Research Progress Report 235 Project 1332 April, 1966
1965 Forage Sorghum, Sudangrass and Grain Sorghum Variety Testing On the Southern Indiana Forage Farm
J. S. Quick, R. C. Pickett and K. J. Lessman
Agronomy Department

Forage Sorghum and Sudangrass
The results of the forage sorghum and sudangrass yield trials are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Two-year averages are shown in Tables 3 and 4 for those entries tested in 1964 and 1965.

The yields produced by the hybrids and inbred varieties at the Forage Farm were similar to those in 1964. The two-cut Sudan trial was favored by early growing conditions, but moisture was a limiting factor during regrowth following the first cut. The forage sorghum entries produced an excellent early season growth, but a mid to late season drouth limited growth and caused considerable lodging.

The taller, higher yielding forage sorghum hybrids tended to be coarse and may be lower in energy and digestibility than a more succulent type that yields less. The higher yields of the coarse types may enable them to retain a net advantage, but this has not yet been determined. A similar situation exists among the entries in the sudangrass yield trial. Consistent high yields of 8 to 9 tons of dry matter per acre for the
sorghum-Sudan hybrids from a two-cut harvest system indicate a high potential for forage utilization.

Grain Sorghum
Results of the grain sorghum yield trials are shown in Tables 5-8. Tables 5 and 6 contain data from the Forage Farm and Tables 7 and 8 contain data from trials on the Oscar Knies farm 8 miles southwest of the Forage Farm.
Bird damage was successfully controlled for the second year at the Forage yield trial by weekly spray applications of a mixture of DDT, toxaphene and Captan at the onset of seed formation until the hard dough-stage of development. Growth conditions were excellent throughout most of the growing season. Several hybrids yielded more than 100 bushels an acre. Several entries showed lodging susceptibility although the expression was highly variable.

The grain sorghum trials at the Knies farm were grown in a commercial sorghum field to minimize bird damage. Growing conditions were excellent, several hybrids yielded well over 100 bushels per acre, and lodging was not a severe problem.
PURDUE UNIVERSITY • Agricultural Experiment Station • Lafayette, Indiana