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Animal Preference and Utilization of Selected Forage Sorghums Grazed in Fall and Winter 1
Author(s) -
Rieck W. L.,
Croy L. I.,
Davies F. F.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1972.00021962006400030023x
Subject(s) - forage , sorghum , agronomy , dry matter , biology , sowing , frost (temperature) , sweet sorghum , geography , meteorology
This study was initiated to determine forage quality and animal utilization of eight forage sorghum types ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) in situ after frost. Planting date was late to insure that plants would be in the boot to bloom stage by killing frost thus providing high yields of medium to high quality forage. As winter progressed, the available forage, percent digestion, and percent utilization declined for all types. The protein content was not affected during the winter season, but the percent dry matter increased with time. ‘Sugar Drip’ was consistently higher in the amount of forage utilized, in vitro dry matter digestion, and moisture content throughout the winter. ‘Pioneer 931’ produced higher yields than any other type, but was not used as efficiently as some of the other types. The research indicated that it is feasible to graze cured forage sorghums for maintenance rations with reasonably low costs in areas where the winters permit.