Yield, Yield Distribution, and Nutritive Value of Intensively Managed Warm‐Season Annual Grasses

Abstract

Yields are high, but their rapid growth rates over a short season make grazing management difficult (McCartor The annual grasses pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]and Rouquette, 1977;Rouquette et al., 1980). McCartor and sorghum-sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] are alternatives to warm-season perennials in forage systems for lactating dairy and Rouquette (1977) reported that stocking rate recows (Bos taurus ) in the southern USA. Large fluctuations in forage quired to maintain a given grazing pressure varied sevproduction during a short growing season, however, make their maneral fold during a 90-d grazing season, and consistent agement difficult. During 2 yr, seeding date and cultivar effects on liveweight gains were difficult to maintain with summer dry matter (DM) yield, yield distribution, and nutritive value of these annuals. Improving the distribution of dry matter (DM) grasses were measured, and treatments were replicated four times.production of these species would increase their impact There were four seeding dates in 1996 starting on 10 May and six in on animal production systems. It is important to assess 1997 starting on 20 March. Seeding dates were 3 wk apart. Three whether seasonal distribution of DM production varies millet ('GK 600', 'Millex 32', and 'Tifleaf 2') and two sorghum ('Hybetween forage species or among cultivars within spegrazer' and 'SX 15') cultivars were tested. Soils were a loamy, siliceous, cies. Additionally, seeding annual forages at different thermic Grossarenic Paleaquult and a hyperthermic Grossarenic Paleudult. Total DM yield, averaged across cultivars, decreased from dates may improve forage distribution and result in for-7.4 to 5.6 Mg ha Ϫ1 from the first to the fourth seeding date in 1996 age of high nutritive value for a greater proportion of the and from 7.4 to 4.4 Mg ha Ϫ1 from the first to the sixth seeding date growing season (Causley, 1990; Chambliss et al., 1999). in 1997. Leaf percentage generally was above 70% and often greatest Within the broad objective of assessing the potential for Tifleaf 2. Seasonal distribution of DM was affected by planting of warm-season annual grasses for pasture-based dairies date but not by cultivar. In conclusion, choice of species or cultivar in the southeastern USA, research is needed that dehad less impact on the responses measured than did planting date.scribes performance of these forage species when man-Seeding at two dates approximately 3 to 6 wk apart is a good strategy aged intensively. The purpose of this study was to comfor improving yield distribution of these cultivars and providing high pare total yield, seasonal distribution of DM production, nutritive value forage for nearly 5 mo. and herbage nutritive value of pearl millet and sorghumsudangrass cultivars seeded at different dates, fertilized at relatively high N rates, and harvested frequently at the development of year-round forage systems where Treatments were arranged as a split-plot experiment in a ranforage quality is very important, such as ...

Genotype environment interaction on biomass production in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in North-Western Nigeria

“…Sudangrasses and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids are grazed by livestock or fed as green chop or hay (Doggett, 1988). However, irrespective of the cultivar, Fontaneli et al (2001) determined a 134 to 150 g kg -1 concentration of crude proteins in sorghum. However, green mass and dry matter yields and nutritional value of forage sorghum depend on the development stage at which cutting was carried out (Pospisil et al, 2009).…”

Late Planting Date Influences the Yield and Distribution of Pearl Millet Forage

“…Forage produced by pearl millet is not well‐distributed since it grows most rapidly during the first 60 days after planting (1). This can make grazing management difficult (4,5,7).…”

“…McCartor and Rouquette (5) reported that stocking rate had to be adjusted considerably over their 90‐day grazing season to maintain the desired grazing pressure. Fontaneli et al (1) showed this uneven forage distribution could be improved by staggering planting dates by 3‐ to 5‐week intervals.…”

Planting Date Affects Rainfed Sorghum Forage Yields in Semiarid, Subtropical Environments

“…Hancock and Durham (6) measured reductions of up to 80 lb/acre/day for delayed planting. Fontaneli et al (4), in Florida, measured yield reductions of 20 to 32 lb/acre/day for PM and SS stating that PM was more suited to later plantings than SS. At 30, 69, and 33 lb/acre/day of delayed planting (calculated from the data presented in Table 1 as DM yield/days from planting to harvest on 26 October 2004 or 24 October 2005), the data from the present study reflect reductions consistent with those reported by Fontaneli et al (4) and Hancock and Durham (6).…”

“…Fontaneli et al (4), in Florida, reported that growth rate of warm‐season annual forages, including the sorghums and pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum L.) (PM), was significantly reduced when planted in late summer compared to late spring and early summer. They (4) cited others who attributed the decrease to drought, shortening days, and cooling temperatures. Previously, for single‐cut FS under irrigation in the Southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico, Williams (14) found that later maturing hybrids had greater yield than earlier maturing hybrids without regard to planting dates that ranged from mid May through mid June.…”