"LI B RA OF THE UNIVERSITY OF G30.7 AGRICULTBRB NON CIRCULATING CHECK FOR UNBOUND SLATING COPY GRAIN AND FORAGE SORGHUMS 1959 Performance in Illinois By P. W. WATKINS, C. N. HITTLE, G. E. McKIBBEN, and D. R. BROWNING Bulletin 659 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION THIS BULLETIN REPORTS the results of Illinois perform- ance tests on sorghums, both grain and forage. The report on grain sorghums begins on page 3 and includes 1959 results and summaries for 1956 through 1959. Forage sorghums, begin- ning on page 13, include the an- nual results for 1958 and 1959, as well as summaries. The tests were conducted at the locations shown on the map at right. The authors of this bulletin are P. W. Watkins, Assistant in Agronomy; C. N. Hittle, Associate Professor of Plant Genetics; G. E. McKibben, Asso- ciate Professor of Agricultural Research and Extension; and D. R. Brown- ing, Research Associate in Agronomy. Thanks are due to W. C. Jacob and R. D. Self for processing the data and to O. W. Pile for his help in plant- ing, harvesting, and threshing. Acknowledgment is also due Robert W. Smith, Smith Seed Company, Tolono, for furnishing drying facilities for the grain sorghum. Thanks are also due H. J. Schultz and Robert Schultz, Champaign; Julius Frye, Havana; and Donald Dean, Champaign, for their assistance in the tests. For general information about grain sorghums for Illinois farmers, see Circular 774, "Grain Sorghums in Illinois." Urbana, Illinois April, 1960 Publications in the bulletin series report the results of investigations made or sponsored by the Experiment Station GRAIN SORGHUMS Extensive testing of grain sorghum hybrids and varieties was started in Illinois in 1956. While grain sorghums may not be of great economic importance to Illinois farmers at the present time, the de- velopment of new hybrids and new cultural practices make grain sorghum a crop with great potentialities. Being drouth resistant, the crop does well on drouthy, sandy soils and on poorly drained and drouthy claypan soils. Some of the new hybrids compare favorably in yield with corn, even on deep, well-drained soils with a high production potential. Future hybrid combinations may compete directly with corn under conditions favorable for maximum corn production. Grain sorghum hybrids have consistently outyielded grain sorghum varieties by 21 percent in 1956, by 26 percent in 1957, by 40 percent in 1958, and in 1959 by 44 percent. The greatest increase, 65 percent, was obtained in Mason county, where the test was grown on dune sand and where moisture was very limiting. Sorghum at this location out- yielded corn in the same field by 40 to 50 percent. The 1959 grain sorghum tests were conducted at five locations (Table 1). Twenty-five commercial hybrids, 9 experiment station hybrids, and 6 standard varieties were tested (Table 2). The tests were supported in part by an entry fee for each commercial entry. Data from only four of the fields are reported here. The Jackson county trial was ruined by birds and was not harvested for yield. Detailed results of the 1956, 1957, and 1958 grain sorghum trials were reported in mimeographs AG1738 and AG1785 and in Station Bulletin 643. Growing Conditions Growing conditions varied widely from one location to another over the state in 1959. At some locations rainfall was above average while at other locations it was considerably below average (Table 3). Rainfall in Champaign, Mason, and Fayette counties was below aver- age during stand establishment. Good stands were obtained at all locations, however, except for a few entries in the Mason county test. In Pope county rainfall was adequate during stand establishment and was abundant during August and September. These conditions con- tributed greatly toward yields that were considerably above those for the previous three years. Weather conditions were favorable for har- vesting grain sorghum in 1959, and most of the grain could have been stored safely without artificial drying. However, sorghum producers should plan to dry the grain artificially since in many seasons it will not be sufficiently dry to store directly from the field. BULLETIN No. 659 *J -oo 00 ON I/) 1O C 13 01 04 TJ "~ L, fc. T3T3 J. c"" 1/5 "* i S o 00 g 1 x> o 0. 2 '^S s^ss ss *>ts; & & 1J il Q c/1 O o O c^O c^ 2 C/3 2*^ ^ *H in w O $> X- CU -o tf | be bd CU g bo be bo bo ^ "U C c o CO Cd c C _0 c c .2 t f M H . *-* > ~~' cu C ~^ ! : c 4 cu ID m -oj M -b . C en;; M M -b b -o S 5 2. I o ^ E 2 |2 o~ o"- * o\ o"- o^ I"-- 1^ & "" ,l\f J O4 CU 04 CU -Sl'o^S ^2<^g -2<^S O4 CJ ^ CU ^H ^ ^-2 4 i 4 bt bj bo bo be be bo bo bt bo t 10 bo | n c e c c c c c C C : c 84 _o _o o o o o 3 ) 'co 4J co'S -b CO 04 . 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Schultz and Robe farm, S miles southwest of Champaign Julius Frye farm, 2 mi east of Havana Brownstown Experimer Cooperative Agronomy Center at Carbondale b Dixon Springs Experim Station Northern Illinois Exper Field Donald Dean farm, 5 mi west of Champaign Cooperative Agronomy Center at Carbondale b Dixon Springs Experim a 5 3 8 5 c c _bo J5 >i '3 cu c _,., '3 d c O M 0) J3 O Mason 1 | & ^ ctf .P "5 M cu Q | O 1 ! " > CH ". 8 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS Table 2. ENTRIES: 1959 Grain Sorghum Trials Hybrid or variety Entered by Grain sorghum varieties Plainsman, Redbine 60, Midland, Reliance, Combine 7078, Norghum Grain sorghum hybrids Texas 611, Texas 620 RS 501, RS 661 RS 590, RS 608, RS 610, RS 650, Texas 660 P.A.G. 425-S, P.A.G. 435-S, P.A.G. 515-S, P.A.G. 605-S, P.A.G. 625-S DeKalb C-44a, DeKalb D-50a, DeKalb D-55. DeKalb E-56a, DeKalb F-62a. DeKalb F-63, DeKalb X-49 Frontier 400-C. Frontier 410-C NK 3000, NK 135, NK 140, NK 210, NK230 Steckley GG R-103, Steckley GG R-104- A, Steckley GG R-106, Steckley GG R- 108, Steckley GG R-lll, Steckley GG R-113 Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Substation No. 12) Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station) Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Nebraska and Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations) Pfister Associated Growers, Inc. DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc. Frontier Hybrids, Inc. Northrup, King and Company Steckley Hybrid Corn Company Planting and Harvesting The experimental design used for the Champaign, Mason, and Pope county trials