Imperial Valley press., 1918-05-13
AND CARING
FOR SWEET SORGHUM

inches on the surface. The soil below
the mulch should be firm and moist
If the soil is too loose for good
seed bed, rolling may be necessary
before planting the crop to pack the
soil and bring the moisture nearer to
the surface. The best implement for
this purpose is corrugated or Dun
ham roller.
Time of Seeding-As rule, sor-
.ghums should be planted somewhat
later than Indian corn. Planting
should not be done until the soil has
warmed up sufficiently for prompt
termination. If the soil is too cold,
the seed will germinate slowly, and
the subsequent growth is apt to be
stunted. In the Sacramento and the
coast valleys, the best time to plant
is about the middle of April. In the
San Joaquin and Imperial valleys,
planting may be done about April /.
On the other hand, if planting is de-
layed until the first to the middle
Of May, the soil is apt to become too
! dry to germinate the seed, unles sir
rigation can be provided. On irri-
gated land, planting may be delayed
as late as the middle to the latter
part of June. This fact is made use
of by employing the sorghum as a
second crop, In such cases, how
ever an early maturing variety
should be used.
Method and Rate of Seeding-The
method of seeding sorghums will be
determined largely by the purpose for
which they are grown. When the
crop is to be used for fodder or silage,
it is usually planted in rows to 3 1a
feet apart, using about 21a to A
pounds of seed per acre. The exact
rate fseeding must be govrned by
the character of the soil and the sup
iply of moisture. On strong soil we'll
supplied with moisture, the heavier
rate of seeding may be used, while
on soils of doubtful fertility and only
moderately we'll supplied with mois-
ture, lighter seeding should be prac-
ticed.
The implement commonly used for
planting the crop is the corn plant
er, fitted with sorghum-seed plates.
The grain drill is also sometimes
used by stopping up enough of the
holes to give the proper spacing. This
implement, however, often plants too
! shallow and uses more seed than
necessary for the best results.
The depth to which the seed should
be planted will vary with the char
acter of the soil and the condition
of the seed bed. 1t is important, how
ever, to plant the seed deeply enough
so that it is placed in contact with
moist soil where it may quickly ab-
sorb the moisture necessary for ger
mination; ordinarily two to three
inches in depth is sufficient.
When sorghum is to be grown for
hav or pasture, it is usually seeded
broadcast or in close drills like grain.
For this purpose the grain drill is
the most efficient implement to use,
as it places all the seeds in the
soil at a uniform depth. Broadcast
ING is not as good, since much of the
seed will not be covered deeply enough
to get into moist soil and hence Will
not germinate. The usual rate OF
seeding sorghum in close drills is from
30 to 40 pounds per acre. When seed
ed broadcast, more seed must be used
per acre in order to get good
stand.
Care of the Crop-The cultivation
which the crop will require after
planting will depend to a large eX-
tent on the condition of the field and
the season. The sorghums grow
rather slowly at first and if the field
becomes weedy, while the plants are
yet quite small, the weeds may be
destroyed with d harrow without Sc
we're injury to the crop. On the other
hand, if the surface of the soil be-
comes crusted while the plants are
small or before the seedlings appear
this crust must be broken, otherwise
injury to the young plants is apt to
result. If the crust is not too thick
it may be broken with a light har-
row, but better implement to- use
is corrugated or Durham roller
which pulverizes the surface without
tearing out the plants. When the
crop has been planted in rows, 3 tC
31a feet apart, it should be cult
waited as soon as the plants are
large enough so that the row can be