BN -4 632
Figure 2.- Lespedeza at Beltsville, Md., in late July: Korean, right, shows greater growth than Kobe.
Kobe was introduced from Japan in 1919 by an explorer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is larger and coarser than Common lespedeza.
Kobe is more erect in habit of growth and is more productive for hay and pasture than Common. It is slower in starting growth in the spring than the Korean varieties (fig. 2); however, late summer yields are usually good. Since about 1945, slightly more than 20 percent of the total lespedeza seed harvest has been of the Kobe variety.
Iowa 6 is an early-maturing variety of Korean lespedeza developed by the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station. Because of its earlier maturity, it is well adapted across the upper part of the Korean area (fig. 3) and extends the lespedeza area farther north. Iowa 6 carries some resistance to lespedeza wilt and grows off rapidly in the spring (fig. 4). This variety yields well in the Korean area and appears promising where an early variety is needed to reseed before winter grain is sown.
Rowan, released in 1951, was developed in a cooperative program by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is intermediate in maturity between Iowa 6 and Climax. It is moderately resistant to two common