was a 7 X 7 semi-balanced lattice square with four repli- cations. In Jackson county a 6 X 7 rectangular lattice with three replications was used, and in Fayette county a randomized complete block design with two replications was used. All trials were planted with a hand seeder in 40-inch rows at the calibrated rate of 8 viable seeds per foot. Stands were not thinned. Sorghum heads were harvested by hand. Except at Pope county, heads from each plot were dried artificially to approximately 10 to 12 percent moisture, threshed by a Vogel nursery thresher, and cleaned by a fan. In the trial at Pope county, heads were threshed without artificial drying and averaged 14 percent moisture at harvest. Results Data for 1959 and summaries for 1956 through 1959 are presented in Tables 4 through 7. Four-year averages are, of course, more re- liable than results for only one year. The fact that an entry does not appear in the summary, however, does not mean it is inferior; its absence merely indicates that it was not tested for all four seasons. Grain yields. All yields were adjusted to 13 percent moisture and 56 pounds per bushel. BULLETIN No. 659 [April, Table 3. RAINFALL DATA: Weather Stations Near or at Locations of Grain and Forage Sorghum Trials Weather station location Precipitation Year May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Six- month total in. in. in. in. in. in. in. Northern Illinois 1959 2.86 2.38 5.61 3.33 2.40 5.99 22.57 Experiment Field 1958 2.74 6.38 5.69 3.81 1.26 2.39 22.27 (DeKalb county) Longtime av. 4.09 4.23 3.16 3.61 3.80 2.87 21.76 Urbana (Champaign 1959 6.56 1.09 1.54 2.44 3.36 4.53 19.52 county) 1958 4.29 7.50 7.17 3.27 2.84 .42 25.49 Longtime av. 4.15 3.85 3.09 3.36 3.27 2.52 20.24 Havana (Mason 1959 3.01 .96 1.14 3.97 2.56 3.72 15.36 county) 1958 1.00 5.68 8.02 1.89 1.91 1.59 20.09 Longtime av. 3.94 3.92 3.75 3.00 3.98 2.34 20.93 Brownstown Ex- 1959 4.02 .98 1.44 5.97 4.02 2.48 18.91 periment Field 1958 3.25 3.45 10.29 1.57 3.22 1.86 23.64 (Fayette county) Longtime av. 4.54 4.52 3.05 3.53 3.29 3.02 21.95 Carbondale, Agron- 1959 5.27 2.33 2.34 8.02 5.89 3.19 27.04 omy Research Center 1958 4.34 4.94 10.79 5.09 2.40 1.89 29.45 (Jackson county) Longtime av. 4.52 4.37 3.10 4.21 4.01 3.67 23.88 Dixon Springs 1959 6.10 2.83 2.30 9.36 8.02 3.18 31.79 Experiment Station 1958 3.55 4.76 14.25 3.21 2.73 1.14 29.64 (Pope county) Longtime av. 4.06 4.08 3.40 3.48 3.44 3.07 21.53 Longtime state av. 4.08 3.91 3.25 3.31 3.73 2.54 20.82 Average yields for sorghum hybrids in 1959 at all locations aver- aged 44 percent above those for the varieties. Corn entries were not included in the grain sorghum performance tests, and therefore no direct, comparison of yield of grain sorghum and corn can be made. However, in the Champaign county corn performance test on com- parable soil type, corn hybrids averaged 100 bushels per acre, compared with 93 bushels per acre for all grain sorghum hybrids. In Fayette county the corn hybrids averaged 82 bushels and the grain sorghum hybrids averaged 71 bushels per acre. In Mason county the grain sor- ghum hybrids yielded 38 bushels per acre compared with 25 bushels per acre for corn in the same field. In Pope county the yields were 92 and 83 bushels for grain sorghum hybrids and corn hybrids respectively. With present cultural practices and hybrids, sorghums are not ex- pected to outyield corn hybrids under conditions favorable for corn. The advantage for sorghum is more likely to be shown on drouthy soils, such as sands and claypans, under conditions when late planting is necessary, perhaps in years of excessive rainfall, and on soils where the fertility level (especially for nitrogen) might limit corn yields. Silage yields. Grain sorghums can be made into silage but can be expected to yield less than forage sorghums, and stalks of grain sorghums are neither as sweet nor as juicy as those of forage sorghums. The grain sorghums, however, are likely to have a higher grain com- 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 7 ponent than the forage sorghums, unless a high-grain-yielding hybrid forage sorghum is used. For the past four years at Dixon Springs, grain sorghums averaged 10.5 tons of silage per acre, while forage sorghums averaged 15.4 tons and corn averaged 14.0 tons. Silage yields from grain sorghums were exceptionally high in 1959, averaging 13.0 tons per acre with some hybrids yielding 17 to 19 tons. The 13.0 tons of silage made from grain sorghum contained an average of 72 bushels of grain, while the 19.4 tons of silage made from forage sorghum at Dixon Springs contained an average of only 25 bushels of grain. Maturity. A good indication of relative maturity of the different entries is the number of days to bloom, considered to be when 50 per- cent of each head of the majority of heads has flowered. In Champaign county in 1959 the average number of days to bloom of the hybrids was 64 compared with 62 for the varieties. There was a difference of 18 days between the earliest and the latest entry. NK 3000 bloomed in 52 days while DeKalb F-63, P.A.G. 625-S, and Steckley GG R-113 required 70 or 71 days. Dry weather in Champaign and Mason counties reduced yields of the early entries more than yields of the medium- and late-maturing entries. In central and south- ern Illinois, medium- and late-maturing varieties should be grown because of their greater yields. Test weight. The test weight, or pounds per bushel, is one of the quality factors used in determining the grade that is assigned in com- mercial marketing of grain. Entries in these trials did not differ greatly in this characteristic. Head exsertion. Head exsertion is the distance from the top leaf (flag leaf) to the base of the head. Sorghums with heads that are well exserted are more easily harvested because less plant material passes through the combine. Head exsertion of most hybrids averaged about 6 inches while head exsertion of the varieties was slightly less. Head length. Head-length measurements were taken in the Cham- paign and Fayette county tests and averaged 8 and 7 inches, respec- tively. Differences were very small, and there was no apparent association of head length and other characters. Lodging. Plants were considered lodged when they inclined more than 45 degrees. In the 1959 trials, lodging was rare. Since no im- portant differences among entries were