. In the Coastal Bend area, killing frosts are likely to occur only in December, January and February. Farther south killing frosts may not occur even in those months. At the northern boundary of Texas, the average frost-free period extends from about April 1 to November 1. The frost-free period in South Texas is 275 days or more and in the Panhandle about 215 days. Aver- age frost-free periods as short as 175 days occur in the extreme northwestern part of the Pan- handle. Grain sorghum varieties grown in Texas mature in 90 to 120 days from planting. A wide range in planting date is possible since not more than half of the frost-free period is needed to pro- duce a crop. Sorghum plants are influenced great- ly by environment and parts of the frost-free period are more favorable to growth than others. Sorghum plants do not grow well at temperatures below 60° F. nor do the seed germinate well in cold soil. The favorable planting season for sorghum begins about February 15 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. February 25 to March 15 isthe favorable planting season in the Coastal Bend and March 1 to March 3O in the upper part of the Rio Grande Plain. March 20 to April 5 is the best planting season in the Temple area of the Blackland Prairie and March 20 to April 15 in the northern part of the Blacklands. In the Rolling Plains, almost equal grain yields can be expected from plantings made in April, May or June, al- though, in any one year, there may be a large difference in yield between plantings. It is not safe to depend on retaining sufficient soil mois- ture for planting later than June 20 in that area. Elevations are greater on the High Plains and temperatures are lower. For this reason, the favorable planting season on the High Plains be- gins about May 15, but higher yields of grain are produced from plantings made from June, 10 to June 25. In South Texas, fall sorghum crops gan be planted any time from July 1 to Septem- er 1. Hegari, Early hegari and Combine hegari are sensitive to short days and their growth differs greatly from early and late plantings. These varieties are too early in maturity if planted in the early spring in South Texas, but are grown for grain when planted after August 15 in the same area. Hegari is grown as alate-maturing grain and forage variety from May or June plant- ings throughout all of Texas. Early hegari is an extremely early-maturing grain and forage va- riety on the High Plains if planting is delayed until after June 20. Hegari should not be grown 7 FIGURE 4. PLANTING GRAIN SORGHUM ON THE HIGH PLAINS OF TEXAS. \.: I w- FIGURE 5. CULTIVATING GRAIN SORGHUM ON THE HIGH PLAINS OF TEXAS WITH 6- ROW EQUIPMENT. FIGURE 6. HARVESTING GRAIN SORGHUM ON THE HIGH PLAINS OF TEXAS. ias a forage variety in any part of Texas unless rplanting is delayed until about May 1 when the days become long enough to prevent early head- ing and low yield. Rate oi Planting It is impossible to make simple recommenda- tions concerning rate of planting because grain isorghum is grown on dryland and under irriga- tion, on soils of different fertility levels and varie- f, ties have seed of different sizes. Also, planting " rates are not determined solely by the resulting =1 yield. There is less loss of grain in combining 4 where there are no skips in stand and the heads > are small. About 6O to 70 percent of the planted i’ sorghum seed becomes established as seedlings under good average conditions. The planting of 1 pound of seed containing approximately 18,000 ‘ seed on an acre at Chillicothe over a 6-year period resulted in about one plant in each foot of row. Planting of 5 pounds per acre resulted in about f five plants per foot. Many young plants die if the stand is too thick. Recommended rates of plant- ing on dryland are 2 and 8 pounds per acre. Planting rates as high as 10 pounds per acre are used under irrigation or at favorable dryland ‘ locations, but much lower rates also are used. For grain production on dryland, a stand thicker than two plants per foot may reduce yields . in a dry year. Three pounds of seed on dryland a are sufficient on the Rolling and High Plains, but » rates up to 8 pounds per acre are used on the ' Blackland Prairie and in the Coastal Bend area. f Yields on dryland in some areas average about a 1,500 pounds of grain per acre. Yields under 7 irrigation vary from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds or more depending on the amount of water applied. A rule of thumb is to plant 1 pound of seed for each 700 pounds of anticipated yield. This figure . applies to plantings made in all row widths. On 1 the Rolling Plains, sorghum sometimes is grown i on dryland with every third row left unplanted. ., This method is an effort to reduce the number of ~ plants per acre and still have a solid stand within T the planted rows. ’ Dual purpose varieties, such as Texas Black- hul kafir, Hegari and Early hegari, are grown for Z both grain and forage. Planting rates of 3 to 5 I pounds per acre are recommended for these varieties. Rotations Sorghum readily follows other crops in a rotation, but it may have a depressing effect on the yield of wheat, oats or barley if these crops are sown soon after sorghum is harvested. The l depression of crop eiyields following sorghum is caused by the efficiency with which sorghum re- 1 moves moisture and plant food from the soil and by the fact that sorghum leaves large quantities of high-carbon residue on the land. Until this residue decomposes, the large numbers of micro- i organisms that are active in the oxidation of the l residue confine nitrogen within their bodies and this plant food is not available to plants until the microorganisms die. The depressing effects of sorghum on irrigated land may be overcome partly by applications of nitrogen fertilizers. The detrimental influence of sorghum on succeeding crops on dryland is re- duced by uprooting sorghum stubble soon after harvest and by delaying planting of the succeed- ing crop. Crops planted in May or June after sorghum are affected little, for by that time avail- able nitrates will have accumulated naturally and the soil moisture depletion caused by the sorghum crop will have been overcome with normal rain- fall. The depressing effect is not cumulative and normal yields of sorghum may be made year after year on the same land. Dryland crop rotation studies at the South- western Great Plains Field Station near Amarillo indicate that the acre yield of grain sorghum fol- lowing wheat is consistently higher than the yield of continuous grain sorghum. The total pounds of grain produced per acre in the 2 crop years of a 3-year wheat-sorghum-fallow rotation are essenti- ally equal to the total pounds of grain per acre produced in 3 years of continuous cropping. A~ wheat-sorghum-fallow rotation offers more sta- bility in crop production and is useful in con- trolling Johnsongrass and other weeds, and in reducing certain hazards associated with con- tinuous production. Fertilizer Requirements Sorghum grows well on all types of soil, but grows best on soils in good tilth with relatively high fertility. The amount of the common ferti- lizer elements contained in plants of a large grain sorghum crop is shown in Table 1. Usually only the grain is removed from the field and the nlxlitrients in the rest of the plant are returned to t e soil. Many of the Texas soils will produce profitable crops of grain sorghum without the addition of plant food, but other soils over large areas are deficient in one or more of the three major elements. Where water is available for irrigation and high yields are obtained, fertilization usually is profitable. On the more fertile dryland soils, water and not plant food usually is the limiting factor. The value of a grain sorghum crop on dryland usually TABLE 1. FERTILIZER ELEMENTS IN DIFFERENT PLANT PARTS OF GRAIN SORGHUM AT HIGH YIELD LEVELS Phos- Part of plant Yield Nitrogen phoric Potash acid -— — — Pounds — — — Grain 5.600 100 32 _' ' 17 Leaves 1.770 15 5 9 Stems 4.980 10 4 14 Roots 2.920 9 10 5 Total above ground 13.350 125 41 40 is not great and no large outlay for fertilizer is justified. However, any deficiency existing should be corrected, otherwise production will be low. Leaflets giving fertilizer recommendations for the various areas of the State are published each year by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. They may be obtained from the county agricul- tural agents or from the Agricultural Information Office, College Station, Texas. Fertilizer recom- mendations based on analyses of soil samples taken from the fields of any farm also may be obtained. Irrigation Practices Although sorghum is a drouth-tolerant crop, it responds well to supplemental irrigation. The amount of water required to produce maximum yields of grain sorghum is not a fixed value be- cause temperature, relative humidity, wind and soil moisture determine the rate of evaporation from the soil and of transpiration from the plants. In favorable seasons, the water requirement may be as loW as 16 to 18 inches. In hot, dry years, 24 inches may be required to produce