Yield and nutritional value of biomass sorghum (BRS 716) managed in different row spacing and maturity at harvest in the semiarid region of Brazil

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the structural, yield and nutritional characteristics of biomass sorghum BRS 716 managed in different row planting spacing and harvest age in a semiarid region of Brazil. Three row spacing (45, 70 and 90 cm; plots) and four maturity at harvest (70, 100, 130 and 160 days; subplots) were evaluated following a randomized block design in a 3 x 4 split plot arrangement, with eight blocks. The useful area was 3 x 15 m. Variation in soil fertility in the area was the blocking factor. There was interaction between row spacing and maturity at harvest (P < 0.05) on plant height (P = 0.01), dry matter yield (DMY; P < 0.01) and proportion of senescent material (P = 0.01). The DMY observed at the age of 160 days and spacing of 90 cm was 41.40% higher than the DMY at the same age and in spacings of 45 and 70 cm (mean of 21.45 t/ha). As the maturity at harvest increased, there was a reduction in the crude protein content (P < 0.01), potential degradability (P < 0.01) and effective degradability (P < 0.01) of dry matter, and the content of non-fiber carbohydrates (P < 0.01), total digestible nutrients (P < 0.01) and the readily soluble fraction (P < 0.01) of the dry matter increased. Considering the yield and nutritional characteristics of biomass sorghum BRS 716 managed in the semiarid region for silage production, the row spacing of 90 cm and the maturity at harvest of 160 days after planting are recommended.

Yield and nutritional value of sorghum genotype silages using Azospirillum brasilense in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais

“…The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, together with other public and private institutions, has joined efforts for genetic improvement of sorghum to obtain genotypes with higher yield in different Brazilian regions. Some productivity results under tropical conditions are reported by Castro et al (2015), and L. G. F. de Almeida et al (2019) while the nutritional value was studied by Ramos et al (2021), Queiroz et al (2021), and Souza et al (2021). However, information on productivity of biomass sorghum genotypes for silage production in the semiarid is still scarce.…”

“…Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the most widely used crops in the world as feed for animals, and humans (Vanamala et al, 2018;Mundia et al, 2019;Souza et al, 2021). The annual dry mass (DM) yield ranges from 10 to 50 t ha -1 (Qu et al, 2014;Castro et al, 2015; L. G. F. de Almeida et al, 2019), with good nutritional value (Ramos et al, 2021;Queiroz et al, 2021;Queiroz et al, 2022).…”

“…According to Parrella et al (2010), biomass sorghum is a promising material because of its high energy yield per hectare. Due to adaptation mechanisms and good concentrations of soluble carbohydrates, biomass sorghum can be supplied as silage in ruminant feed (Veriato et al, 2018;Souza et al, 2021;Queiroz et al, 2022).…”