observed, the data are not reported here. Height. Height is measured from the ground level to the top of the plant. Shorter varieties and hybrids are easier to combine. In the 1959 trials in Champaign county, entries ranged from 39 to 54 inches 8 BULLETIN No. 659 in height; in Mason county from 30 to 48 inches; in Pope county from 46 to 68 inches; and in Fayette county from 31 to 51 inches. Number of heads per plot. The heads were counted only from that part of the plot which was harvested. This information provides a rough estimate of stand since but little tillering or secondary head production was observed in 1959. If it is assumed that each head was from a separate plant, then, based on the planting rate of 8 viable seeds per foot, the percent of emergence was 65 percent for the Champaign field, 61 percent for the Mason field, and 63 percent for the Fayette field. This resulted in a plant population of about 5 plants per foot, or 66,000 plants per acre. Seedling vigor. The lack of seedling vigor is one of the criticisms of grain sorghum, and more attention should be given to this charac- teristic. The hybrids exhibited considerably more seedling vigor than the varieties, and there was much variation among hybrids. Head type. Heads of sorghum hybrids and varieties varied from being compact to open or loose. Open-headed types were formerly thought to dry more rapidly than compact types. Experimental results here and at other experiment stations indicate that this is not neces- sarily true. Uniformity. In Fayette county, the entries were rated for uni- formity and were found to be quite variable. There was no apparent association between uniformity and yield. Interpreting Yield Differences in the Tables Entries are ranked in the order of yield, but it should be remem- bered that small differences do not necessarily indicate that one hybrid or variety is inherently superior to another. Interpretation of the data and comparison of the entries may be made more meaningful by use of the "difference necessary for significance" appearing at the bottom of each table. These differences have been computed by the "Multiple Range Test." 1 To compare the yield of two entries, all entries must be listed in order of their performance (as they appear in the tables). To determine the number in the range, count the entries being com- pared plus the number between these two and use the corresponding difference necessary for significance. For characters other than yield, only the difference for more than 20 in the range has been com- puted. This difference can be safely used to compare any two entries even though they are not listed in order for a particular character. 1 Duncan, D. B., "Multiple Range and Multiple F Tests." Biometrics 11, (l):l-43. 1955. Table 4. GRAIN SORGHUMS: East-Central 111., Champaign County Rank Hybrid in or yield variety Yield at 13% mois- ture Test Number Seedling vigor on Plant June height 29" Head exser- tion TT j Davs Head r*r length bloom Head type b bu /acre Ib. rating in. in. in. rating 1959 RESULTS 1 DeKalb D-50a. . . 115 55 130 2.6 53 6 9 60 5 2 DeKalb F-63 110 56 164 3.7 50 7 10 70 3 3 Texas 620 107 57 154 3.2 49 7 9 65 2 4 P.A.G. 515-S 107 55 174 3.0 48 7 8 66 3 5 Frontier 400-C 104 55 154 3.4 46 6 8 62 2 6 RS 610 101 55 166 3.0 47 7 8 62 2 7 DeKalb F-62a 101 55 158 4.1 47 6 10 66 5 8 Steckley GGR-104-A. 100 58 168 3.9 48 7 9 68 4 9 Texas 660 99 55 158 3.4 46 6 9 66 2 10 RS 661 99 56 154 3.6 46 7 9 66 3 1 1 Steckley GG R-106 . . . 97 55 142 3.2 46 6 9 66 3 12 NK 140 96 54 173 3.4 48 8 7 61 3 13 Steckley GG R-l 11... 96 54 138 3.8 46 6 9 67 3 14 RS590 94 55 156 3.6 46 6 9 63 2 15 Texas 611 93 57 123 4.1 46 5 9 65 2 16 NK 210 93 55 177 3.8 49 7 7 62 2 17 Steckley GGR-103... 92 56 169 3.2 49 6 8 59 3 18 DeKalb E-56a 91 54 142 3.7 46 5 9 65 5 19 Frontier 410-C 91 53 156 5.1 43 5 8 69 1 20 Steckley GGR-108... 89 56 147 3.5 43 5 8 66 2 21 NK 230 89 56 184 3.0 44 7 8 64 2 22 RS 650 88 55 178 2.8 42 5 8 65 1 23 RS608. 88 54 174 3.2 44 7 8 62 3 24 P.A.G. 435-S 88 53 161 4.0 43 7 8 63 3 25 Plainsman 88 50 176 3.7 40 4 8 68 1 26 P.A.G. 425-S 87 56 191 2.6 45 7 7 62 4 27 NK 135 87 56 180 3.7 52 8 10 55 5 28 DeKalb C-44a 84 53 110 5.0 44 5 9 62 5 29 Redbine 60 80 55 115 4.8 46 5 10 67 3 30 RS 501 80 53 192 3.1 54 7 8 57 3 31 Combine 7078 76 52 170 3.8 38 5 8 64 2 32 NK 3000 72 53 169 2.4 42 7 8 52 5 33 DeKalb X-49 70 52 147 3.6 46 6 9 62 5 34 Midland 66 56 145 5.5 48 5 7 65 3 35 Reliance 60 55 188 4.7 45 5 6 56 5 36 Norghum 29 52 132 4.7 39 5 8 54 5 Av. all sorghums 88 55 159 3.7 46 6 8 63 3 Av. 30 sorghum hybrids . 93 55 160 3.4 46 6 8 63 3 Av. 6 sorghum varieties . 66 53 154 4.5 43 5 8 62 3 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2. . 10 3-5 11 6-10 12 11-20 12 Over 20 12 3 34 1.4 2 1 1 3 1 SUMMARY: 1956-1959 or 1957-1959 AVERAGES (1956- (1956- (1956- (1957- (1957- 1959) 1959) 1959) 1959) 1959) 1 DeKalb D-50a 114 58 63 9 67 2 Texas 620 109 58 59 7 69 3 RS 610 109 57 57 8 68 4 Texas 660 103 57 57 7 70 5 Texas 611 100 58 57 6 68 6 DeKalb E-56a 100 57 56 7 70 7 RS 590 98 58 56 7 68 8 RS 650 ... 98 57 52 6 70 9 RS 501 96 57 66 8 62 10 Redbine 60 87 57 55 6 70 11 Combine 7078 80 54 45 5 71 12 Plainsman 78 54 48 6 73 13 Midland 73 57 55 6 70 14 Reliance 56 56 52 7 61 Av. 9 sorghum hybrids. 103 57 58 7 68 Av. 5 sorghum varieties. 75 56 51 6 69 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2. . 11 3-5 13 6-10 13 Over 10 14 2 4 2 3 * Seedling vigor ratings are on a scale from 1 (most vigorous) to 9 (least vigorous). b Head type ratings are on a scale from 1 (compact) to 5 (open). Table 5. GRAIN SORGHUMS: Central Illinois, Mason County Rank Hybrid in or yield variety Yield T . Number Seedling at 13% _l5ht of heads vi g r on moisture ' per plot June 20" Plant height bu/acre Ib. rating in. 1959 RESULTS 1 NK230.. . 50 57 132 1 . 7 42 2 P.A.G. 515-S 50 53 116 2. 3 34 3 Steckley GG R-108 50 56 102 3. 3 33 4 P.A.G. 435-S 44 50 121 2. 3 34 5 Texas 620 43 53 135 2. 7 44 6 DeKalb D-50a 43 51 109 2. 7 43 7 NK 210 42 50 131 3, 48 8 Steckley GG R-106 42 50 136 2. 7 39 9 RS 590 ... 41 56 116 2. 7 39 10 RS 650 41 52 134 2. 4 36 11 RS608 40 51 138 2, 8 35 12 P.A.G. 425-S 40 53 131 3. 3 34 13 DeKalb E-56a 39 53 115 3, 3 38 14 NK 140 39 55 128 1, 7 43 15 Steckley GG R-lll 38 52 101 3 7 38 16 RS610 38 52 117 3 6 44 17 Texas 660 . 