Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1913-11-07
KAFFR AS A GRAIN CROP
The U. $. Department of Agriculture
Gives Latest Information About
Production of this Drought
Resistant Crp.

Washington, d. c., Nov. 3, 1913
With a view of assisting farmers in tn,
dry sections to raise kaffir as a feet
grain and bundle feed and also as 3
food for man, the United States De
partment of Agriculture has issued 9
nineteen-page illustrated bulletin IL
which complete details as to the sue.
cessful production of this crop arc
given.
According to this bulletin mo. 552)
there are now five fairly well marked
varieties of kaffir under cultivation,
These different kinds can be distin-
guished by the following simple key,
the glume being the hull or husk Of
the seed:
Seeds white, glumes white, white
kaffir.
Seeds white, glumes black, stalks 10
8 It. tall, Blackhull kaffir.
Seeds white, glumes black, stalks to
4 1-2 IT tall, Drawf Blackhull kaffir
Seeds pink, glumes white, Pink kaffir.
Seeds red, glumes black, Red kaffir
OF these varieties the White kaffir
has largely been replaced by the
Blackhull kaffir which is the most
widely grown owing to its satisfactory
habits and high grain yields although
It is not as early as the White kaffir
The Blackhull kaffir requires from 115
to 140 days to mature, depending on
the locality and seasonal conditions. 1t
is not to be confused with the similar
plant of little value, sold under the
names of african millet," and
branching dhoura." The bulletin
also deals with the newly developed
form of the Blackhull known as the
Drawf Blackhull kaffir The Drawf
Blackhulll kaffir natures from five to
ten days earlier than the standard
Blackhull strains and is much smaller
in statue. The earliness and the
drawf statue permit the maturing of
the crop of seed with the use of less
water would otherwise be necessary.
Earliness also permits maturing under
conditions of short season which are
found in the high plains, where the
first fall i-osts sometimes occur in the
last days of August
OF the Pink kaffirs, two or three
have been introduced as forage vari-
ties but none has shown special value
as a grain producer. Red kaffir has
largely been replaced by the Blackhuli
kaffi in popularity. All of these va.
rieties are so similar in habit that
they do not require different cultural
treatment. Differences in treatment
are largely determined by the needs of
different sections, the conditinos in
different seasons, and the nature of
different soils.
Preparation Of the Seed Bed.
Fall plowing is preferable to spring
plowing because 1t is better fitted to
catch and absorb the moisture firm
rain or melting snow during the win
ter. Flowing should be deep and the
land should then be we'll worked in
the spring With harrow or disc be-
fore planting. Time spent in prepar-
ing a fine, even seed bed is well worth
while as it aids termination and in
sures a more uniform stand, and also
destroys a large number of young
weeds. Where soils are subject to
blowing listing is preferable to ordin-
airy blowing Listing differs from
plowing in that the furrow is made
from 1-2 to 3 1-2 feet away from the
first. The land is thus left in alter
nate burrows and unbroken ridges,
the loose soil from the adjacent fur
rows being piled on top of the ridges
Since the prevailing winter winds
are from the southeast or the north
west, the listing should be done east
and west where possible. The winter
snowfall is held TO a large extent in
the listed burrows. When the soil be
gins TO drift under the influence o.
the spring winds the only effect is to
move the soil from the ridges into the
adjacent burrows. Preparing the land
for planting in the spring is done in
two ways:
~ By relisting, which is done BIZ
breaking the ridges with the lister
and thus partially filling the adjacent
burrows, or
(2) by working down the lister
ridges with the disc harrow.
In the first case the crop will be
planted with the lister planter in the
new burrows opened, while in the Sc
cond it will be surface-planted.
Good Seed.
The Importance of good seed of