Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-01

pared much as for corn and sorghum.
Flowing and rolling and narrowing
just as essential with this crop as
wi corn OF sorghum. Planting be-
fore the ground is thoroughly warm
ed up is not desirable.
In the southeastern states, the
land should be fortified much as
for any other field crop. Three to
five hundred pounds per acre of a
good, standard formula can general
ly eused to advantage. This fer
.tilizer mixture should be relatively
rich in phosphorus and nitrogen.
and under normal conditions, pot
ash can be used to good advantage.
Three per cent of nitrogen, eight
per cent of phosphoric acid and three
per cent of potash is a good mixture
to use on clay lands. On sandy
lands, three and one-half per cent of
nitrogen, ten per cent of phosphoric
acid and five per cent of potash Will
prove more desirable. In our eXpe-
rience, the best season Of the year
for planting Sudan grass is between
April first and May first. Seeding
can, of course, be done as late as
July first, but this does not give
the crop fair chance to make
second or third cutting, and since
it will remain on the land through
out the growing season, it is most
desirable. to seed it early in order
to obtain the largest possible benefits
from it's cultivation.
We are disposed to think that
planting Sudan grass in three and
one-half foot rows with cowpeas
sown in between the drills is about
the best practice we can follow in
this section of the country. The
best depth to cover the seed is about
one inch. Deeper planting can be
followed on soils where there is no
tendency for the land to bake. There
is no objection to planting this
grass with grain drill or even
in rows say twenty-four inches
apart. Naturally. the thicker the
grass stands on She ground, the
smaller and finer the stems will
be and the greater the avidity with
which it will be eaten. The rate of
seeding will vary from ten to forty
pounds per acre. There is a dispo-
especially where good stands can be
secured. In humid regions, from
twelve to fifteen pounds of seed is
sufficient to plant per acre, but as
part Of the seed will probably not
terminate. it is the safest practice
probably to sow from twenty to
twenty-five pounds per acre. These
figures apply to standard seeds which
has been tested and found to show
high percentage of viability. A
grain drill which is set to SOW about
two pecks Of wheat will plant SUI
dan grass at about the right rate per
acre. Where this grass is planted in
rows thirty-siX to forty inches apart,
from three to four pounds of seed
will be enough to use. If seeding
in eighteen to twenty-four-in drills,
one should SOW from five to seven
pounds of seed.
Sudan grass may be cut with a
mower and cured just like ordinary
hay. After it has lain in the wind
row, bunch it and put in cocks
When well cured, it should be hauled
to the barn and stored. About the
best time to harvest this grass is
just as soon as the first heads ap-
pear. Cutting may be practiced from
this time until the seed is in the
milk. This is a crop, however,
which is not readily injured by
standing for some little time after
the plants reach maturity. The hay
from this grass is of excellent quail
ity, and will add greatly to the val
ue and palatability of the average
as a soiling or silage crop and can
be pastured with considerable sue
cess in certain sections of the coun-
try. It's growth should certainly be
extensively undertaken in Georgia
because in feeding value it approx
mates that of millet or Timothy.
Johnson grass seed and Sudan grass
seed are very similar in appear
ance, and it is important for the pur-
chaser of Sudan grass seed to make
sure that he is not obtaining John
son grass seed in it's place.