38 53 115 3 4 40 18 DeKalb F-62a 37 52 124 3 .7 37 19 RS 661 37 54 135 2 ,3 35 20 Steckley GG R-103 35 49 127 2 .7 40 21 Steckley GG R-113 34 53 80 3 .7 34 22 Texas 611 32 52 113 \ .0 45 23 Plainsman 32 50 122 4 ,0 33 24 DeKalb F-63 30 53 99 3 .3 40 25 Steckley GG R-104-A . 30 55 121 3 .7 42 26 NK 3000 28 48 117 1 .7 41 27 DeKalb X-49 28 49 112 4.0 40 28 NK 135 27 50 116 2 .7 47 29 DeKalb C-44a 25 48 88 3 .0 32 30 Redbine 60 23 53 99 5 .0 33 31 Combine 7078 21 52 91 4 .3 30 32 Reliance 15 51 119 4 ,7 36 Av. all sorghums . 36 52 115 3 .2 38 Av. 28 sorghum hybrids 38 52 118 3 .0 39 Av. 4 sorghum varieties 23 52 108 4 .5 33 Number in range Difference necessary for sis [nificance 2 11 3-5 12 6-10 13 11-20 13 Over 20 13 5 32 1 .8 SUMMARY: 1958-1959 AVERAGES 1 NK230.. 51 58 44 2 DeKalb D-50a 42 54 46 3 RS 650 48 55 39 4 Texas 620 47 56 44 5 RS 590 46 56 44 6 P.A.G. 515-S 45 56 40 7 RS610 45 55 46 8 P.A.G. 425-S. .. 44 56 38 9 P.A.G. 435-S 42 54 33 10 RS 608 41 54 40 1 1 DeKalb E-56a 40 56 44 12 NK 140 36 58 45 13 Texas 660 36 56 44 14 Texas 611 36 52 46 15 NK 3000 . 36 54 44 16 Plainsman 30 54 37 17 NK 135 30 53 50 18 DeKalb C-44a 30 54 38 19 Combine 7078 28 54 31 20 Redbine 60 24 55 38 Av. 1 7 sorghum hybrids . 41 55 46 Av. 3 sorghum varieties 27 54 35 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2... 11 3-5 12 6-10 13 Over 10 13 N.S. 7 NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. Seedling vigor ratings are on a scale from 1 (most vigorous) to 9 (least vigorous). SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 11 Table 6. GRAIN SORGHUMS: South-Central Illinois, Fayette County Rank in yield Hybrid or variety Yield at 13% Test mois- weight ture Number of heads per plot Plant height Head exser- tion Head length Uni- form- ity* bu/acre Ib. in. in. rating 1959 RESULTS 1 P.A.G. 605-S 90 58 155 46 6 8 3 2 Red bine 60 89 58 94 43 4 9 3 3 DeKalb D-50a 86 59 142 50 7 9 4 4 P.A.G. 515-S 82 56 140 48 6 8 2 5 DeKalb X -49 80 58 120 44 5 9 3 6 Steckley GG R-106 79 58 120 45 6 7 3 7 P.A.G. 625-S 78 58 117 45 5 7 3 8 Steckley GG R- 104- A 75 58 176 47 8 8 1 9 DeKalb F-62a 75 56 126 48 6 8 2 10 DeKalb C-44a 74 56 133 42 4 8 3 11 Steckley GG R-103 74 59 151 42 5 7 4 12 Texas 660 73 58 173 43 6 8 3 13 DeKalb D-55 72 57 139 47 6 8 3 14 DeKalb E-56a 72 58 144 46 6 8 2 15 Frontier 400-C 72 56 130 42 5 7 4 16 RS 661 71 58 140 47 8 7 2 17 NK230 71 56 180 45 6 7 3 18 Texas 620 71 58 122 47 6 9 2 19 Steckley GG R-l 13 71 58 68 47 4 7 3 20 RS 590 70 58 165 43 5 8 3 21 DeKalb F-63 69 57 146 51 7 7 2 22 NK 210 69 58 182 46 6 6 3 23 Plainsman 68 57 158 39 6 7 3 24 RS 650 67 59 178 44 6 6 3 25 Texas 611 67 56 176 48 7 8 4 26 Steckley GG R-108 66 58 129 43 7 6 2 27 RS 608 66 58 212 42 8 6 3 28 NK 135 65 58 203 38 4 7 4 29 Frontier 410-C 65 58 160 44 7 6 2 30 NK 140 64 56 186 42 8 6 4 31 NK 3000 63 56 150 38 3 8 5 32 RS 610 63 58 206 44 6 6 4 33 P.A.G. 435-S... 60 56 154 42 7 6 3 34 Steckley GG R-l 11 60 56 100 46 4 9 3 35 P.A.G. 425-S 58 56 168 41 8 6 3 36 Midland 49 57 175 43 5 6 4 37 Combine 7078 49 56 110 34 4 6 3 38 Norghum 38 56 183 31 7 3 39 Reliance 35 56 194 38 4 6 2 Av. all sorghums 68 57 151 44 6 7 3 Av. 33 sorghum hybrids 71 57 151 45 6 7 3 Av. 6 sorghum varieties 55 57 132 38 4 7 3 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 11 3-5 12 6-10 13 11-20 13 Over 20 13 N.S. 48 NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. a Uniformity ratings are on a scale from 1 (most uniform) to 5 (least uniform). 12 BULLETIN No. 659 [April, Table 7. GRAIN SORGHUMS: Southern Illinois, Pope County Rank in yield Hybrid or variety Yield at 13% mok" mols - Grain - plants at 70% harvest Silage, plants rod Plant height Head exser- tion bu/acre percl. T/acre perct. 1959 RESULTS 1 Frontier 400-C 107 15 65 14.4 30 65 55 2 NK 140 107 16 82 15.2 33 79 58 3 NK 210 104 14 76 17.4 36 76 60 4 P.A.G. 425-S 104 14 80 12.2 35 62 51 5 DeKalb D-50a 103 15 57 15.9 33 60 68 6 RS 610 101 15 76 13.7 31 74 57 7 Texas 660 99 14 76 12.9 28 70 56 8 DeKalb D-55 ... 99 14 62 12.6 31 63 57 9 P.A.G. 515-S 98 16 73 18.8 40 77 60 10 RS650 97 14 86 12.9 30 90 56 11 DeKalb F-62a 97 15 73 16.2 37 68 56 12 RS 590 96 15 73 12.9 28 72 57 13 RS 608 94 15 80 14.0 32 74 54 14 RS501 94 16 67 14.1 30 68 66 15 DeKalb F-63 93 15 68 13.2 27 60 60 16 Frontier 410-C 91 14 83 12.9 29 96 54 17 NK230 89 15 84 13.2 32 86 54 18 Texas 620 87 16 73 15.6 33 78 61 19 RS661 87 14 86 12.6 28 89 57 20 DeKalb C-44a 85 14 60 13:6 34 55 54 21 P.A.G. 605-S 82 14 78 16.4 29 87 58 22 Texas 611... 82 16 71 16.1 34 75 56 23 DeKalb X-49 81 13 81 12.5 31 88 56 24 Steckley GG R-108 80 14 56 12.1 32 62 51 25 DeKalb E-56a 78 14 66 11.1 28 76 53 26 Combine 7078 77 14 63 11.7 34 64 46 27 Steckley GG R- 113. ... 77 15 57 13.9 33 59 56 28 P.A.G. 625-S 77 15 61 14.0 32 63 52 29 Steckley GG R- 111. . 75 14 64 11.8 28 55 54 30 Norghum 68 14 71 8.7 30 76 51 31 Redbine60 67 13 59 9.9 27 61 54 32 Reliance 66 14 82 10.4 26 92 54 33 Midland 61 14 67 13.0 29 69 57 34 Plainsman 59 12 78 11.8 31 83 45 Av. all sorghums... 87 14 72 13.5 31 73 56 Av. 28 sorghum hybrids .. 92 15 72 14.0 31 73 57 Av. 6 sorghum varieties. .. 66 14 70 10.9 30 74 51 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2.. 17 3.3 3-5 19 3.7 6-10 20 4.0 10-20 21 4.1 Over 20 21 2 16 4.2 8 17 6 SUMMARY: 1956-1959 AVERAGES 1 RS610... 78 12.1 56 2 DeKalb D-50a 72 12.6 64 3 RS 650 66 10.6 52 4 RS501 64 11.4 63 5 RS590 59 11.6 56 6 Texas 620 59 12.1 58 7 Combine 7078 55 9.2 44 8 Texas6Il 53 11.6 57 9 Redbine60 48 9.6 53 10 Plainsman 48 10.0 45 11 Midland 42 10.6 54 12 Reliance 36 7.2 53 A v. 7 sorghum hybrids. .. 64 11.7 58 Av. 5 sorghum varieties. .. 46 9.3 50 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2.. 12 2.3 3-5 14 2.5 6-12... 