maximum yields. In most years, 21 to 23 inches will be needed for high production. Sorghum under irrigation will utilize rainfall equally as well as irrigation water. In most of Texas, rainfall will provide half or more of the water requirement of grain sorghum, and irriga- tion practices should be planned to make good use of rainfall. There are several methods of irrigat- ing grain sorghum, but each serves the same purpose. The greatest grain yield per acre-inch of Water is obtained by providing adequate water for vigorous crop growth throughout the season on land supplied with all the necessary soil nutrients. Sorghum crops once in severe stress for moisture never produce as much grain as those not allowed to go into stress. Consequently, enough water to keep the crop growing continuously is desir- able. The grain sorghum plant begins to use Water at germination, but the rate for the first 2 or 3 Weeks of development is low, 0.05 to 0.10 inch per day. A peak use as high as 0.33 inch per day may occur during the late boot and early heading stage, but the water use rate will average about 0.25 inch per day from the boot through the dough stage. Preplanting irrigation is recommended in West Texas, but is hazardous in areas of higher winter rainfall. A preplanting irrigation can be made to provide field capacity storage to a depth of 5 or 6 feet if the soil profile is that deep. Ten to 12 inches of irrigation water would be needed to bring the water content of heavy soils 11p to field capacity to that depth if the soil is dry initially. Once these lower depths are filled, there Will be adequate water to supply the needs from those depths through the season. l0 ‘ The first irrigation should be planned nip 3 Weeks after planting if rainfall has not p plenished an appreciable portion of the 2 or; inches of moisture used by the sorghum crop. . this stage of growth, the available moisture _ the top 2 feet of soil should not be allowed to dr below 50 percent of storage capacity. At v- time, sorghum will remove;-0.25 inch per using 3 inches in a 12-day period. Irrigations th' will be needed every 10 to 14 days, or whene rainfall fails to maintain 25 to 50 percent available water in the top 2 feet, until the plan are in the dough stage. More frequent app]; tions will be necessary for sandy and shallow so", and during periods of extremely high tempe a tures. 5‘ In most seasons on fine textured soils, o :2 two irrigations after planting will be necessa if the root zone is near field capacity at planti‘ Timing of irrigations cannot be scheduled beca - rainfall is unpredictable. Generally, applicatioi of 3 1%; or 4 inches are adequate for the growi crop on clay or clay loam soils and 2 to 2 inches per application on sandy soils. Ov, irrigation is" detrimental to the crop and lig » irrigations are inefficient. Enough water sho . be applied at each irrigation to replenish . moisture deficit of the root zone or to ob field capacity to at least 2 feet. Limited irri, tions, either preplanting or seasonal, may ass a crop, but, unless the limited irrigation actua , meets the optimum Water requirements of t” crop, the grain yield per acre-inch of water , be reduced. The distribution of rainfall duri the growing season can affect greatly the Wate, use efficiency under limited irrigation. l Irrigated crops generally are planted in l beds or in very shallow furrows. Soil thrown plants in early cultivation leaves the middles lev_ or depressed. When irrigation becomes desirabl trenches are made in the middles so that wateri can be done easily and efficiently. i"? Fertilizers can be used to advantage in ma areas and will produce yields of 5,000 pounds u! more if irrigation water is managed properly. A? early irrigation may be desirable to bring the so in which the fertilizer is placed to field capaci so that plant roots may utilize the nutrients earl; , in the season. More detailed information on irrigating so ghum is presented in Bulletin 846, “Requiremeny of Grain Sorghum Irrigation on the High Plains. ' It can be obtained from the Agricultural Inform, tion Office, College Station, Texas. HARVESTING, DRYING AND STORAGE Harvesting oi Grain Most of the grain sorghum crop is thresh from standing stalks with a combine. The co bine harvesters used are the same as used _ harvest wheat and many other crops. Sorghu, ties differin the ease With which they can rvested from green stalks. A grower’s pre- nce of varieties depends not only on yield but ow the different varieties thresh and how stand up for threshing. Properly-adjusted bine harvesters are designed to thresh grain p a minimum 0f cracking and to remove all t The grain should be dry enough t0 store ly before combine threshing starts or facili- ',_fOI‘ drying should be available. The grain usually is hauled from the combine fester in trucks. If it is stored on the farm, it nloaded into storage bins by hand or by the ‘of mechanical elevators. Grain often is stored short periods of time on the ground in the . s, ‘in farmyards and at elevators if the crop is ested faster than it can be unloaded at ele- “rs for storage or shipment. Drying and Storage of Grain ‘ii-Most of the grain sorghum crop in Texas is ‘gbined before frost and while the plants are p. green. In the dryer areas of the State, the pisture content of grain threshed from green ks frequently is low enough to allow immediate rage of the grain without drying. In more i id areas, however, it usually is necessary to * the grain before it can be stored safely. This k be done by using unheated air to dry the grain the same bin in which it is stored. When grain is dried with unheated air, an air w ribution system should be selected that will pvide uniform distribution of air throughout the The drying equipment should provide a imum air flow rate of 4.5 cubic feet of air xminute per 100 pounds through an 8-foot 1th of grain. The fan should be set to push the gpuired amount of air through the grain. No attempt should be made to dry grain that contains excessive amounts of “trash.” As the bins are being filled, the grain should be dis- tributed evenly to prevent cracked kernels and “trash” from accumulating in spots. Grain should not be binned when it contains more than 20 percent. moisture. If the initial moisture content of the grain is as much as 17 to 20 percent, the bins should be filled to a depth of not more than 6 feet. Air is then forced through the grain until the moisture content in the top foot is reduced to 15 percent or less. More grain is then added and air continued to be forced through the grain until the moisture content in all parts of the bin is re- duced to 12 percent. If the moisture content is 15 to 17 percent, bins may be filled to a maximum depth of 8 feet. If it is below 15 percent, the bins may be filled to a depth of 10 feet. After grain is put into a bin, air should be forced through it continuously until the moisture content of the top foot of grain is reduced to 15 percent. When this level is reached, the drying is completed by pushing air through the grain only when the outside relative humidity is less than 80 percent (usually on clear, bright days). Even in continuous drying, the fan should be cut off dur- ing rains. After the grain is dry, aeration should be done as often as necessary during the winter to keep grain temperatures below 60 degrees F. Aeration is done by drawing air through the grain from the top of the bin downward. Aeration should be done during clear weather when the outside air temperature is 10 degrees F., or more, below the average temperature of the grain. A reasonably accurate average grain temperature can be de- termined by checking the temperature of the air leaving the bin. This can be done by placing a good quality thermometer in the duct between the i: FIGURE 7. A COMMERCIAL DRIER IN OPERATION IN THE COASTAL BEND. AREA DURING HARVEST OF THE GRAIN pnenum CROP. ll fan and the grain close to the bin wall. The odor of that air should be checked to detect any moldy or “off” odor which may have developed. In South Texas, grain not stored on farms usually is dried in commercial dryers before storage. These dryers use natural gas as a source of heat in most cases, and the moisture level is reduced to 12 to 13 percent, which allows safe storage of the grain. The cost of drying sorghum grain in these commercial dryers varies, but the most common rate is 3 cents per hundred pounds for each percent moisture above 13. Sorghum grain can be stored safely at 12 percent moisture content. Grain at a higher moisture content should not be put into storage unless drying or aeration facilities are provided. With aeration, grain can be stored safely with a moisture content of 13 percent. A- tight structure is essential to protect stored grain from the weather, insects and rodents. Storage bins should be located on well-drained sites to prevent leakage of moisture into the bot- tom of the bins. Storage structures should be clean before putting a new crop of grain into them. Bin walls and the area around the storage buildings should be cleaned and sprayed with a residual insecticidal spray. Frequent checks for insect