Evening star., 1942-04-05
War Crops 10 Help
Meet Shortages in
Southern States
New Starch From Corn
And Sorghum Alcohol
Among Products
BY PHIL CLARKE,
Associated Press Stan Writer.

ATLANTA, April 4. - Southern
farmers are beating war shortages to
the punch by turning up new uses
for old crops and planting thousands
Of acres to new war crops"
Long rows of corn are being grown
and tested for use as root-starch
substitute in the manufacture of
textile goods and other industrial
products. A newly developed bean
huller may increase the production
of castor oil for use in Americas s
war machines, and Southern sorg-
hum is going to the aid of wartime
manufacture Of industrial alcohol.
In Georgia farmers are tripling
former corn yields with new grain
crop-hegari-which in time may
supplant corn as a chief feed for
livestock.
Corn starches from waxy corn
probably will be used as a substitute
for root starches which America
has been importing from the Phil
ippines, Netherlands East Indies and
the Malay States, says Associate
Agronomist Robert G. Eckhardt OF
the University of Tennessee.
Used In Several Ways.
Root starches are used in num-
Der of ways, such as sizing for tex
tiles, IN glue for envelopes, and IN
tapioca." Eckhardt explains. If i'm
portations of the root starches are
cut of entirely it is highly possible
that waxy corn can easily be substi-
tuted and will produce as good or
even a better product"
H. A. Arnold, University of Ten
nessee agricultural engineer, has in
vented a machine for hulling castor
beans that may relieve the bottle
neck" of castor oil production by
speeding up shelling operations. The
machine can also be used to shell
peanuts.
The shelter was developed as a
cooperative project between the
University Of Tennessee and the
Tennessee Valley Authority. Cost
of construction is said to be low.
The Federal Government has
issued a strong appeal to farmers to
increase production of castor beans
to meet huge new demands for
castor oil in airplane engines, can
non recoil mechanism and recent
chemical developments. Imports Of
this vital crop have been largely
cut of by the war.
More Sorghum Needed.
In Louisianas sugar bowl" the
Department of Agriculture in CO.
operation with the American Sugar
Cane League, has made plans for
planting 10000 acres to sorghum.
Demonstration projects have proved
that sorghum can be utilized for the
production of industrial alcohol
more efficiently and economically
than cane sugar. thus releasing an
equal amount Of the latter for do
mestic consumption.
A minimum yield Of 10 tons Of
Louisiana Sorghum cane per acre
will produce about 200 gallons of
molasses. By process developed
by Emile Ventre, Opelousas, La,
chemist, 200 gallons of molasses can
be converted cheaply into ITO gall
Ions of industrial alcohol. Con-
version plants have been estab-
lished and sponsors Of the project
are arranging a Commodity Credit
Corp. guarantee of 81 a ton for
sorghum cane used in production.
Some 400 Madison County, Ga,
farmers are planting between $500
and 1000 acres of hegari this year.
The new grain was used in a CO.
operative experiment last year when
200 acres were planted. Rex Ivie,
Farm Security Administration su-
pervisor, said last years crop
brought yields three times greater
than corn on the same grade land.
Ivie attributed the high productivity
of hegari to its unusual drought
resisting qualities and added that it
may in time supplant corn as a live
stock feed in some places. The
grain contains about 80 per cent Of
the feed value of corn,