14 2.7 3 1960} SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 13 FORAGE SORGHUMS Forage sorghum performance tests were conducted at five widely separated locations in Illinois in 1956 and 1957 and at four locations in 1958 and 1959. General information concerning the locations of the 1958 and 1959 trials is presented in Table 1. Results of the 1956 and 1957 tests were reported in mimeograph AG1798 of the Department of Agronomy. The present bulletin presents data for the 1958 and 1959 tests, as well as three- and four-year summaries when they are available. The fact that an entry does not appear in the summary does not mean that it is inferior; its absence merely indicates that it was not tested for all seasons. In the 1958 tests, 11 hybrids were compared with 6 to 11 varieties and 3 corn hybrids at each location, and in 1959, 8 to 13 hybrids were compared with 9 or 10 varieties and 3 corn hybrids (Table 8). The silage yields of forage sorghum hybrids have averaged about the same as yields of forage sorghum varieties during the four years that tests have been conducted in Illinois. The average yield of corn silage per acre has been considerably less than that of forage sorghum. The corn entries, however, usually yield more grain per acre than the forage sorghum entries. Several of the forage hybrids have a definite advantage over the varieties in grain production and compare favorably with corn in this respect. Growing Conditions Growing conditions for 1959 have been discussed previously in this bulletin, and rainfall data for each location are presented in Table 3. In 1958 an abundance of moisture provided generally favorable condi- tions for corn but not always for the sorghums. Temperatures below normal and excessive moisture in Champaign county apparently re- duced emergence and caused slow establishment. In DeKalb county moisture was limiting at the time of planting, emergence was slow, and the sorghums were slow in becoming established. Many entries had not reached the recommended stage of maturity for making silage by October 1, 1958, the time of the first frost. Planting and Harvesting The experimental design used in both 1958 and 1959 for the forage sorghum trials was a 5 X 5 semi-balanced lattice square with three replications, except in Jackson county in 1958 where a randomized block design with four replications was used. 14 BULLETIN No. 659 [April, All sorghum plots were planted with a hand seeder in 40-inch rows at the calibrated rate of 8 to 10 seeds per foot. Stands were not thinned except for the corn entries, which were thinned to approxi- mately 20,000 plants per acre. Only those portions of the rows with adequate and uniform stands were harvested for yield. Whenever pos- sible, varieties and hybrids were harvested when the grain was in the hard-dough stage. In most trials the grain component was measured by cutting off all heads of the harvested silage sample after it was used to determine the silage yield. The heads were then placed in a burlap bag, dried, and threshed by a Vogel nursery thresher. Several entries did not reach the hard-dough stage of maturity before frost and con- sequently gave low grain yields. Table 8. ENTRIES: 1958 and 1959 Forage Sorghum Trials Hybrid or variety Entered by 1958 TRIALS Forage sorghum varieties Tracy, Leoti Red, Sourless Orange, Sourless White, Orange Fodder Cane, Kansas Orange, Ellis, Atlas, Norkan, Hegari, Sumac 1712 Forage sorghum hybrids RS 301F, RS 303F DeKalb FS-1, DeKalb Exp. A, DeKalb Exp. B, DeKalb Exp. C Asgrow Beef Builder, Asgrow Silo King NK 145, NK 300, NK 320 Corn hybrids U.S. 13, 111. 1332, AES 702, 111. 1864, 111. 1277, AES 805, 111. 1851 Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station) DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc. Asgrow Texas Company Northrup, King and Company Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station 1959 TRIALS Forage sorghum varieties Norkan. Tracy, Sart, Wiley, Atlas, Sourless Orange, Honey Sorgo (Texas), Hegari, Kansas Orange, Ellis Forage sorghum hybrids DeKalb FS-la, DeKalb FS-22, DeKalb SX-11 Frontier S-210 NK 145, NK 300, NK 3059, NK 3065 Steckley GG 300 RS 301 F Texas A605 x R6645 Texas A605 x R1306 Texas A605 x R7210 Corn hybrids U.S. 13, 111. 1332, Spanish Sweet, AES 702, 111. 1279. 111. 1864, 111. 1851, 111. 1570, AES 805 Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc. Frontier Hybrids, Inc. Northrup, King and Company Steckley Hybrid Corn Company Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station) Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (seed furnished by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Substation No. 12) Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 15 Results Data for 1958 are presented in Tables 9, 11, 13, and 15. Data for 1959 with three- and four-year summaries are presented in Tables 10, 12, 14, and 16. Silage yields. All silage yields, including corn, were adjusted to 70 percent moisture. In 1958 the forage sorghum hybrids yielded slightly higher on the average than the forage sorghum varieties, and in 1959 the reverse was true. The forage sorghums have consistently outyielded corn in silage per acre. The advantage of sorghums over corn is more apparent when conditions are less favorable for corn. For example, in Champaign county in 1959, a midsummer drouth reduced yield of both corn and sorghum considerably, yet the best forage sorghum yield was almost double that of the best corn hybrid. Grain yields. The grain yield of corn greatly exceeded the average yield of the forage sorghums in 1958 except in Pope county, where the yield of both corn and sorghums was very low. In the Pope county trials in 1959, with ample moisture, the corn had a much greater grain yield than the forage sorghums. The extremely low corn yields in the 1959 forage sorghum trials in Champaign and DeKalb counties were probably a result of the corn plots being surrounded by tall-growing sorghums, which may have prevented normal pollination and seed set. The grain component of the forage sorghums grown in Jackson county was not harvested for yield in 1959 because of severe damage by birds. The forage sorghum hybrids and varieties varied widely in grain yield, the 1959 yields ranging from 1 to 74 bushels per acre. Many of the hybrids produced considerably more grain than the standard varieties. Test weight. The test weight, or pounds per bushel, is one of the quality factors used in determining the grade that is assigned in com- mercial marketing of grain. The entries were quite variable in this characteristic. Test weight of forage sorghums is partly a reflection of maturity and condition of the grain at time of harvest as well as of the physical characteristics of the grain. Varieties which have glumes that do not separate from the kernels during threshing can be expected to have a lower test weight than other varieties. Plant height. Plant height which was taken near harvest time was measured from the ground level to the top of the plant. Plant heights in 1958 ranged from 62 to 118 inches in DeKalb county, from 73 to 141 in Champaign county, from 83 to 144 in Jackson county, and from 63 to 104 in Pope county. In 1959 the respective ranges were 75 to 130 inches, 64 to 113, 65 to 129, and 87 to 152. Some of the tallest entries are also among the best in standability. 