1.) bluecat - 10/23/2017

When the plant matures, it has blotchy red marks on the leaves. Looks exactly like blood. Would not want to trail a deer through that.

2.) Swamp Fox - 10/23/2017

We have some leaves here in the woods that show red splotches when they turn yellow. Very annoying. I want to say maple, maybe gum. I basically don't pay attention to them anymore, LOL.

Do deer use the sorghum out there? Around here, I think it's pretty worthless for deer. Not even convinced deer will use it to bed.

Also, bonus question: Is sorghum ever referrred to as milo in your area?

I'll hang up and take my answer off the air.

3.) bluecat - 10/23/2017

Yes, milo is actually the more common term. I don't know if deer use milo or not. I've never been successful hunting over it. It's a little surprising. It's fairly good to eat right off the plant. I would think the deer would love it.

4.) Swamp Fox - 10/23/2017

There are several different kinds of milo, as far as I know. The sorghum/milo here is different from what I've seen people call milo elsewhere. I can't say whether those people knew what they were talking about or not, though.

What I call milo or sorghum:




Birds like it, though. I'm a little surprised it doesn't seem to be a bigger draw for doves here. Maybe they're in corn until it (one or the other) comes down. If I see corn and sorghum in the same area, though, no (few) doves in the sorghum. At least when I'm paying attention.

This article conflicts with my largely unimpressed attitude toward sorghum/milo:

[url]https://www.qdma.com/food-plot-species-profile-grain-sorghum/[/url]

5.) bluecat - 10/23/2017

Looks like the right animal.

6.) Swamp Fox - 10/24/2017

Somebody pointed some type of low-growing green field out to me as milo one time. It was very lush and about calf high in September. Big field or I might have thought it was clover from a distance. If I remember correctly from sitting in it, it was mostly a blade-type plant with clover (?) mixed in. Maybe I misunderstood what I was being told.

7.) bluecat - 10/24/2017

Well the pic you posted looks like milo or sorghum. There may be subtle differences. I really don't know. They may be the same. Who really nos this stuff anyway?

8.) Swamp Fox - 10/24/2017

The field I'm talking about looked nothing like what I know as milo. That's why I wondered what "everyone" calls milo (sorghum). I've asked a few different people and no one has come up with a type of milo similar to what this guy identified as milo.

So the choices are: There's an unidentified milo out there; I misunderstood what the guy was trying to say; or he didn't know what milo looked like to begin with.

LOL

9.) DParker - 10/24/2017

What you (Swampy) posted is what's called "milo" in these parts as well. It's always been my understanding that it's a synonym for "sorghum", but I've not heard it referred to as such here, so I don't really know for sure. All I know is that all species of dove dog it, so the local milo fields are chock-full of shotguns come the first weekend of September.

10.) Swamp Fox - 10/24/2017

Growing up, I always heard milo was a good place to hunt doves. I just haven't seen a lot of proof. Of course, it would help if the milo I've been around were near water, on a travel lane, not surrounded by corn etc. But I'm not sure anyone seeks out milo around here either. I don't know. I'm a piddling dove hunter, at best. All I know is that corn and sunflowers get dove hunters' attention around here more than milo seems to.

I did pick this up from the comments section in the QDMA article from above, though. It might explain a few things, although I don't know how it squares with the notation in the body of the article that some Southern deer will go after milo in August and September if there's little else in prime condition (I have not seen that, for whatever reason):

[QUOTE]Ken, the most common sorghum variety for deer to actually browse is called WGF sorghum. The seed head is about waist high, and deer will consume it once it matures in early fall of after a good frost, when the tannin levels of the seed decrease. WGF sorghum is also resistant to being eaten by birds, so more seeds remain for deer. Hope this helps! Good luck.[/QUOTE]

11.) DParker - 10/24/2017

We have a LOT more milo than corn around here, and NO sunflowers, so that may well explain the popularity of the milo fields.

12.) Jon - 10/24/2017

We have very little milo around here anymore although I did see 2 fairly large plots within the last month. The majority of our beans here are soy and they are either gone or soon to be gone leaving us with bare ground for our upcoming rut. The harvested corn fields are generally now planted in barley or wheat and will stay until they are planted again in the spring with something different. Farmers here rotate between corn/beans/potatoes (sometimes sweet) and rarely beets with barley or wheat during the off season to keep the nutrients in the soil.

13.) bluecat - 10/24/2017

I think quail really like the milo fields going from memory. I would think it would be a bird paradise.

14.) Swamp Fox - 10/24/2017

[QUOTE=DParker;52609]We have a LOT more milo than corn around here, and NO sunflowers, so that may well explain the popularity of the milo fields.[/QUOTE]

In my travels, I encounter few sunflowers that weren't planted by avid dove hunters, or, on public ground, by the wildlife people.

[QUOTE=bluecat;52615]I think quail really like the milo fields going from memory. I would think it would be a bird paradise.[/QUOTE]

I have the same impression about quail.

15.) Jon - 10/24/2017

[QUOTE=bluecat;52615]I think quail really like the milo fields going from memory. I would think it would be a bird paradise.[/QUOTE]
Yes, quail and pheasant really love milo. This state used to be over run with both birds and now we have zero of all 3