activity should be made during the storage period and the grain be fumigated as often as necessary to reduce insect infestations. More detailed information is presented in Bulletin 885, “Research on Farm Drying and Storage of Sorghum Grain,” and Bulletin 888, “Drying and Storing Sorghum Grain.” SORGHUM DISEASES AND INSECTS Sorghum Diseases Four general types of diseases attack sor- ghum: those that rot the seed or kill the seedlings; those that attack the leaves and lower the value of the forage; those that attack the head and prevent the normal formation of grain; and those that cause root or stalk rots and prevent the normal development of the plant or cause it to break over and fall down before or after maturity. The diseases of sorghum and the organisms that cause them are described more fully in Farmers Bulletin 1959, “Sorghum Diseases and Their Con- trol,” of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. SEED BOT AND SEEDLING DISEASES Seed rot is most severe when the soil is cold after planting. For prompt germination of sor- ghum seed, the soil should be as warm as 70° F. When planting is done early, soil temperatures lower than 70° are encountered. At such cool temperatures, most seed-rotting fungi thrive and attack slowly-germinating seed and destroy them. 12 o" Fungal species of the genera Flusariu l Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Rhizoctonia, Penicillu and Helminthosporium invade and destroy r endosperm, the starchy tissue of the seed. Wh, the food supply is reduced or destroyed, the see ling will be retarded in growth and may emerge from the soil. In addition, certain speci =1 of Pythiztm attack the primary roots and th young seedlings do not get“enough food to becom well established. Fuswiunz moniliforme, besid rotting the seed, also attacks the primary roots seedlings and frequently attacks sorghum see lings at the surface of the soil, causing then; i rot and fall over. Penicillium oxalicum attacksét ‘ ' endosperm and retards germination, but it al, kills seedlings after they have reached the thir or fourth leaf stage. Although sorghum =~f frequently are blackened by spores of species v; Altewwwia in the field, this fungus has not bee‘ found to attack germinating seed. Damage from seed rot and seedling bligh may be reduced considerably by planting soun seed undamaged in the threshing process, and r1 seed treatment with a disinfectant. Th diseases are controlled most effectively by plan ing after the soil is warm enough for rapid germii nation. SORGHUM LEAF DISEASES High temperatures and humidity generall favor leaf diseases. Fungi that cause such di eases are present on all plants that reach turity, but seldom cause severe damage. How ever, damage from leaf diseases sometimes ' serious when climatic conditions favor their -; velopment. Leaf diseases may be caused bacteria or fungi. Some leaf spotting is caused a physiological breakdown of leaf tissues. When sorghum tissue is damaged, regard], of the cause, dead tissue becomes pigmented. color of the spots depends on the basic sap colo , of the host plant. Leaf spots (and seed spots) on plants with red glumes are reddish in color ; those on black-glumed plants are blackish; an- those on sienna or mahogany-glumed plants are tan. Pink kafir has red seed spots and reddis leaf spots. Blackhul kafir has brownish-black.- spots and Sweet Sudan has tan leaf spots. l‘ Bacterial leaf diseases occur in the Unit’, States wherever sorghum is grown, but usually u‘ not cause serious losses. When conditions for é: diseases are favorable, however, a large part the leaf surface may be infected, the forage valu _ of the crop may be impaired and the seed may not fill properly. J Three bacterial leaf diseases of sorghum arg‘ common: bacterial stripe caused by Pseudomonas, andropogoni, bacterial streak caused by Xam thomonas holcicola and bacterial spot caused by. Xanthomonas syringae. -i ;Eight leaf diseases, caused by as many dif- ent fungi, are found on sorghum in Texas. se diseases and the fungi that cause them, Rough spot, Ascochyta sorghina - Anthracnose, Colletotrichum graminicolum Leaf blight, H elminthosporium turcicum Zonate leaf spot, Gleocerospora sorghi Y’ Gray leaf spot, Cercospora sorghi I Target spot, Helminthosporium sorghicola I Sooty stripe, Ramulispora sorghi Rust, Puccinia, purpurea Recommended control measures are seed treat- ‘nts, the use of resistant varieties and sanita- n. Johnsongrass is present in most sorghum- ‘ducing areas and serves as an inoculum res- ,_ oir for many sorghum diseases, thus reducing f- effectiveness of many control measures. -| SORGHUM SMUTS i The three smuts of sorghum in the United tes are covered kernel smut, loose kernel smut d head smut. l Covered kernel smut is caused by the fungus, hacelotheca sorghi, and causes serious damage. F ause it is not safe to assume that seed are tirely free from smut, and because resistant T rieties of all types are not available, seed treat- “ nt always is advisable. f. Loose kernel smut, caused by the fungus hacelotheca cruenta, is much less common than ered kernel smut. Certain varieties of sor- um are immune from or resistant to loose kernel ut, but many others, including Sudangrass and hnsongrass, are susceptible. Loose kernel smut, ides being seed-borne and able to infect sor- um seedlings, also can infect late sorghum y: when spores are dispersed, and cause utty heads on otherwise healthy plants. Seed tments to control covered" kernel smut also control loose kernel smut. Varieties resistant ‘ one of these smuts are not necessarily resistant v the other smuts. » Johnsongrass is attacked frequently by a f=- uliar type of loose kernel smut caused by hacelotheca holci. This smut differs in several pects from that ordinarily found on sorghum. A also attacks some common sorghumwarietles. e disease is not a serious one on ordinary sor- ‘ . The spores are short-lived, but the smut gtlwinters in the rhizomes of J ohnsongrass and iuently all the J ohnsongrass in an area is in- ; ted. Such infected Johnsongrass plants pro- ce smut galls in place of seed when the plants ‘ - growing slowly in the spring and the fall. ring the summer, ‘Johnsongrass will produce ~ abundant seed crop from the same infected ' omes because the Johnsongrass stems grow fpidly and produce seed before the sloW-grow- 1 fungus reaches the heads. Head smut, caused by the fungus Sphacelothe- i reiliana, attacks sorghum and Sudangrass. The disease has been recognized in the United States since 1890 and was reported by Taubenhaus’ in 1920 as being serious in the Panhandle. The disease became less troublesome there in later years because the varieties grown generally were resistant. Recently the disease has become serious in the Coastal Bend area. The disease is present 1n other areas of the State and is a major threat. Head smut can be distinguished from the kernel smuts by the fact that it destroys the entire head. Because this smut fungus is soil-borne, sor- ghum grown from clean seed planted in infested so1l may be attacked. In harvesting a badly-in- fested field, smut spores come from a combine 1n a black cloud.. The use of resistant varieties may be the only feasible means of ‘control. ROOT AND STALK DISEASES The most serious root and stalk diseases of sorghum are Periconia root rot, weak-neck and stalk rot. The last two diseases do not become apparent until sorghum plants are mature or approaching maturity. Periconia root rot (milo disease) is caused by the fungus, Periconia circinata, and has been found in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona and California. When the disease suddenly became widespread during 1930- 40, resistant strains were developed quickly and distributed. Losses of 50 to 60 percent can be expected whenever a susceptible variety is grown on infested soil. Fortunately, such losses can be avoided if precaution is taken to purchase seed of resistant varieties. The disease apparently does not damage sorghum on land not previously cropped to a susceptible variety. Most of the varieties grown at present are resistant, but susceptible strains still are in the hands of farmers in areas where the disease has not oc- curred. Crop rotation is not effective in control- ling Periconia root rot because the fungus per- sists in the soil for 7 years or longer. Weak-neck has become a serious farm problem in some areas since the advent of combine harvest- ing of grain sorghums. Weak-neck causes the heads to break over at the base of the peduncle, the heads fall to the ground and are missed by the combine. Sorghum grain is not combined until it is dry enough to store and by that time the base of the peduncle of many combine varie- ties has become dry and spongy. During a period of wet weather, water runs down the peduncle beneath the leaf sheath, the base of the peduncle rots and becomes limp, and the heads break over when pressure is exerted by the wind. Weak-neck is a varietal characteristic. Varie- ties such as Midland have a rachis (central stem of the head) and a peduncle that remain green and sappy and the variety is not subject to Weak-neck. However, this variety is combined