16 BULLETIN No. 659 Maturity. A good indicator of relative maturity of forage sorghums is the number of days to bloom. The number of days to bloom is presented for the trials in Champaign and Jackson counties. In DeKalb county a relative maturity rating was given for each entry. In 1958 the difference between the earliest and the latest sorghum in both central and southern Illinois was about 25 days. In 1959 the difference, was 37 to 40 days. NK 145 and DeKalb SX-11 were in full bloom 62 to 64 days after planting in Champaign county, while Tracy, Sart, Honey Sorgo, and DeKalb FS-22 required 104 to 113 days. Several hybrids mature sufficiently early to be harvested before frost, even in extreme northern Illinois. Lodging. One of the primary requirements of a desirable forage- type sorghum for Illinois is that it should stand well. The percent of lodging varied considerably among entries and among locations. The sorghum varieties lodged less on the average than the hybrids. Cer- tain hybrids and varieties have very good standability. Male-fertility restoration. In Champaign county in 1959, ten heads of each variety were bagged to check for male sterility. All plants that were checked had either normal seed set or no seed at all. Frontier S-210, RS 301 F, and Steckley GG 300 had ten heads, each 100 percent sterile. NK 145 had four heads that were 100 percent sterile, but the other six heads were normal. Hybrids that are partly or completely male-sterile are marketed with about 5 percent of the seed being pol- linator seed, which furnishes sufficient pollen in the field for normal seed production. Interpreting Differences in the Tables The same procedure for interpreting differences is used as ex- plained previously for the grain sorghum. The entries are ranked according to yield of silage per acre. The difference necessary for significance is listed at the bottom of each column. 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 17 Table 9. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Northern Illinois, DeKalb County Rank silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- Grain Matur- at 70% terof at 13% Test ity Plant mois- silage at mois- weight on height ture harvest ture Oct. 7 Lodging T/acre perct. bu/acre Ib. rating perct. 1958 RESULTS 1 DeKalb Exp. A ........... 29.9 2 RS301F.. . ............. 21.3 3 DeKalb Exp. B ........... 21.0 4 Asgrow Beef Builder ...... 20.5 5 Asgrow Silo King ......... 20.1 6 Kansas Orange ........... 20.0 7 DeKalb Exp. C ........... 19.9 8 NK 145 ................. 18.4 9 Orange Fodder Cane .. 18.3 10 Corn (AES 702) .......... 18.1 11 Tracy ................... 17.8 12 Sourless Orange ........... 17.4 13 Norkan .................. 17.1 14 Sumac 1712 .............. 16.3 15 RS 303F ................. 16.2 16 NK320 ................. 16.1 17 Atlas... 16.0 18 Corn (111. 1864) ........... 15.7 19 NK300 ................. 15.5 20 DeKalb FS-1 ............. 15.3 21 Leoti Red ................ 15.1 22 Ellis ..................... 14.9 23 Corn (111. 1277) ........... 13.1 24 Hegari ................... 10.4 Av. all sorghums ............ 18.1 Av. 1 1 sorghum hybrids ..... 19.8 Av. 10 sorghum varieties ..... 16.3 Av. 3 corn hybrids .......... 15 .6 Number in range 2.. 5.1 3-5 ...................... 5.6 6-10 ..................... 5.9 11-24 .................... 6.0 24 30 25 31 26 27 22 31 25 34 22 20 31 19 28 31 23 36 32 29 28 26 33 30 27 28 25 34 48 .. 58 73 90 51 .. 31 79 87 56 57 80 57 56 57 54 86 54 .. 55 56 58 .. 56 56 54 53 54 54 52 55 55 55 55 7.0 8.9 7.0 8.8 7.0 7.8 5.5 10.0 7.3 ... 5.6 6.0 8.8 5.0 7.7 10.0 7.0 ... 9.2 9.2 7.5 8.3 ... 10.0 7.7 8.2 7.2 118 89 112 92 111 99 117 92 104 90 107 100 91 91 93 80 97 88 65 68 98 92 88 62 94 94 94 89 Difference necessary for significance 17 19 20 6 20 2 .8 8 7 5 86 7 6 1 14 7 29 1 2 1 6 96 1 48 85 84 8 50 95 24 36 11 42 14 SUMMARY: 1956-1958 or 1957-1958 AVERAGES 1 Kansas Orange 2 Sumac 1712 3 RS301F 4 Tracy 5 Corn 6 7 8 9 10 Sourless Orange Atlas Norkan DeKalb FS-1 Ellis Number in range 2.. 3-5 6-10... (1956- 1958) 21.9 21.1 20.4 19.9 19.6 18.5 18.0 17.3 16.9 15.6 3.2 3.6 3.7 (1957- (1957- 1958) 1958) 107 6 96 3 94 6 104 4 92 32 97 6 98 4 94 4 79 70 99 2 Difference necessary for significance 16 18 a Maturity ratings are on a scale of 5 =full bloom, 7 = milk stage, 8 = soft dough, 9 = hard dough, and 10 = mature seed. IS BULLETIN No. 659 Table 10. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Northern Illinois, DeKalb County Rank silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- Grain Matur- at 70% ter of at 13% Test ity Plant mois- silage at mois- weight on height ture harvest ture Sept. 8 a T/acre perct. bu/acre Ib. rating perct. 1959 RESULTS 1 Tracy .................... 28.0 2 Honey Sorgo (Texas) ....... 28.0 3 Kansas Orange ............ 27.9 4 Sart ...................... 27.2 5 DeKalb FS-22 ............. 23.2 6 Frontier S-2 10 ............. 23.0 7 Sourless Orange ........... 22.8 8 NK 3065 ................. 22.6 9 Steckley GG300... 22.2 10 Atlas ..................... 22.2 11 Wiley .................... 22.1 12 NK3059 ................. 21.6 13 RS301F .................. 21.4 14 NK 300 .................. 21.0 15 DeKalb SX-11 ............ 20.8 16 Norkan .................. 20.8 17 Corn (AES 702) .. 20.4 18 Ellis ..................... 19.6 19 Hegari ................... 19.1 20 DeKalb FS- la ............. 18.9 21 NK 145 .................. 18.6 22 Texas A605 x R72 10 ....... 18.4 23 Corn (III. 1279) ............ 18.4 24 Corn (111. 1864) ............ 17.8 Av. all sorghums ..... ... 22.4 Av. 11 sorghum hybrids ...... 21.1 Av. 10 sorghum varieties ...... 23.8 Av. 3 corn hybrids ........... 18.9 Number in range 2.. 4.7 3-5 ....................... 5.2 6-10 ...................... 5.4 11-24 ..................... 5.6 26 25 32 28 26 30 26 31 27 28 25 32 28 32 38 29 36 32 30 30 30 30 36 35 31 30 31 36 2 22 42 26 4 12 11 56 1 28 2 64 26 68 43 26 30 b 24 68. 