SUDAN GRASS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 May 1916, Page 3

SUDAN GRASS

Tt»u> ul Sudan grass by the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station during the last two years indicate that this new crop will be ot value to fanners. (Sudan grass is a tall, rank growing annual grass, closely related to the cultivated sorghums. The plants average from three to live feet in height when drilled or broadcasted and have stems a little larger than a lead pencil. If grown in vows an' 1 cultivated, it reaches a height of from six to nine feet on good soil with a corresponding incroase in the size oi the stems. When planted thinly it stools very freely, sometimes, producing as many as 100 (stems trom one crown. Like ether sorghums, Sudan grass does be.-,t in a \v;irm climate. It should not be planted until ail danger of frost is past and the ground thoroughly warmed. It is deeiclcdiy drought resistant, which makes it well suited for the semi-arid regions of the Dominion. ;t is being grown with success in tho more humid regions, but it has not attracted as much attention there as in the drier sections where there are not so many other good hay plants. Two cuttings .re usually made, and under very favourable conditions sometimes three or four. It has ra.ther wide adaptati >ne as regards soil, growing successfully on almost every soil, from a hearvy e'ay ; to a light sand.