after frost ‘Taubenhaus, J . J. Diseases of Grains, Sorghums, and Mil- 12%? alrggoTheir Control in Texas. Texas Agri. Exp. Bull. l3 when the head is dry and is difficult to thresh when harvested before frost while the head still is green. For this reason, Midland is rarely grown south of Kansas. In some varieties, the-rachis tends to dry out, permitting combining while the peduncle is still green but, under some conditions, peduncles of all varieties dry out and the heads may break over. Weak-neck usually causes much less damage than the other stalk rots. Four fungi are known to cause stalk rot of sorghum. The diseases ‘caused by these fungi are known as charcoal rot, fusarium stalk rot, col- letotrichum stalk rot and rhizoctonia stalk rot. When a stalk rot becomes serious, the onset of the disease usually has been preceded by unfavorable growing conditions caused by drouth or extreme heat. Fusarium stalk rot infection has been seen to follow injury to sorghum roots by the sugar- cane rootstock weevil, Anacenthflnus deplanatus. Other kinds of injury to the roots or to the stalks close to the ground level allow invasion of the plants by fungi. The symptoms of stalk rot may vary with the cause and location of the initial infection. In- fections in the middle or lower parts of the stalk, especially when they occur throughwounds near the base of the stalk, usually are most destructive. External symptoms of such infections at first may consist of a water-soaked appearance of the stalk or streaks on its surface and in the veins of the sheaths and leaves. Infected plants usually pro- duce poorly-developed kernels, ripen prematurely and the stalks lodge after collapse of the stem close to the ground. In some cases, however, stalk rot occurs so late in the life of the plant that there is normal seed development and there are few external symptoms until the plant falls. In- fection of the stalk causes water-soaked or dis- colored pith, or both, and a streaking of the vascular bundles and fibers. The roots of affected plants usually appear water-soaked and discolor- ed, and frequently the tips of the diseased roots are dead. " Charcoal rot is caused by the fungus, Macro- phomina phaseoli, and is a most destructive dis- ease. The occurrence of the diseases is unpre- dictable, but it usually is associated with soil and weather conditions that subject the crop to ex- treme heat or drouth during the fruiting period. Injury usually is not apparent-before the plants approach maturity when there is premature ripening of grains and a drying of the stalks followed by lodging. Diseased stalks become soft at the base, the pith disintegrates and the separated vascular fibers have a shredded ap- pearance. After a timelthe vascular fibers in the collapsed area of the stem become covered with small black sclerotia that look like black pepper or charcoal dust. Sclerotia are plowed into the soil where later they may germinate and infect the roots of any of 30 or more different species. Fusarium stalk rot is caused by the fungus, Fusarium monzliforme. Symptoms of this disease 14 usually appear following the onset of a dro The fungus apparently gains entrance to the s I at or near the ground level or through the r near the base of the stem. The disease progre until the pith is entirely destroyed and only » vascular fibers are left in the base of the st Fusarium stalk rot is similar to charcoal stalk a except that no tiny black fruiting bo I (sclerotia) are present. *- Rhizoctonia stalk rot is caused by the fun =' Rhizoctonia salami, which also attacks cotton f several other crops. The vascular bundles of I ghum plants are attacked first by the two f mentioned previously, but the rhizoctonia fun‘ first attacks the pith. Large brown sclerotia l formed on the outside of the stalk. Colletotrichum stalk rot, which is severe broomcorn, is caused by the same fungus, C letotrichum graminicolum, that causes anth‘ nose on the leaves. The stalk-rot phase of i disease usually is preceded by the anthracn. stage. The fungus enters the stalk dir ‘ through the rind and spreads rapidly throu out the conducting tubes and vessels of the pla This interferes with the movement of water solutes and results in undeveloped heads I seeds. Diseased stalks break over at the base. Definite methods for control of the four s A rots are not known. Resistant varieties offer a chief hope of reducing losses caused by th There is some resistance in some sorghum va . ties to charcoal, fusarium and colletotrichum" s’ rots but no variety is immune. Breeding w_ to produce resistant strains is hampered by sporadic incidence of the diseases. I Sorghum Insects . Sorghum is attacked by a number of ins and considerable damage is done to the crop. '7 value of a dryland crop of sorghum is not gr, enough to justify a large expenditure to cont insects, but, fortunately, weather conditio parasites and predators usually keep most ins in check. Occasionally, however, some insect r lations must be reduced to prevent the destructi of or great damage to the crop. Sometimes sta are reduced by soil-infesting insects; a num_ of insects attack the stems, leaves and hea several insects eat the developing grain; and common insects of stored grain infest sorgh grain in storage. A SOIL-INFESTING INSECTS The larvae of several soil-infesting insects ; tack germinating seed and seedlings of sorgh , The wireworm, Agriotes sp., the false wirewo Eleodes opaca (Say), and the seed-corn mag Hylemya cilicrura (Rondani) attack germinat‘ seed, and the southern corn rootworm, DiG»bTOtf_ undecimpunctata howardi (Barb.), and W grubs, Phytlophaga spp., eat sorghum roots. ‘ i; also sometimes eat germinating seed. » f rge numbers of the insects mentioned may '1 ent in the soil without destroying stands of um unless germination and emergence is * A cold rain that delays growth allows time ”il-infesting insects to destroy seed and seed- Seed planted in soil" that dries out before eed germinate also are frequently destroyed j-jfew plants will emerge even after a rain. of the insecticidal seed treatments are of __protection to slowly-germinating seed. amage to roots by such soil-infesting insects e southern corn rootworm, the larvae of the ed cucumber beetle or white grubs, whose i; are June beetles, sometimes is serious, but is undetected. These insects usually are not ‘rous in land that has been planted to row Following wheat or some cover crops, ver, these insects may be numerous enough use noticeable damage. k 1's ATTACKING PLANTS number of insects attack sorghum plants ¥= ting the stems or foliage, sucking juices from ‘leaves, sheaths, heads or developing seed, or ting the developing seed. . he corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), is pread and all sorghum crops are damaged me extent. This insect also is known as the 7» bollworm. Eggs of this insect are laid on leaves if sorghum is not headed and the young ~ then feed on the curl and extensive damage _ he leaves results. If sorghum has headed, Y; are laid on the heads or peduncle and the , | s feed on the developing kernels. Predators lly destroy most of the worms, otherwise hum could not be grown profitably. {The lesser cornstalk borer, Elasmopalpus sellus, (Zell.), sometimes infests sorghum ts on sandy soil and occasionally damage is t enough to cause a crop failure. The bluish- n, brown-striped caterpillars feed on the es and roots of young plants and later bore .= the heart of the unfolding leaves. Infested ‘ts become much distorted and curled and will produce normal heads. The larvae usually are d close to the ground level and usually a dirt- 'red silken tube leads away from the tunnel in plant. Damage from this insect usually is ' only where the sorghum crop is grown more 1 1 year on infested areas or where it follows .r infested crops, such as cowpeas. * he ripening kernels of grain sorghum grow- in humid areas sometimes are eaten by larvae the sorghum webworm, Celama sorghiella ' ey). The caterpjllars are thickly-clothed with es and hairs andalre greenish with four red brown longitudinal stripes. The caterpillars ' be killed by a number of insecticides and trol measures frequently are necessary if the ae are numerous enough to be noticeable. erwise, all the grain in large fields might be jroyed. The southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grand- iosella Dyar, infests plants of some varieties of sorghum, particularly such rank and large-stalked varieties as Hegari. In infested stalks, the gray- ish white worms with dark brown spots usually are found in the stems a foot or more above the ground. This insect, which hibernates in the larval stage at the base of corn stems, has not been found to overwinter in sorghum stalks. The European corn borer, Pyrausta nubilalis (Hbn.), also damages sorghum, but has not yet reached Texas. The sugarcane rootstock weevil, Anacentrinus deplanatus (Csy.), has been found infesting sor- ghum in Texas in recent years. Invasion of plants by the insect is followed by invasion of stem-rot- ting fungi that cause the stem to collapse near the ground level and the plants to fall before harvest. When the insect