64 70 46 36 b 21 b 33 41 25 29 b 42 38 53 50 49 48 50 51 52 44 51 52 53 45 51 54 53 51 50 52 46 56 55 49 50 48 54 6.0 7.0 7.6 7.0 7.3 8.4 5.8 8.1 8.5 7.8 5.4 8.3 8.6 8.9 9.4 8.8 9.0 8.6 8.6 8.8 9.0 8.8 9.5 9.2 7.8 8.3 7.3 9.2 128 128 113 130 116 106 97 97 105 104 128 97 96 82 105 104 100 97 75 85 104 95 98 100 104 99 110 99 17 36 7 26 41 5 1 53 5 7 13 17 4 10 10 6 7 5 29 47 8 4 16 20 12 6 Difference necessary for significance 18 19 20 5 21 9 .6 SUMMARY: 1956-1959 or 1957-1959 AVERAGES (1956- 1959) 1 Kansas Orange ............ 23.4 2 Tracy .................... 21.9 3 RS 301F .................. 20.6 4 Sourless Orange ............ 19.6 5 Corn ..................... 19.4 6 Atlas... 19.0 7 Norkan ................... 18.2 8 DeKalb FS- la ............. 17.4 9 Ellis ..................... 16.6 Number in range 2.. 2.8 3-5 ....................... 3.1 6-9... 3.2 (1957- 1959) 35 34 54 (1957- 1959) 109 112 94 97 94 100 97 81 98 Difference necessary for significance 12 (1957- 1959) 6 8 5 4 23 5 4 50 2 38 Maturity ratings are on a scale of 5 = full bloom, 7 = milk stage, 8 = soft dough, 9 = hard dough, and 10 = mature seed. b Corn grain yields did not appear to be representative since corn plots were surrounded by sorghum. Corn yields at a comparable population in a corn trial in DeKalb county averaged 98 bushels per acre when harvested for grain at a much later date. 1960\ SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 19 Table 11. FORAGE SORGHUMS: East-Central Illinois, Champaign County Rank silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- Grain at 79% terof at 13% Test mois- silage at mois- weight ture harvest ture Days to bloom Plant height Lodging T I acre percl. bu/acre Ib. percl. 1958 RESULTS 1 Asgrow Beef Builder 29.0 29 72 49 94 113 28 2 DeKalb Exp. B 28.3 32 36 56 101 140 13 3 Tracy 28.2 28 15 49 109 136 11 4 DeKalb Exp. C 27.9 29 29 54 107 141 6 5 Leoti Red 27.5 30 35 42 94 124 22 6 Sourless Orange 27.0 29 27 54 106 108 64 7 Asgrow Silo King 26.1 31 46 57 98 123 20 8 DeKalb Exp. A 25.8 29 26 55 103 140 15 9 Sourless White 25.6 30 44 58 99 108 3 10 Corn (U.S. 13) 24.5 51 123 56 .. 108 2 11 Orange Fodder Cane 24.5 30 50 56 96 112 21 12 Kansas Orange 24.3 30 39 56 98 120 40 13 NK 320 24.1 32 78 55 89 96 57 14 RS301F 23.1 28 45 52 94 106 3 15 Ellis 22.8 32 45 53 92 106 43 16 Corn (111. 1332) 22.7 53 126 56 .. 108 17 RS303F... 22.5 32 41 57 95 110 4 18 NK 145 22.3 34 68 52 84 112 55 19 NK 300 22.1 32 60 51 91 74 5 20 DeKalb FS-1 21.7 30 70 45 92 87 30 21 Sumac 1712... 21.6 29 37 52 91 97 1 22 Atlas 21.4 30 46 59 96 116 32 23 Corn (AES 702) 19.7 53 120 57 .. 105 2 24 Norkan 17.9 32 49 58 92 94 13 25 Hegari 14.6 37 57 49 88 73 30 A v. all sorghums 24.2 30 46 53 96 110 23 Av. 11 sorghum hybrids 24.8 30 52 53 95 113 21 Av. 11 sorghum varieties 23.6 31 40 53 96 108 25 Av. 3 corn hybrids 22.3 52 123 56 .. 107 1 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2.. 7.0 18 3-5 7.7 21 6-10 8.1 22 11-25 8.3 7 22 5 3 9 32 SUMMARY: 1956-1958 AVERAGES 1 Tracy 27.0 124 13 2 Kansas Orange 25.2 116 24 3 Sourless Orange 22.3 103 28 4 DeKalb FS-1 22.2 89 12 5 Atlas 22.1 109 7 6 Sumac 1712 21.8 102 36 7 RS 301F 20.6 100 20 8 Norkan 19.3 92 5 9 Corn 19.2 111 37 10 Ellis 19.1 101 5 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 4.4 3-5 4.9 6-10 5.1 12 N.S. NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. 20 BULLETIN No. 659 [April, Table 12. FORAGE SORGHUMS: East-Central Illinois, Champaign County R ? nk Hybrid or Silage Dry mat- Grain at 70% ter of at 13% Test mois- silage at mois- weight ture harvest ture Seedling vigor on June 29" Days to bloom Plant height Lodg- ing T/acre p erct. bu/acre Ib. rating in. perct. 1959 RESULTS 1 Tracy 19.8 30 22 52 5.7 89 113 2 DeKalb FS-22 18.6 32 44 55 3.3 83 104 4 3 Wiley 17.1 .(1 14 43 4.8 99 94 22 4 Sourless Orange 17.0 33 44 56 5.8 90 86 5 RS 301F 16.8 34 62 54 3.3 73 79 2 6 Sart 16.6 31 24 52 6.0 92 109 7 Frontier S-210 16.4 34 39 52 3.8 78 89 8 Kansas Orange 16.4 34 40 54 4.5 81 97 9 Texas A605 x R6645 .... 16.2 32 48 50 3.7 81 77 1 10 Hegari 16.2 37 56 53 4.5 77 64 11 DeKalb FS-la 15.8 38 58 53 2.8 77 71 1 12 NK 3065 15.7 36 64 47 3.8 83 88 13 13 NK 300 15.4 36 60 51 2.7 78 71 14 Honey Sorgo (Texas) .... 15.4 28 19 41 5.8 89 106 18 15 Atlas 15.3 32 37 54 4.8 83 88 16 Steckley GG 300 14.9 36 40 55 4.2 79 85 17 NK 3059 14.8 36 51 47 3.2 84 78 8 18 Texas A605 x R1306. . . . 14.8 38 52 45 3.2 82 84 29 19 Texas A605 x R72 10. ... 13.4 40 52 52 2.5 67 74 44 20 Norkan 13.0 34 47 55 5.3 72 83 21 DeKalb SX-11 12.6 35 22 41 2.7 64 93 22 NK 145 12.0 38 42 52 3.8 62 74 23 Corn (111. 1332) 10.6 35 28 b 55 82 24 Corn (U.S. 13) 9.5 34 29 b 55 85 25 Corn (Spanish Sweet) . . . 8.8 29 8 b 48 76 Av. all sorghums 15.6 34 43 51 4.1 80 87 6 Av. 13 sorghum hybrids. . . 15.2 36 49 50 3.3 76 82 8 Av. 9 sorghum varieties. . . . 16.3 32 34 51 5.2 86 93 4 Av. 3 corn hybrids 9.6 33 22 b 53 81 Number in range Difference necessary for sij ;nificance 2. . 3.6 17 3-5 4.0 18 6-10 4.2 19 11-25 4.3 4 20 5 1.3 4 9 16 SUMMARY: 1956-1959, 1957-1959, or 1958-1959 AVERAGES (1956- (1957- (1958- (1956- (1956- 1959) 1959) 1959) 1959) 1959) 1 Tracy 25.2 17 99 121 5 2 Kansas Orange 23.0 44 90 111 18 3 Sourless Orange 21.0 31 98 99 27 4 DeKalb FS-la 20.6 59 84 84 28 5 Atlas 20.4 42 90 104 10 6 RS301F 19.7 51 84 95 4 7 Norkan 17.7 44 82 90 9 8 Corn 16.8 78 104 4 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 3.5 3-5 3.8 6-8 4.0 40 7 10 27 " Seedling vigor ratings are on a scale from 1 (most vigorous) to 9 (least vigorous). b Corn grain yields did not appear to be representative since corn plots were surrounded by sorghums. Corn yields at a comparable population at a more desirable location in Champaign county averaged 89 bushels per acre when harvested for grain at a much later date. 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 21 Table 13. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Southern Illinois, Jackson County Rank silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- Grain at 79% terof at 13% Test mois- silage at mois- weight ture harvest ture Days to bloom T/acre perct. bu/acre Ib. perct. 1958 RESULTS 1 Asgrow Beef Builder 22.6 23 15 43 94 120 46 2 DeKalb Exp. A 21.0 26 2 .. 87 140 3 NK 320 20 . 4 25 37 52 89 144 81 4 Corn (A ES 805) 20.2 37 81 59 5 Kansas Orange 19.4 27 29 54 83 126 22 6 Orange Fodder Cane 18.9 27 35 55 79 128 4 7 Corn (111. 1851) 18.8 35 71 57 8 DeKalb Exp. B 18.0 27 3 81 142 9 DeKalb FS-1 17.8 27 9 44 84 116 10 10 RS 301F 17.7 27 37 50 76 106 11 Corn (111. 1332) 17.6 40 81 58 12 DeKalb Exp. C 17.5 26 2 .. 