Imperial Valley press., 1918-05-07

portant uses to which sorghums may
number of ways. One of the i'm
of silage. For this purpose Woll and
VOORHEES, have shown that on the ba-
sis of dry matter, sorghum silage
compares favorably with Indian corn
in feed value. Sorghums may also
; be used as fodder and because of
their leafy character and succulence,
yield palatable and nutritious
,roughage. Under certain conditions,
the sorghum may also be used for
hay or pasture. For this purpose,
however, sudan grass, because of
its greater persistence and finer
leaves and stems, is usually to be
preferred.
Adaptation.
Like other members of the sorghum
family. the swet sorghums prefer a
rather dry, semi-arid climate, with
high temperatures during the grow
ing season. They will, however ,tol-
crate lower temperatures and a great
er degree of humidity than either the
grain Sorghums or sudan grass. In
general, it may be said that any eli
mate that is suitable for Indian corn
is also suitable for the sweet sor-
ghums. In addition, the sorghums
have the advantage of being much
more tolerant of drouth than Indian
corn.
Their ability to withstand drouth
is apparently due to their faculty of
making economical use of the water
supply as well as the ability to re-
main partially dormant for pro-
longed periods without injury. The
root system of the sorghum is well
developed, enabling the plant to uti-
like larger portion of the soil mois-
ture than most other plants. 1t is
this ability to make the fullest use
of the moisture and to regulate its
growth in accordance with the supply
of moisture, that makes the crop of
special value in this state.
The soil requirements of the sweet
sorghums are practically the same as
those for Indian corn. Free work
ing. sandy loan soils of good water
holding capacity are preferred to the
heavier soils, because of their high
fertility, etter aeration, and the
greater ease with which they can be
handled. Soils of this character are
usually warmer, facilitating prompt
termination and rapid root develop
ment. Other types of soil may be
used, however, provided due precau
ton is taken with regard to the tim,
of planting and the preparation o.
the seed bed.
In general the sweet serghums cal
be grown in practically all agricul
tural sections of California, with tn,
exception of those directly exposed
to the cold ocean winds. The largel
valleys, with their high temperatures
and deep, fertile, we'll drained soil
are particularly suited to this crop
As a source of FODDER and silage, they
are the mos promising of any croI
at the farmers command.
+ Varieties.
! The sweet sorghums are closely re
lated to the grain sorghums ant
broom corn, as we'll as to sudan anc
tunis grass. They are particularly
characterized by the fact that tn
sap contains higher percentage Of
sugar, which renders them of con
siderable value for syrup making
! The sugar content as wei las The
.iuiciness of the stem varies with the
variety; so much 50, in fact, that the
| line of demarcation between thu
sweet sorghums and the kafirs can
mot be clearly drawn. AS a class
however. the sweet sorghums are
much more succulent and leafy thar
the grain sorghums. while their seed:
are small and hard and only Of lit
! tie value for feed. The sweet sor
ghums as class stool or tiller more
abundantly than the grain types.
Of the large number of varieties
introduced into or dpve1oned in this