is present in sorghum fields that are falling down, larvae, pupae or adult weevils are found in the base of the stalks. The presence of this insect in sorghum in Texas was recognized so recently that control measures have not yet been devised. Grasshoppers of many species attack sorghum and control measures are necessary if the insects are numerous. The insects move in from infested pasture land or uncultivated fence rows. Sorghum plants usually are at least 2 feet or more tall before the time of migration. The leaves of sor- ghum plants are eaten first and the leaves be- come progressively more ragged in appearance. until finally only the leaf mid-ribs remain. Grass- hoppers will eat developing sorghum grains. A grasshopper clinging to a sorghum head will eat the tops from 10 or 15 kernels. Most of these damaged kernels are lost in the threshing process. Grasshoppers can be controlled with a number of insecticidal sprays. The chinch bug, Blissus ieucopterus (Say), is a pest on many grasses, the cultivated small grains, corn and sorghum. Chinch bugs damage plants by sucking juices from them. The insects are relatively small, have a black body and white wing covers which are marked with a triangular black patch at the middle of their outer mar- gins. The insect give off a vile odor when crushed. This insect usually is not troublesome in Texas unless barley, which is a preferred host, is grown in the vicinity of the sorghum crop. When infested barley approaches maturity, large num- bers of winged adults will fly to adjoining fields of sorghum or even to fields several miles distant. The following generation of chinch bugs in the sorghum crop may be so "large that the crop will be destroyed if the insects are not killed. The growing pof barley in sorghum-growing areas should ‘be discouraged. There is some resistance to chinch bugs in some sorghum varieties. The true milos are highly susceptible to injury and are a preferred host. More damage is done to the sor- ghum crop if the plants are small at the time of migration of ~winged chinch bugs from barley. Because of this, it is possible to escape the most 1'5 severe chinch bug injury by planting early or late in the season so that sorghum will not be coming up when barley is maturing. Chinch bugs can be killed by several insecticides, but control meas- ures seldom are profitable. The corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), has a preference for sorghum and a few infested plants can be found in most sorghum fields. The aphids are particularily troublesome in broomcorn fields because the insects discolor the brush and lower its value. Aphids usually are found on the leaves that are growing from the whorl and frequently are numerous enough to make large areas of some leaves sticky with “honey dew.” Predators and parasites keep most aphid populations in check and heavy rains de- stroy many of the insects. Considerable damage is done by the insect, but usually no insecticides are used to control it. Red spiders, Tetranychus telamius (L.), infest sorghum, but the pest is a minor one and control measures, seldom are necessary. The false chinch bug, Nysis e/Wicea (Schill.), occasionally does severe damage to small areas of some sorghum fields. The insects, which resemble chinch bugs and smell like them, but are smaller and more slinder, arrive in swarms and settle on developing heads and grains of a few plants to suck plant juices from them. In- fested heads produce poorly-developed kernels. The insects can be controlled with insecticides, but usually the damage is confined to small areas in a field and poisoning seldom is practical. The rice stink bug, Solubea pugnax (Fabricius), sometimes is numerous enough to cause considerable damage to sorghum by sucking the juices from developing grains. The sorghum midge, Contarinia sorghicola (Cog.), damages sorghum severely at times. Sorghum cannot be grown successfully in an area if large populations of midge usually are present. The tiny, grayish to red, headless mag- gots of the sorghum midge consume the plant juices from the seed that have just begun develop- ment, the seed die and the heads continue develop- ment without any kernels being present. If mag- gots are present, squeezing the spikelets between the fingers will cause a red stain to exhude. If the infestation in the field is heavy, swarms of flies will be flying about the latest blooming heads in the field. No effort has been made to control this insect in sorghum fields with insecticides since the damage usually is done before the in- festation is recognized. Detailed information on the chemical control of insects attacking sorghum is given in L-261, “Guide for Controlling Insects on Corn, Sorghum, Small Grains and Grasses,” Texas Agricultural Extension Service. INSECTS ATTACKING STORED GRAINS A number of insects will attack stored grain and those that attack wheat, corn and other l6 cereals will infest sorghum in storage. Precauti should be taken to protect sorghum grain storage. Sanitation and fumigation are reco mended. Insecticidal seed treatments that of _ some protection to grain being held for seed -_ on the market. » Grain may become infested with stored-gr v insects in a number of ways. In southern ar some of the insects may be abundant in the fi a at harvest time and the grain already may I infested when it is harvested. Cracks or crevi . in grain bins, old grain, milled feeds, bags, trtgic g and boxcars are important sources of infestail The angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga w; elia (Oliv.) , is the most common of the moths festing grain. The adult moth may lay eggs ' grain in the field, or it may persist in old grain or around storage buildings and infest grain storage. The larvae live on the inside of ti kernels and emerge from them as adult moths t it lay eggs on the stored grain. *1 The rice weevil, Sitophilus oryza (L.) , liket angoumois grain moth, may lay eggs on grain _ the field, or it may spread from storage buildin or grain in storage. Although several 0th’ species infest stored sorghum grain, these two a’ most troublesome in Texas. 1 Combining the grain as soon as it is ripe p‘ dry will reduce field infestations to a minim Clean grain should never be stored in old if granaries and storehouses until they have t; thoroughly cleaned of the accumulations of w w‘ grain and other materials which might har‘ grain insects. The inside surfaces of bins sho j be treated with a residual insecticide before n _ grain is stored. Stored grain should be clean a" dry and should be inspected for the presence =.1_ insects at regular intervals, and fumigated Wh necessary. A Detailed information on the control of ins attacking stored grain is given in L-217, “Sto A Grain Insects.” Seed Treatment tor Disease and Insect Control Chemicals sometimes are applied to seed A, prevent their decay after planting, to cont‘ seed-borne plant diseases, to control storage ' sects and to kill insects that eat the seed a > planting and before seedlings can become j u tablished. The treatment of sorghum seed prior to pla ing has not become universal, but the practice a been increasing due to the increased cost of s‘ safer and more effective chemicals becom’ available and a larger part of the planting being purchased. Untreated seed of unkno origin should be treated with a fungicide bef, planting. Seed treatment of sorghum is mj advantageous when cold, wet weather follo planting. A fungicide reduces seed rot and -; {blight and prevents infection by the kernel An insecticide protects the seed from and several kinds of worms, and also protects I, ed in storage. j rghum seed are susceptible to damage from ; seed protectants, but others are effective e-not injurious when applied at the rates rec- gended by the manufacturers. Some treat- ’ ; are applied as a dust, some as a slurry and _s as a spray. The effectiveness of some 'cides and some insecticides is reduced when .are used together, but certain others are tive in combination. Several non-mercurial nic fungicides will improve stands and con- smut. Recommendations of the manufacturer Id always be followed when applying seed g ments alone or in combination with others. I he subject of seed treatment is covered ‘oughly in a 1953 Yearbook of Agriculture jle~ entitled, “Treating Seeds to Prevent es,” by R. W. Leukel, pages 134-145. De- j» information on seed treatments also is t“ in Miscellaneous Publication No. 219, U. S. rtment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. SORGHUM IN TEXAS Early History Sorghum arrived in Texas as early as 1857 n the Indian Service sent seed of Chinese j rcane for cultivation on the Comanche and os Reserves in Throckmorton and Young tiesz. Chinese Sugarcane, which was re- .1 jd to grow well on the reservations, was j ubtedely what is now called Chinese Amber , is a sorghum that was introduced into the ted States from China by way of France in _ Other sweet sorghums were introduced 1 Georgia and South Carolina from South ‘ca in 1857 and reached Texas a few years r. ‘Forage sorghums were a staple crop in pioneer ’s_ as agriculture spread westward in Texas Qthe 