90 136 1 13 NK 300 17.4 23 33 47 93 104 6 14 NK 145 17.1 32 73 61 70 94 2 15 Asgrow SHo King 17.0 27 50 53 78 120 25 16 Atlas 16.3 25 3 .. 82 126 17 RS 303F 15.7 26 4 42 76 122 18 Hegari 14.8 28 59 52 75 83 1 19 Leoti Red 14.5 27 22 48 76 108 89 20 Norkan 14.0 28 4 43 78 101 Av. all sorghums 17.7 27 24 49 82 118 13 Av. 11 sorghum hybrids 18.4 26 24 49 83 122 10 Av. 6 sorghum varieties 16.3 27 25 50 79 112 19 Av. 3 corn hybrids 18.9 38 78 58 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2.. 4.1 17 3-5 4.5 19 6-10 4.8 20 11-20 5.0 4 21 5 3 13 28 SUMMARY: 1956-1958 AVERAGES 1 Kansas Orange 20.3 40 112 21 2 RS 301F 19.1 49 100 2 3 Atlas 17.8 18 108 4 Corn 16.9 71 .... 5 DeKalb FS-1 16.4 34 93 19 6 Norkan 15.2 26 93 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 N.S. 3-6.... N.S. 22 14 25 NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. 22 BULLETIN No. 659 [April, Table 14. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Southern Illinois, Jackson County Rank in silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- at 70% ter of mois- silage at ture harvest Days to bloom Days to maturity Lodging T/acre percl. perct. 1959 RESULTS 1 Sart 21.6 26 2 DeKalb FS-22 21.0 31 3 Tracy 20.4 31 4 Wiley 20.1 28 5 Atlas 20.0 35 6 Sourless Orange 19.6 31 7 Steckley GG 300 19.4 32 8 NK3065 19.3 35 9 Texas A605 x R6645 19.1 34 10 NK 3059 19.0 32 1 1 Honey Sorgo (Texas) 18.2 24 12 NK300 17.9 32 13 RS 301F 16.6 31 14 Frontier S-2 10 16.5 30 15 Corn (111. 1851) 16.2 37 16 Kansas Orange 16. 1 31 17 Texas A605 x R72 10 15.4 32 18 DeKalb FS- la 14.9 32 19 Hegari 14.8 33 20 Norkan 14.1 32 21 Corn (AES 805) 14.0 36 22 DeKalb SX-11 13.8 35 23 Corn (111. 1570) 13.0 38 24 Ellis 12.2 32 Av. all sorghums 17.6 32 Av. 1 1 sorghum hybrids 17.6 33 Av. 10 sorghum varieties 17.7 30 Av. 3 corn hybrids 14.4 37 Number in range 2.. 3.9 3-5 4.3 6-10 4.5 11-24... 4.7 104 86 92 104 84 90 81 86 83 84 102 82 78 82 84 74 79 83 79 71 79 86 80 90 132 103 109 135 101 109 101 105 100 102 119 103 100 97 105 97 97 102 97 93 97 105 100 111 129 105 116 129 82 87 86 87 73 80 121 71 81 93 81 86 66 70 65 75 76 91 77 79 90 82 97 78 35 12 78 8 3 7 1 76 2 2 31 8 34 5 2 5 8 27 4 16 18 10 Difference necessary for significance 14 29 SUMMARY: 1956-1959 or 1958-1959 AVERAGES (1956- 1959) 1 Kansas Orange 19.2 2 RS 301F 18.5 3 Atlas 18.3 4 Corn 16.3 5 DeKalb FS- la 16.0 6 Norkan... 15.0 Number in range 2 3-6... 2.9 3.2 (1958- 1959) 84 77 83 82 78 (1956- (1956- 1959) 1959) 106 24 95 2 102 2 87 89 Difference necessary for significance N.S. 10 19 NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. 1960] SORGHUM PERFORMANCE TESTS 23 Table 15. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Southern Illinois, Pope County Rank in silage yield Hybrid or variety Silage Dry mat- Silage, Grain Grain, at 70% ter of plants at 13% plants Plant mois- silage at per mois- per height ture harvest rod ture rod Weight of heads T/acre perct. bin I acre in. Ib/acre 1958 RESULTS 1 Asgrow Beef Builder 10.1 28 50 6 44 104 2 Kansas Orange 9.9 28 62 8 53 88 3 Asgrow Silo King 9.3 27 72 22 60 89 4 DeKalb FS-1 9.0 30 51 18 44 79 5 RS303F 8.7 31 57 11 46 82 6 RS301F 8.4 30 70 20 57 80 7 DeKalb Exp. B 8.4 30 36 12 38 93 8 Orange Fodder Cane .. 8.2 27 73 4 56 84 9 DeKalb Exp. A 7.7 29 42 5 33 97 10 NK 300 7.7 29 78 7 56 70 11 Atlas 7.5 28 37 8 40 81 12 NK 320 7.2 26 75 4 50 80 13 DeKalb Exp. C 6.5 30 28 8 24 99 14 Leoti Red 6.4 23 39 5 43 97 15 Hegari... 6.4 34 46 26 48 63 16 NK 145 6.0 30 77 23 57 84 17 Norkan 6.0 31 44 6 34 76 18 Corn (AES 805) 5.3 34 22 10 23 80 19 Corn (111. 1851) 5.0 33 22 12 18 81 20 Corn (111. 1332) 4.4 39 22 6 21 76 Av. all sorghums 7.8 29 55 12 46 85 Av. 11 sorghum hybrids 8.1 29 58 12 46 87 Av. 6 sorghum varieties 7.4 28 50 13 46 82 Av. 3 corn hybrids 4.9 35 22 9 21 79 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 2.8 9 3-5 3.1 10 6-10 3.2 10 11-20 3.3 6 19 10 15 12 SUMMARY: 1956-1958 AVERAGES 1 DeKalb FS-1 15.3 76 2 Kansas Orange 14.8 100 3 RS 301F 14.1 92 4 Atlas 13.0 97 5 Corn 11.4 95 6 Norkan 11.0 86 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 N.S. 3-6... N.S. 15 705 655 1528 1554 741 1081 968 436 507 966 650 582 720 488 1652 1768 588 595 682 367 917 1011 744 548 751 NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. 24 BULLETIN No. 659 Table 16. FORAGE SORGHUMS: Southern Illinois, Pope County R f n nk Hybrid S vaHety Silage Dry mat- Silage, Grain Grain at 70% ter of plants at 13% mois- mois- silage at per mois- ture at ture harvest rod ture harvest Grain, plants per rod Plant height Lodg- ing T/acre perct. bu/acre perct. in. perct. 1959 RESULTS 1 Sart 25, 6 26 51 9 16 48 152 1 2 NK 3065 . .. 24 .1 29 58 31 21 53 122 54 3 Corn (111. 1851) . . . 22 .5 46 25 94 25 20 123 7 4 Steckley GG 300 . .. 20 9 25 60 1 17 48 126 23 5 Hegari . . . 20 .7 33 73 61 15 54 87 14 6 Honey Sorgo (Texas) . . . .. 20 .7 18 69 8 21 54 138 100 7 DeKalb FS-22 . . . 20 6 24 72 9 16 56 133 85 8 Atlas . . . 20 ,4 25 62 10 15 43 123 23 9 NK 300 . . . 20 .2 27 74 74 17 66 107 100 10 Sourless Orange . .. 20 .1 23 89 16 24 78 120 62 11 NK 3059 . . . 20 .0 22 58 44 19 45 120 82 12 DeKalb FS-la . . . 20 .0 25 71 50 15 61 107 72 13 RS 301F . .. 19 .8 26 92 18 14 73 113 53 14 Tracy ... 19 .4 24 62 6 18 54 143 44 15 Kansas Orange 19 ,4 24 78 24 20 68 134 54 16 DeKalb SX-11 ... 18 .2 27 96 33 14 75 131 80 17 Corn (AES 805) ... 17 .2 40 27 82 24 24 115 1 1S Ellis ... 16 .3 26 78 15 14 53 114 12 1<; Norkan ... 15 .8 28 42 28 14 45 107 27 20 Corn (111. 1570) . . . 14 .9 46 25 72 22 24 115 10 21 Wiley . . . 12 .6 18 114 5 19 76 138 94 Av. all sorghums . .. 19 .7 25 72 25 17 58 123 54 Av. 8 sorghum hybrids. . . . . 20 ,5 25 73 32 17 60 120 69 i Av. 10 sorghum varieties. ... 19 .1 24 72 18 18 57 126 43 Av. 3 corn hybrids ... 18 .2 44 26 83 24 23 118 6 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2. . 5 .9 16 3-5 6 .5 18 6-10 6 .8 18 11-21 7 .0 8 19 19 5 15 18 44 SUMMARY; : 1956-1959 AVERAGES (1956- (1956- (1956- (1956- 1959) 1959) 1959) 1959) 1 DeKalb FS-la ... 16 .4 41 84 18 2 Kansas Orange . .. 16 .0 108 14 3 RS301F ... 15 .5 42 97 17 4 Atlas . . . 14 .8 103 6 5 Corn . .. 13 .1 60 101 2 6 Norkan ... 12 .2 27 91 7 Number in range Difference necessary for significance 2 2 .6 3-6 2 .9 11 N.S. NOTE: "N.S." indicates differences are not great enough to be statistically significant. 10M 4-60 7102 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA