High forage yield and quality of sudan grass ( Sorghum bicolor L.) and pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum L.) cultivated in calcareous soils

Abstract

Sudan grass and pearl millet are major warm season dryland crops, primarily grown for grain production and used as a major source of dietary energy. Both crops are highly water use efficient and belong to the C 4 group of species with high photosynthetic efficiency and dry matter accumulation rates. Both sudan grass and pearl millet have good forage quality, with an adequate crude protein content; that of pearl millet (8.7%) is higher than that of sorghum (6.0%). Therefore, the present investigation was conducted in the Western Delta Region at El-Naubaria, 40 km south of Alexandria, over two successive seasons to evaluate the forage yield and quality of sudan grass and pearl millet. Field experiments were established on calcareous soils, with five fertilization treatments. The results indicate that pearl millet surpassed sudan grass in fresh (6.56 t/ha) and dry yield (2.91 t/ha), which was 8.89% and 5.26% more, respectively, than for sudan grass. As regards the forage quality, pearl millet had good digestibility and was lower in fibre than sudan grass.