1880's and 1890’s. Two kinds of Gyp 1 and Giant milo were grown to a limited ex- Gyp corn was supposed to have come from j t and Giant milo probably came from 'opia originally, although it reached South ,olina from Venezuela. The two varieties of l corn are now known as Brown and White ' as and are rarely grown. The seed of these , durras shatter easily from the heads. Giant o was not only hard to harvest, but grew so e that destroying the stalks to prepare for the __ eeding crop was a difficult task. Standard 1 was found inf-Giant milo about the turn of - century and replaced both Gyp corn and Giant o. ighbors, Kenneth F. Chapters from the History of 's Indian Reservations, West Texas Historical As- iation Year Book. 33: 3-16, 1957. J. F. Bradley of Memphis grew a field ‘of Dwarf Yellow milo in 1905 and A. B. Conner of the Chillicothe station bought the seed from the field for the U. S. Department of Agriculture for distribution to farmers. Judge Bradley purchased his planting seed in Oklahoma. but did not know how the dwarf variety originated. Blackhul kafir, from an introduction, was grown at the Kansas Station in 1895, but there is considerable evidence that it was grown on farms in Texas and Oklahoma several years earlier. These farm strains probably were selected from a mixture in the White or Red kafir introductions from South Africa in 1878. Feterita and- Hegari were introduced at Chil- licothe in 1908 and were grown extensively within a few years. Prior to the growing of grain sorghums, corn was the grain crop grown for feed. Corn fre- quently failed to produce, and grain for work animals would then be scarce until another crop could be produced. Grain sorghums were more dependable in production of grain under drouth conditions and could even be planted after corn had failed. Thus grain sorghums, that had come from Africa only a few decades before, stabilized the agriculture of West Texas and hastened the settlement of an area that previously had been open range. Sorghum Improvement EARLY HISTORY Sorghum improvement began in Texas on the XIT ranch close to Channing in 1904 and at the Chillicothe station in 1905. The work of the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Channing was soon moved to Amarillo and Dalhart. The cooperative work of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion and the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Chillicothe has continued to the present time. Sorghum research has been a major activity at the Lubbock station since it was founded in 1910 in the vast agricultural region of the South Plains. The early activities of these stations with sor- ghum consisted of varietal and cultural tests, the introduction of varieties from abroad, selection _ within existing strains and efforts to preserve the identity of varieties already in existence. H. N. Vinall of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington and A. B. Cron of the Chillicothe sta- tion made selections from the progenies of varietal crosses before 1920. Chiltex and Premo were the first sorghum varieties that originated from artificial hybridization and they were dis- tributed in 1923. Bonita and Quadroon were dis- tributed a few years later, the result of work by J. C. Stephens and J. R. Quinby. Spur feterita was selected from feterita at the Spur station by R. E. Dickson in, 1914. The name Texas Blackhul kafir was applied to a strain of dwarf kafir that was grown in South Texas. The strain was puri- fied by R. E. Karper and distributed from the Lubbock station in 1925. 17 The leading grain varieties in Texas during 1920-40 were Dwarf Yellow milo, Texas Blackhul kafir, Spur feterita and Hegari. These varieties were headed by hand and, with the exception of Dwarf Yellow milo, also were grown for forage. Milo disease made its appearance in 1935. Re- sistance to the disease was found quickly and Texas milo, a resistant strain, replaced the sus- ceptible Dwarf Yellow milo variety within 2 years. IVIECHANIZATION Horses and mules that were fed sorghum heads and forage were replaced on Texas farms by row crop tractors during 1929-41. During the same period, the wheat combine became a common » machine on farms on the Great Plains and the change from hand heading to combine harvesting began. As row crop tractors with rubber tires began to appear on farms, the manufacturers of farm machinery began making smaller combines mounted on rubber tires and farmers other than wheat farmers began to combine grain sorghum. During World War II, self-propelled 4-row com- bines appeared and most of the grain sorghum crop is harvested now with these large machines. Sorghum varieties that were headed by hand were too tall and difficult to thresh to combine well. It was not until plant breeders had pro- duced adapted varieties suitable for combining that mechanization of sorghum harvesting be- came a reality. About 10 percent of the grain sorghum crop was combined in Texas in 1941, but by 1944 at least 85 percent of the crop was combine harvested. Almost the entire crop has been combined since 1945. Prior to 1941, farmers had been seeking suitable varieties to combine, but it was not until Martin, Plainsman and Cap- " rock appeared that such varieties were available in Texas. As the culture and harvesting of sor- ghum became mechanized, the grain sorghum acreage expanded in all parts of Texas, and it be- came the leading cereal crop in the State. Selection of combine-height grain sorghum varieties from crosses between milo and kafir began 50 years ago when relatively few people had an understanding of genetics that is the basis of modern plant breeding. H. W. Smith of Garden City, Kansas, a farmer with a bent for plant breeding and an idea that sorghum could be harvested with a wheat header, produced Buff kafir, Dwarf Duallo and Header milo about 1911, as well as a number of taller varieties, by selecting from the progeny of natural crosses between milo and kafir. He also produced Grain-O-Plains, a very dwarf, fine-stemmed variety, by selecting from a cross that had Sudangrass, Tunisgrass and feterita in its parentage. With this variety, Mr. Smith took a first prize at the Hutchinson State Fair about 1914 for the best sorghum that could be harvested with a grain binder. Buff kafir, Header milo and Dwarf Duallo were never grown widely as the day of the combine harvester was still 30 years away, but Mr. Smith was the pioneer 18 in sorghum plant breeding and had produced F. breeding varieties from hybrids before a . agriculturists would admit that such a thing _ possible. . . ‘ J. B. Sieglinger of the U. S. Department» Agriculture at Woodward, Oklahoma, began u, ing crosses in 1919, and by 1931 had produc number of combine height'= varieties that tested at several of the experiment statioi 1i Texas. Beaver was distributed by the Oklah Agricultural Experiment Station in 1929 a harvesting with a wheat header. Wheatland , distributed by the Kansas and Oklahoma Sta in 1931, and it was realized by that time _ grain sorghum could be harvested with a l’. combine. ~ H. N. Vinall of the U. S. Department of A culture sent second generation seed of a i, milo x kafir cross to Chillicothe, Texas, in .1 and by 1927 a white-seeded, combine-he‘ variety had been isolated by J. R. Quinby and Stephens. The variety was distributed for ” plantings from Chillicothe, Texas, Lawton, O homa, Manhattan, Kansas, and Akron, Colo r‘ Although susceptible to charcoal rot and never. tensively grown, it is being grown at present- Akron 10 in Northeastern Colorado and” fertility restorer when crossed to a cytoplas male-sterile strain. 1 R. E. Karper made crosses in 1929 ff, whose progeny Plainsman, Caprock and Com 7078 were selected at the Lubbock station. T‘ varieties were in trial plantings on farms in 1_ and were distributed in 1941. Redbine-60, =5 bine-66 and Redbine-58 were selected from a c made in 1942 at the Lubbock station bet Martin and a milo x kafir strain. Double Yellow and White Sooner milos originated i genetics study of maturity in milo being mad‘ the Chillicothe station by J. R. Quinby and R. Karper. Combine kafir-GO was distributed“ 1950. This variety has a complicated paren f but is largely kafir. D. L. Jones of the Lub‘ station was responsible for the distribution; Combine 7078. Plainsman, Caprock, Redbin, Redbine-66, Redbine-58, Combine kafir-60 l Combine 7078 originated through the efforts R. E. Karper and Frank W. Gaines at the Lub station. T W. P. Martin selected a plant resistant, milo disease from a badly diseased field of Whj land growing on his farm in Lubbock county, as, in 1937. By 1940, seed from this one plant ' been increased to 300 acres and the seed from‘ , field were sold in 1941 as Martin milo. Since time, Martin has been the most widely »f grain sorghum variety largely because of its » of combining. -; Two waxy combine varieties, Miloca , Texioca 54, were originated by R. E. Karperf have been in limited production in Texas du 1 recent years for; processing of tapioca-type s for industrial uses. - ‘ ff Westland and Midland are combine varieties '= were distributed in 1942 and 1944 by the insas Agricultural Experiment