The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-08-15
MILO, ANOTHER GRAIN SORGHUM.
BY CLARENCE LAWSON
Student in Farm Management, South
Dakota State College.

4
Dakota State College.
Milo is one of the durra group of
sorghums and is closely related to
white durra and also to brown durra.
1t is probably of African or Egyptian
origin and was introduced into the
United States between 1880-18S5.
There have been many different
names applied to this crop, among
which the commonest are: Dwarf
Milo, yellow Milo, and Milo Maize.
The word maize" should never be
used for milo, as it confuses 1t with
corn. There is only one variety OF
milo sold to any extent by seedmen.
it is usually sold as yellow milo" or
dwarf milo" What is commonly
known as dwarf milo is the ordinary
milo grown on the drier plains. II
only reaches a height of from AZ 70
Bio feet under these conditions, while
under favorable conditions 1t grows
to a height Of from 7 to IL feet.
There is true type Of dwarf milo
but very little is known OF this
species. Ordinary milo stools freely,
branches freely, is tall and rather
stout and is not uniform in height or
in the season of %ripening. Another
objectionable feature is the pendant
or go~ose-necked heads which make II
hard to harvest. However, these OBJ
1ections are being rapidly overcome
by mead selection, SO that 0 the
best kinds of milo are low and slen-
der. uniform in height and ripenlns,
do not sucker or branch to any
marked extent, and have the heads
mostly erect. Under these conditions
IL may be handled quite easily by ma
chjnery and is in condition to be mar
vested hy headers. This has all been
ACCOMPLISHED BY selection and thick
seeding and with proper environment
milo may soon be a very satisfactory
crop.
Milo is especially adapted to the
southern half of the Great Plains, be-
ing one Of the most successful sum-
mer crops of that section. II IS an
earlier and better drought-reslstlng
cron than corr and is a good feeding
substitute for it. It also has a larger
WELD than corn OF about two busheis
per acre in New Mexico, Colorado.
Kansas. and Oklahoma where the
land is from 1900 to 1000 feet above
sea level and where the annual rain
fall is from II to Is inches. It can pc
p%roftably grown as far north as the
southern part OF South Dakota and
west 70 elevations of 5000 feet. 1t IS
11 to humid rDOInnC ana
should not be grown In such localltles.
The soil requirements Of milo are
practically the same as for corn. Fall
Moving is preferred and the lane
should be we'll worked in the spring
10 as to conserve the moisture ana
destroy the weeds.
The time to plant milo tn general
Is about three weeks later than that
for corn. and it may be either listed
or surface planted as best suits the
local conditions. In either case the
most common way of sowing is by
means OF special sorghum plates used
In either the corn planter or lister
n1anter. For the highest grain yield
from 4 to 6 pounds per acre OF good
seed should be used. This amount is
subject to variations according to the
condition Of soil, climate and rain
fall. The length of season and the
cultivation given are also to be con-
sidered. Milo should be drilled with
6 to 8 inch spaces in rows Q ~
feet part. but no hard and fast nle
can be given as this is entirely gov.
erned by the local conditions.
The cultivation of milo is prac-
tically the same as that of corn with
the object always in view to conserve
all moisture. Special attention should
be paid to selecting the seed. espec-
ially out Of the milo belt. In all cases
the home grown seed Is better to
plant than equally good seed grown
under other conditions. The most I'M
portant points to look for in select
ing seed are: %earliness, drought-re-
sistance, productiveness, uniform
height and ripening, freedom from
branches and suckers, and erect
heads. and all selection must be done
in the field. Selection increases the
WELD. value, and productiveness OF q
crop. and anyone raising milo should
at least take the time to select enough
seed to plant q seed plot.
When sown from good selected seed
the milo can be harvested with a corn
hinde and cured in the shock while
with ordinary milo 1t has to be cut by
hand and cannot be shocked with
n success because OF its rankness.
The improved milo may also be har-
SISTED by either grain or row headers.