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Nutritive Value of Sorghum Silage for Growth and Lactation as Influenced by Characteristics and Treatments of the Forage

Departments of Dairy-Poultry Science, and Animal Husbandry, Kansas State University, Manhattan

J. R. Brethour

Fort Hays Branch Experiment Station, Hays, Kansas

ABSTRACT

Digestible energy (DE) contents of silages made from sorghums varying from seedless to heavily seeded, with and without wilting before ensiling, with and without grinding seed heads, and with and without added carbohydrates were calculated from growth and lactation trials and determined from digestion trials. Twenty-one silages were produced at one station and 19 silages with nearly identical characteristics and treatments at another station during five years. Average silage DE calculated from growth trials was 2.77 Mcal/kg dry matter (DM), determined by digestion trials with growing calves, 2.64 Mcal/kg DM, and 2.04 Mcal/kg DM when calculated from results of lactation trials. Similar low values were obtained on four silages in a digestion trial, with lactating cows.

Calf weight gains were closely correlated with silage DM intake within years—0.90 and 0.76 at respective stations. Grinding seed heads resulted in occasional improvement of silage for lactation, but had no effect on growth. Field wilting of sorghum forage was not beneficial. Carbohydrate addition before ensiling was not advantageous.