Station. West- d was selected from Wheatland at Garden i by F. A. Wagner and _A. E. Lowe. Midland i“; selected at Hays from a cross between Pink ‘ir and Dwarf Yellow milo by A. F. Swanson. “TORY OF SORGHUM HYBRIDS JjSorghum hybrids were long recognized as a ibility for increasing yields, but their develop- f twas delayed by problems of seed production. lbrid vigor had been studied in Texas as early "1921 and there were major publications by ‘ner and Karper” in 1927, Karper and Quinby‘ ‘ 1937 and by Stephens and Quinbyi in 1952. The presented in these papers showed large in- i ses in yield due to hybrid vigor. .,_ ork with male-steriles, which were visualized being the answer to the seed production pro- ‘ms, was begun in 1929 after J. C. Stephens 711d the first genetic male-sterile in a strain of ‘angrass supplied by R. E. Karper. This male- rile was reported by Karper and Stephens“ in i 6. A second genetic male-sterile was found by phens in 1935. Glen Kuykendall found a etic male-sterile in the Day variety in 1943 and ' overed that this male sterile produced sterile plants when pollinated with some varieties, and en crossed to others produced fertile F,’s. Jioplasmic sterility was observed, but was not _; ognized as such, by Conner and Karper in r‘ . A search for cytoplasmic sterility that had '1 n earlier was intensified in 1946 when Di- "_ or R. D. Lewis suggested an expansion of 'r_k on hybrid seed production problems. Steph- "suspected the existence of cytoplasmic male- ijility in 1950 and, with R. F. Holland, estab- ’ ed its existence in 1952. Stephens and Hol- yd’ published on the subject in 1954. was proposed by Stephens‘ in 1937 that the '1 etic ms, might be used for the production of grid sorghum seed. Work had progressed by 6 to the point that hybrid sorghum seed pro- tion was almost attempted. However, the dis- ery of the Day male-sterile caused a loss of 1 rest in ms2. iii-After several years of work with the Day i e-sterile, it was apparent that the variety wld be used for the production of hybrid sor- it er, A. B. and Karper, R. E. Hybrid Vigor in Sorghum. pas Agri. Exp. Bulletin 359, 1927. 1 er, R. E. and Quinby, J. R. Hybrid Vigor in Sorghum. _ur. Herd. 28: 82-91, 1937. ghens, J. C. and Quinby, J. R. Yield of Hand Produced \_' rid Sorghum. AgromiJour. 44: 231-233, 1952. i er, R. E. and Stephens, J. C. Floral Abnormalities jSorghum. Jour. Herd. 27: 183-194, 1936. phens, J. C. and Holland, R. F. Cytoplasmic Male- g- ility for Hybrid Sorghum Seed Production. Agron. gym". 46: 20-23, 1954. e ‘phens, J. C. Male-Sterility in Sorghum: Its Possible ilitzation in Production of Hybrid Seed. Amer. Soc. =- on. Jour. 29: 690-696, 1937. ghum even though complete male-sterility had not been obtained. The proposed procedure for the production of hybrid seed by a three-way ' cross was published by Stephens. Kuykendall and George” in 1952. The Day male-sterile was distributed to plant breeders in other states in 1950. Because of the verification of cytoplasmic male-sterility in 1952. the Texas Station did not put a sorghum hybrid into production using the Day male-sterile and its associated three-way cross system. The DeKalb Agricultural Associa- tion, Inc., however, did produce some hybrid sor- ghum seed by the method in 1955 and continued to use the method to produce one forage hybrid in 1956. By 1953, Stephens had produced cytoplasmic male-sterile Texas Blackhul kafir by using Double Dwarf Yellow Sooner milo as the female parent and Texas Blackhul kafir as the recurrent male parent. This cytoplasmic male-sterile was dis- tributed to interested plant breeders in 1954 and a number of seed companies started sorghum breeding programs at that time. R. E. Karper pollinated male-sterile Day with Combine kafir-60 and several other varieties in 1949. N. W. Kramer began work at Lubbock in 1950 with Day hybrids and the Day male-sterile and found by 1952 that backcrossing to Combine kafir-60 resulted in offspring that were highly male-sterile. Workers in other states soon made the same discovery. It finally became apparent that the Day variety had milo cytoplasm, and a backcrossing program using Combine kafir-60 as the recurrent male parent resulted in loss of genetic Day male-sterility and the attainment of cytoplasmic male-sterility. N. 'W. Kramer pro- duced several combine kafir cytop-lasmic male- steriles during 1950-53 by starting with genetic male-sterile Day; and J . C. Stephens, starting with fertile D. D. Y. Sooner milo, produced male- sterile Texas Blackhul kafir and several male- sterile combine kafirs. During the period when the female parents were being sterilized, crosses were being made and the hybrids evaluated. By 1954, several hundred hybrids had been observed and about 10 pollinators recognized as having exceptional com- bining value. By the summer of 1954, it was evident that a satisfactory degree of cytoplasmic male-sterility could be obtained in combine kafirs. Enough male-sterile seed were produced to plant 25 acres of parental crossing blocks and almost 200 one- acre apprentice seed-grower crossing blocks in 1955. No serious difficultes were encountered by the Texas Station in increasing the male-sterile or by seed growers in producting hybrid seed. On the basis of that experience, the Texas Station chose seven hybrids for production and seed “Stephens, J. C.,,Kuykend::ll, G. H., and George, D. W. Experimental Production of Hybrid Seed with a Three- way Cross. Agron. Jour. 44: 369-373, 1952. 19 growers in Texas planted 12,000 acres of crossing fields in 1956. Production from this acreage was about 16 million pounds of hybrid seed. The same year, seed growers in other states and the DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc., in Texas also were in production and the total hybrid sor- ghum seed production in 1956 was estimated to be about 24 million pounds. This amount of seed probably planted about 3 million acres of hybrids in the United States in 1957. Hybrid sorghum seed were produced in Texas in 1957 on about 25,000 acres. Seven hybrids were produced in Texas in 1956 by seed growers who used seed stocks from the Texas Station. An additional hybrid was pro- duced in 1957. Seven hybrids were produced in 1957 on male-sterile Combine kafir-60 and one on male-sterile Combine kafir, SA» 605. Table 2 shows the parentage of the hybrids produced in 1957. The male and female parents of the eight hy- brids produced in 1957 in Texas are varieties or strains that originated in thebreeding program TABLE 2. PEDIGREE OF SORGHUM HYBRIDS PRODUCED IN 1957 Hybrid Pedigree RS 590 Tx 385 x Tx 386 Texas 601 Tx 385 x Tx 04 RS 610 Tx 385 x Tx 7078 Texas 611 Tx 385 x Tx 74 Texas 620 Tx 385 x Tx 07 RS 630 Tx 36 x Tx 09 RS 650 Tx 385 x Tx 7005 Texas 660 Tx 385 x Tx 7000 20 FIGURE 8. ONE OF THE 200 SEED GROWER CROSSING FIELDS GROWN IN 1955 IN TEXAS. THIS FIELD WAS GR A I l CLOSE TO GARLAND. TEXAS. ON DRYLAND AND THE HYBRID PRODUCED WAS RS 610. ,. :1 of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Stati The parents of combine grain sorghum hybrids t present must be of the genetic height of the co f i bine kafir seed parents. A number of str’; other than the two combine kafirs now used i seed parents have been sterilized and several ’, them have been distributed to plant breeders other states and foreign countries. A list of >5 parents used in the production of sorghum i; brids in Texas, or that have been distributed, presented in Table 3. A list of the eight linators of the hybrids in production in 1957 p presented in Table 4. Recommended Varieties and Hybrids . Texas has been divided into three regions f... the purpose of recommending sorghum hybrl and varieties, Figure 9. Region 1 consists of I High Plains. Region 2 consists of the Roll" Plains, the Blacklands and East Texas and smaller areas between them. Region 3 consists a the Rio Grande Plain and the Coast Prairie fr é the Rio Grande to the Sabine river. Region 1, .1 High Plains, differs from the other parts of t: State in having greater elevation and lower raif fall. About 1 1/2 million acres of sorghum p f region 1 are irrigated. Region 2 contains ma ‘ different types of farming areas. Neverthel‘ varieties and hybrids grow in a similar throughout the entire area. Region 3 differs if; - regions 1 and 2 in planting date. Within regi 3, annual rainfall varies from 50 inches in east to about 18 inches in the Lower Rio Gran Valley. In the Gulf Coast region, planting can if done early enough so that the short days of Feb ary and March influence growth of light-sensiti.