Franzke, C. J.

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South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeBulletins South Dakota State University AgriculturalExperiment Station11-1-1949Norghum Sorghum: An Early Combine GrainSorghumC. J. FranzkeFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletinsThis Bulletin is brought to you for free and open access by the South Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station at Open PRAIRIE: OpenPublic Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bulletins by an authorizedadministrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, pleasecontact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationFranzke, C. J., "Norghum Sorghum: An Early Combine Grain Sorghum" (1949). Bulletins. Paper 397.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins/397Bullet:in 397 AN EARLY COMBINE GRAIN SORGHUM November 1949 SORGHUM AGRONOMY DEPARTMENT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SOUT� DAKOTA STATI: COLLl:GI: BROOKINGS, SOUT� DAKOTA AN EARLY COMBINE GRAIN SORGHUM By c. J. FRANZKE1 Norghum, an early grain sorghum, was developed to fit the climate and growing conditions of our state. It is early, stands up well, the seeds germin­ate rapidly at low temperatures, and the yields of grain have been consistently high. Formerly, grain sorghum varieties grown in South Dakota were introduced from the southern states and were not well adapted to our shorter growing sea-. sons. Tests made in different areas of the state, show that Norghum is adapted throughout the state and should replace most of the older varieties now grown. Nine thousand pounds of Norghum seed were released by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment station to the County Crop Improvement associations in the spring of 1949. It is believed that Norghum will fill an important need for an early combine grain sorghum. Fig. 1. Sorghum heads showing the spreading panicle type, Norghum, at the left and a com­pact panicle type, Midland, at the right. History As its name implies, Norghum is a "sorghum of the north." It is a selection from a cross of (Dwarf Feterita x Dwarf Freed) x Yellow Kafir made in 1939. Dwarf Feterita x Dwarf Freed (H.C. 336) is a white seeded, late maturing grain sorghum with a very sturdy leafy stalk, and a compact head. Yellow Kafir ( C.I. 902) is a cross of Pink Kafir x Dwarf Yellow Milo and is a Kalo seed type with a medium slender leafy stalk, and a compact head. An early maturing selection was made from this cross and tested throughout the state as well as in uniform sorghum nurseries in other states. Norghum is a Kalo type grain sor­ghum. Both of its parents were obtained from the Branch Experiment stations at Hays, Kansas. The purpose of the cross was to develop an early maturing, high yielding strain of grain sorghum adapt­ed to South Dakota conditions. lAssociate Agronomist, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. 2 Plant and Seed Characteristics Norghum is a combine grain' sorghum which grows to a height of 36 to 46 inches. The stalks are medium slender and carry a fair amount of medium­sized leaves. The seed panicles are long, open and erect and are placed well ab9ve the foliage. (Fig. 1.) Open panicle types allow better dry­ing of the mature seeds than the closed or compact types such as Midland and Sooner Milo. The seeds are medium in size, reddish brown and mottled. The seeds germinate rapidly and at a low temperature. This is a very important character, especially for the northern states, in getting stands when planted early and under unfavorable growing conditions. A summary of agronomic characters of N�rghum and other standard vari­eties of grain sorghum tested at Brook­ings, Highmore, Eureka and Newell for the years 1946-49 is reported in Table 1. Standability notes were taken in mid­November or later. Since all sorghum varieties eventually break over if left standing too late in the fall, it is neces­sary to plant early maturing grain sor­ghum which will mature and can be har­vested before lodging takes place. Mature plants of Norghum stand longer and resist lodging somewhat bet­ter than Sooner Milo or Early Kalo. Varieties such as Martin Milo and Mid­land Milo produced immature grain and therefore did not lodge as readily. More lodging occurs where the crop is badly stunted and killed by drought in the late summer. As indicated in Table 1, Norghum ripens before frost and can be harvested by mid-September. Other grain vari­eties are later in maturing and often freeze, producing poor quality grain. Norghum is a short stalk sorghum and can be combined readily. Fig •. 2. A foundation field of Norghum. 3 Table 1. Summary of Agronomic Characters of Norghum, and Four Standard Varieties of Grain Sorghum Tested at Brookings, Highmore, Eureka and Neweli for the Years 194�9 4 yr. Av. Date Headed Height Inches Standability Percent Variety Range of Maturity B H E* N B H E-� N B H E* N Norg hum Well-matured 7-25 7-31 8-8 8-6 45 37 43 38 89 70 75 73 Sooner Soft dough-Matured 8-9 8-10 8-17 8-20t 48 41 38 33t 77 47 63 71t Martin Headed to Hard Dough 8-10 8-15 8-19 8-22 38 33 44 30 81 77 83 90 Midland Headed to Hard Dough 8-9 8-12 8-18 8-17 45 39 44 35 85 77 60 90 Early Soft Dough 8-1 8-11 8-14 8-18 47 41 50 33 77 35 45 72 Ka lo to Mature B-Brookings; H-Highmore; E-Eureka; N-Newell (Dry Land) "'Data for years 1946, 1947 and 1949 tData for years 1946, 1947 and 1948 Yield The yield of Norghum in comparison with four standard varieties is shown in Table 2. It will be noted that the grain yields of Norghum were consistently high each year at the three locations. The higher grain yields for Norghum may be attrib­uted to its maturing before frost. Late maturing sorghums when frosted pro-duce shrunken and light test weight grain and cure slowly in the field. They cannot be combined or threshed early in the fall. Norghum can be harvested and threshed before hard frost has impared the germination of the seed and before the stalks break over. It is adapted to all parts of South Dakota. Table 2. Summary of Yield Data of Norghum and Four Standard Varieties of Grain Sorghum Grown at Brookings, Highmore, Eureka and Newell for the Years 1946-49 Bushels per acre Variety Brookings Highmore Eureka* Newell Norghum ________________________ 54 .8 40.8 20.6 34.3 Sooner _____________________________ _} 9 .2 21.6 7.5 16.6* Martin _____________________________ .25 .1 22.4 8.7 9.4 Midland ___________________________ _} 2 .1 23.5 7.5 14.3 Early Kalo ________________________ 43.8 21.6 10.5 7.9 '*Data for years 1946, 1947 and 1949 4 

Norghum Sorghum: An Early Combine Grain Sorghum

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Norghum Sorghum: An Early Combine Grain Sorghum

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