Although the influence of different defoliation management schemes on the productivity and digestibility of summer annual grasses has been studied extensively, little is known about the effects of management on the yield components of these plants. To determine the relative contribution of leaf, stem, and head components to total yield, and to ascertain the digestibility of these plant parts, ‘Sudax SX‐11’ and ‘Trudan’ forage sorghums (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were seeded in the field in May and in June and subjected to four defoliation schemes: 1) 75‐cm growth cut to a 2.5‐cm stubble and 2) to a 15‐cm stubble; 3) 50‐cm growth cut to a 15‐cm stubble; and 4) early bloom growth cut to a 10‐cm stubble. Dry matter (DM) yields of the first growth and subsequent regrowths, and estimated digestible dry matter (% EDDM) measured with an in vivo nylon‐bag technique, were estimated for leaf blades, culms and leaf sheaths, and inflorescences. Both cultivars produced more DM yields with 75 cm than with 50 cm of growth. Sudax SX‐11 produced less than Trudan when 2.5‐cm rather than when 15‐cm stubbles were used and this was more evident when seeding was delayed one month. Both 50‐ and 75‐cm vegetative growths produced mostly leaf yield of about 80% EDDM throughout the season. Plants cut at early bloom produced much larger DM yields than those cut at vegetative stages. Leaf % EDDM was slightly lower in the early bloom than in the other treatments but stem and head materials were of lower digestibility than leaf blades.
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