Rainfall was much above and temperature
much below normal during the 1992 growing
season. Both whole-plant dry matter (DM)
and grain yields were excellent for all 11
hybrids. The two short, mid-maturing, forage
sorghums (Northrup King 300 and Golden
Harvest H-45) had the highest silage and grain
yields; the early-maturing (Cargill 200F) and
male sterile (Golden Harvest H-1) forage
sorghums and the grain sorghum (DeKalb DK
42Y) the lowest silage yields. A storm with
high winds on October 7 and 8 caused severe
lodging in all six mid- and late-maturing
hybrids (earlier-maturing hybrids had already
been harvested). The 10 forage sorghum
hybrids differed significantly in three
important silage quality traits—whole-plant
DM, crude protein, and acid detergent fiber.
Silage agronomic performance for four of the
forage sorghums over 6 of the past 7 years is
presented.