‘ varieties. IABLE- 3. LIST OF SEED PARENTS PRODUCED, THEIR . IDENTITY AND ORIGIN - rghum . ccession no. Name Origin ‘f 390 Texas Black- Sterilized by I. C. Stephens hul kaiir Combine SA 5765-22-1-3-3. a strain kaiir-60 originated by R. E. Karper and sterilized by N. W. Kramer as H 3197. I. C. Stephens sterilized Com- bine katir-60 but that strain was sent abroad and has _ not been increased in Texas f SA 602 Combine SA 6062-1-8-2. a strain orig- ? kafir 602 inated by R. E. Karper and . sterilized by I. C. Stephens ELSA 604 Combine SA 6062-1-8-4. a strain orig- kalir 604 inated by R. E. Karper and sterilized by I. C. Stephens ISA 605 Combine SA 5765-22-1-2. a strain orig- r ‘,'('l'x 36) katir 605 inated by R. E. Karper and sterilized by I. C. Stephens YSA 398 Martin Originated by W. P. Martin L(Tx 398) and sterilized by I. C. a § ' Stephens 1 SA 399 Resistant Wheatland 288 originated ' (Tx 399) Wheatland by F. A. Wagner and A. E. ~ Lowe at Garden City, Kan- sas. and sterilized by I. C. . Stephens .SA 3029 Redbine A Redbine originated by ‘i Selection R. E. Karper and sterilized I by I. C. Stephens ,3 SA 3048 Redbine A Redbine originated by i Selection R. E. Karper and sterilized ' by I. C. Stephens ISA 378 Recllan Originated by I. B. Sieglin- 7 ger, Stillwater, Oklahoma. and sterilized by I. C. ~ Stephens ISA 384 Texioca-63 Originated by R. E. Karper and sterilized by both N. W. Kramer and I. C. Stephens . I Grain sorghum hybrids have been tested ex- tensively in Texas for only 3 years and were I-widely grown by farmers for the first time in V1957. Obviously, the testing has not been exten- flsive enough to know which varieties may survive 1 which hybrids will continue to be grown. The vata from the yield trials indicate that hybrids ;will replace varieties, and that several hybrids consistently are high yielding and widely adapted. The temperatures encountered by grain sor- ghum crops in regions 2 and 3 tend to make all varieties, with the exception of light-sensitive {afieties such as Combine hegari, similar in dura- "tion of growth. Night temperatures during the irowing season of sorghum in region 1, the High ~ Plains, are low enough to retard head formation is sensitive varietie_s,=.and varieties that head to- ether in regions 2‘and 3 may head 6 to 10 days apart in region 1. For this reason alone, varieties hybrids will not perform the same in all parts j» Texas. , Yield potential is a reflection of duration of rowth. A late-maturing variety or hybrid has a high potential yield, but, if environmental con- ditions are not favorable for the development of the potential, will produce a low yield. Varieties or hybrids of medium or late maturity should be planted at favorable locations or under irrigation. Early-maturing varieties or hybrids are planted where conditions do not indicate a probability of high yields. Hybrids have a higher yield potential than varieties of the same maturity. Of the grain hybrids put into production by the Texas Station in 1956, RS 610 is the earliest in heading and Texas 660 the latest, if grown in region 1. In region 1, in 1956-57 , RS 610 bloomed in 57 days from planting and Texas 660 bloomed in 66 days, or 9_ days later. The difference in blooming date frequently is as great as 10 to 12 days. In region 2, RS 610 bloomed 3 days earlier than Texas 660. In region 3, RS 610 was 1 day later in heading than Texas 660, Table 5. Texas 660 is a hybrid of medium maturity on the High Plains, and has yielded well under ir- rigation and poorly on dryland when drouth oc- curred. In region 2, however, Texas 660 heads about the same time as other hybrids and has held the same relative position in yield, whether conditions have been favorable or poor. All of the grain hybrids presently in produc- tion are as early as or earlier than Martin in maturity in regions 2 and 3, and only Texas 620, Texas 650 and Texas 660 are as late or later than Martin in region 1. The later maturity of Caprock and Redbine-66 in region 1, or Combine hegari from May or June plantings anywhere in the State, have not been duplicated in hybrids as TABLE 4. LIST OF POLLEN PARENTS. THEIR IDENTITY AND ORIGIN Sorghum Identified accession Name Origin as ‘in um exceptional R line by SA 386 Redbine-60 Selected from Martin N. W. Kramer \Tx 386) x SA 7008x by R. E. and Karper I. C. Stephens SA 5904 Rline Selected from Martin N. W. Kramer (Tx 04) x Plainsman by R. E. Karper SA 7078 Combine Originated by R. E. N. W. Kramer (Tx 7078) 7078 Karper and I. C. Stephens SA 5874 Rline Selected from Mid- N. W. Kramer (Tx 74) land x Waxy katir by and R. E. Karper. The I. C. Stephens strain is waxy SA 5507 Redbine SA 5507-41-2-17. Se- N. W. Kramer (Tx 07) Selection lected from Martin x 7008x by R. E. Karper SA 396 Combine Selected from a katir I. C. Stephens (Tx 09) White x ieterita hybrid by and Feterita R. E. Karper N. W. Kramer SA 7005 Plainsman Selected from Kaiir x N. W. Kramer (Tx 7005) Milo by R. E. Karper and I. C. Stephens SA 7000 Caprock Selected from Katir x N. W. Kramer (Tx 7000) Milo by R. E. Karper and I. C. Stephens 21 TABLE 5. DAYS FROM PLANTING TO BLOOMING OF GRAIN SORGHUM HYBRIDS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN TEXAS Location and planting date REGION 1 Bushland Lubbock Hybrid Iune Iune I une I une I une I une Iune Ave!“ or 13. 14. 20. 14. 15. 15. 14. a e variety 1956 1956 1957 1956 1956 1957 1957 g RS 590 58 68 55 58 53 60 56 58 Texas 601 60 70 57 , 58 55 60 56 59 RS 610 57 66 54 57 52 58 58 57 Texas 611 60 68 56 57 55 60 58 59 Texas 620 62 71 58 58 56 64 59 61 RS 650 62 72 59 60 57 67 60 62 Texas 660 67 76 61 68 63 69 59 66 Martin 62 73 58 60 55 60 58 61 REGION 2 Collin county Chillicothe Temple April 26. May 21. Iune 20. March 27. Average 1956 1956 1957 1957 RS 590 68 56 53 82 65 Texas 601 69 56 55 82 66 RS 610 64 55 53 81 63 Texas 611 69 56 55 85 66 Texas 620 65 55 53 81 64 RS 650 71 55 54 82 66 Texas 660 70 56 54 82 66 Martin 71 56 54 ~86 67 REGION 3 y Beeville Taft Average March 25. 1957 March 15. 1957 RS 590 66 74 70 Texas 601 68 79 74 RS 610 70 72 71 Texas 611 72 81 77 Texas 620 66 71 69 RS 650 70 75 73 Texas 660 70 70 70 Martin 70 79 75 yet. For that reason, Caprock, Redbine-66 and Combine hegari sometimes may produce more grain than hybrids when growing conditions are favorable or the late varieties are given an extra irrigation. The varieties and hybrids grown in Texas in 1957 with their grain color, maturity and origin, are shown in Table 6. The varieties and hybrids recommended in the State are listed beside the three regions on the map of Texas, Figure 9. The recommendations are based on the information obtained in performance tests during 1941-57 and summaries of the data are in Table 7, 8, 9 and 10. It is assumed that hybrids eventually will replace varieties, but until all farmers accept hy- brids, and hybrids to meet every need are pro- duced, some varieties still are recommended. The hybrids are in order of yield, but the most accep- table hybrid on any farm is not necessarily the first in rank. Farmers grow a hybrid or variety not only because of its high yield, but also because of standing ability and ease of threshing. No detailed description of varieties or hybrids is presented in this publication. The varieties and hybrids can be identified in yield trials and some- 22 times in fields, but the identifying characteris are difficult to describe. All of the Texas Stat hybrids except RS 630 have red grain, but v1 planting seed are white. All are of the sa genetic height. The standing ability of all _ the hybrids is satisfactory, but under some ~l ditions all will lodge to some extent. Texas 611; more resistant to lodging ‘than other hybri None of the hybrids will combine as soon a = blooming as Martin, but all hybrids combine saw‘ factorily when fully mature. There are sli differences in head drying among hybrids, ~j they are not consistent throughout the State. _ ’ DeKalb hybrids are open-headed, and ' ._ characteristic appears to be an advantage in T, humid areas of region 3. RS 610 has performed consistently through the State on both dryland and under irrigati RS 630 has yielded well in regions 1 and I RS 601 is somewhat like the Martin variety. never being the highest yielding, but is consiste ly about average in production everywhere =,_ combines Well. Texas 620, RS 650 and Texas 5 TABLE 6. SORGHUM VARIETIES AND HYBRIDS GRO IN TEXAS IN 1957 j Name Grain color Maturity Origin VARIETIES Double Dwarf Yellow red early Texas Sooner milo Double Dwarf White white early Texas Sooner milo Double Dwarf Yellow red medium California. milo 38 ' Combine 7078 red early Texas Resistant Wheatland red early Kansas Westland red early Kansas Plainsman red medium‘ Texas Caprock red medium‘ Texas Midland red early Kansas Martin red early W. P.M I_ Edwards Combine white early A.Edwar Redbine-58 red early Texas f Redbine-60 red early Texas Redbine-66 red medium‘ Texas Combine kafir-60 white early Texas Dwarf Kafir 44-14 white medium Oklaho Redlan red medium Oklaho -- Texioca-54 white early Texas , Darset brown early Oklahom, Combine hegari white latez Texas L, Combine Shallu white early Texas Early hegari white early’ Texas Hegari white late‘ Texas HYBRIDS RS 590 red early Texas Texas 601 red early Texas RS 610 red early Texas Texas 611 red early Texas Texas 620 red early Texas RS 630 white early Texas RS 650 red early Texas Texas 660 red medium‘ Texas C 44a. DeKalb red early DeKalb l D 50a, DeKalb red early DeKalb ‘ E 56a, DeKalb red early DeKalb if F 62a. DeKalb red medium‘ DeKalb AMAK R-10 red early AMAK ‘Early maturity in regions 2 and 3 ‘Maturity variable from different dates of planting UlLLAN SHERMAN MANSFORD OOH! EE. 500MB J ' MAR MOORE x ROBERTS. 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