Relationships between growth rate and dry matter digestibility, as influenced by frequency of cutting and stage of growth, were examined for a sorghum‐sudangrass hybrid cultivar (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ✕ Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf. ‘Sudax SX‐11’). Growth rates were obtained by harvesting intact plants and measuring yield components at weekly intervals. Digestible dry matter (DDM) was estimated by measuring the dry matter disappearance using the nylon‐bag technique.
The seasonal distribution and amounts of dry matter and of DDM were altered by variations in cutting management (early‐boot vs. 75‐cm growth) and environmental conditions. DDM of entire plants was proportional to percent leaves and inversely related to percent stems. DDM of stems decreased about three times more and faster than the DDM of leaves during a 14‐week period. DDM of entire plants decreased from 90% when plants were 30 cm high to less than 60% when plants were 250 cm tall, and remained relatively constant for 6 weeks after panicle emergence.
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