Evaluation of Forage Production of Sorghum for High-Yielding Hybrid

Livestock farmers face several limitations when using the government recommended sorghum cultivars for forage because of the limited seed supply. Therefore, the objective of the this study is to evaluate, select, and recommend the best high-yielding hybrid as the government recommended cultivars. The agronomic characteristics and forage yield of three cultivars (cv. P947, cv. KF429 and cv. SS405) of forage sorghum were evaluated at two locations (Suwon and Sunghwan) for 2 years (19992000). 'KF429' was susceptible to foliar disease, while 'SS405' had less lodging resistance among the sorghum cultivars tested. When compared with 'P947' (recommended cultivar), dry matter yield of 'KF429' and 'SS405' cultivars increased by 16% and 75%, respectively. The crude protein of 'P947'(9.4%) was higher than other cultivars. The percentage of ADF and NDF were the lowest in 'KF429' cultivar. The results of forage performance experiment indicate that 'KF429' and 'SS405' are recommended as the government recommended sorghum cultivars due to a high lodging tolerance, disease resistance, and high dry matter yield.