Six summer annuals and three forage
sorghums were evaluated for forage yield and
quality under south central Kansas dryland
conditions. When cut in the late boot to early
heading stage, all forage types (millet, sudan,
sorghum-sudan, and forage sorghum)
produced similar dry matter yields, with no
consistent differences in nutritional quality.
Allowing the forages to reach maturity prior to
cutting increased total yield per acre but
decreased the crude protein content. The
millets were higher in protein at maturity than
the sudans or forage sorghums. However, the
forage sorghums produced the most mature
forage, whereas common sudan yielded the
least. Cool, moist conditions during the
growing season allowed the forages to develop
slowly.
