Narrative
Released in 1965 by the Soil Conservation Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Selected and evaluated by the USDA, SCS, PMC. Work was conducted at Beltsville, MD, Arcadia, FL, Americus, GA, and Coffeeville, MS. Released jointly by the SCS and the Mississippi AES. Chiwapa has the following advantages: 1. Only variety specifically develped for use in the South; 2. Insect and disease resistant; 3. Seed production under adapted conditions is heavy, up to 800 lbs/acre; 4. Plant has several uses: food for waterfowl and upland game birds, temporary summer pasture and hay; 5. Relatively simple to establish, especially on mud flats of drained ponds or lakes. Stems from a single plant found in row of Setaria italica from India which was being tested at Beltsville. Selection was made by Mr. Robert S. Thornton, manager of the NPMC. Tall, summer, annual grass, reaching 5-6 feet on most adapted sites. Leaf blades are wider and stems are coarser than average for the species. Sprouting from the crown after cutting or grazing is good. Seedheads are large and dense. Matures in ~120 days. Best adapted to wet land, but with high rainfall it can be grown on upland well-drained soils. For waterfowl food production, seed can be broadcast on mud flats of partially-drained ponds or lakes. Fertilized and irrigated plots have yielded in excess of 1 ton/per acre at Coffeeville, MS, PMC. On upland sites, seed production has averaged ~800 lbs/acre by direct combining. Shattering is a problem. Estimated that only ~60-70% is recovered. In dry years, seed production is drastically reduced, sometimes as little as 100 lbs/acre. On adapted marshlike sites, seed production will be maintained if other factors are at suitable levels. Neither insects nor diseases were a problem in evaluation of the plant for wildlife use. Accepted by all types of livestock as temporary summer pasture or hay. Plant is capable of yields in excess of 5 tons/acre of forage, depending on soil fertility and water availability. Expected adaptation is from AR, TN, and NC southward to the Gulf of Mexico.