SUDAN GRASS.

H. N. VlNALL, Agronomist, Office of Forage-Crop Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, CONTENTS.

Pagre. Origin of Sudan grass 1 Description of Sudan grass 1 Climatic requirements 4 Drought relations 5 Soil requirements 6 Place in the cropping system 6 Value in irrigated regions 7 Page. Sudan grass and legume mixtures-_ 8 Culture : g Utilization 14 Seed production 17 Diseases of Sudan grass 20 Insect enemies of Sudan grass 20 Improvement of Sudan grass 22 ORIGIN OF SUDAN GRASS. DOUBTLESS Johnson grass would be a much more valuable hay plant for the Southern States if it were not equipped with vigorous underground stems. Kecognizing this fact, systematic search for forms of andropogons lacking these aggressive rootstocks was begun under the direction of C. V. Piper, Agrostologist in Charge of the Office of Forage-Crop Investigations. With the assistance of the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, 8 ounces of seed of a grass known as garawi was obtained on March 15, 1909, from K. Hewison, Director of Agriculture and Lands of the Sudan Government at Khartum.1 A portion of this seed was planted at the Forage-Crop Field Station, Chillicothe, Tex.,2 that spring. The grass proved very promising there, and it has since been grown at manv other* points. In order that it might have a distinctive name it was called Sudan grass.

DESCRIPTION OF SUDAN GRASS.

Under cultivation in the United States, Sudan grass has shown itself to be distinctly an annual. Only under practically frost-free i Piper, C. V. Sudan grass, a new drought-resistant hay plant. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Cir. 125, 20 p., 6 fig. 1913.

Oakley, R. A Some new grasses for the South. In Yearbook, U. S. Dept. Agr., for 1912, p. 495—504,, 6 pi. Qs7infia« l\H'9<?'ndi?ôiE' t K î ra!s.and related plants. U. £5. Dept. Agr. Bui. 981 (>8 p., 25 fig 1921. (This bulletin contains a detailed account of the introduction of budan grass and several other species of grass sorgh-ums, as well as a summarv of the re* mts "í numero,us experiments with Sudan grass in the United States.) .sTrüíi?

11 at Çhi!licothe» Tex., is maintained as a cooperative project in conjunction with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. From its inception, in 1905 UD Í« ioir tje exposes were borne largely by the United States Department of Agriculture I? ¿915' W(i otJ%n$J? miles southwest of Chillicothe were purchased by the State of Texas and designated " Texas Substation No. 12." The cooperation between the Office of Forage-Crop Investigations of the United States Department of AgStoe and thl rZigalllltU7LEx?ement Station has been continued at the new location Thl administration of the station since January 1, 1916, has been in the hands of thi TPÍ«« station and the State of Texas has made liberal financialLcobutionHo support thl S%î at the State "****»>» tiuMïï??eâS