Grasses - Sorghum - Forages of Florida - Solutions for Your Life - UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

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Sorghum
Species:	Sorghum
Scientific Name:	Sorghum bicolor
Cultivars:	Grain types (short). Forage types (medium height: sudan, sudan hybrids). Brown mid rib (BMR) sorghums have reduced lignin associated with increased forage digestibility (TDN). Sweet sorghum types (tall; high in sugar for molasses and biofuel use).
Growth Habit:	3-12 feet tall, bunchgrass. Grain types and single-cut harvest for silage usually do not regrow following harvest. Sorghum-sudangrass or sudangrasses may grow back after harvest.
Life Cycle:	Annual
Origin:	Africa
Production Season:	May to mid September for all types
Nutritive Value:	Varies with management. Low to medium crude protein and medium to high digestibility. Forage quality is best at 60 and 72 percent moisture content (medium to hard dough stage). Protein and energy are reduced when harvested at grain too dried. Harvesting too wet will cause ensiling problems and likely decrease intake in cattle.
Use:	Grain (starch) types for industrial uses (biofuel, bird seed). Also used as food in Africa and some tropical America countries. Forage types used as hay, haylage, and grazing (of the stubble after is cut for hay). Sweet sorghum types used for biofuel production , for molasses production, as alcoholic beverages (Asian countries).
Herbarium Image:	For an herbarium image click this link.
Adaptation
Soil:	Sandy-loam. Tolerates high pH and salinity.
pH:	5.5 - 7.5
Rainfall:	16-60 inches; Tolerant of late season drought, however requires more water than pearl millet
Temperature:	60°F minimum temperature for sorghum growth. Highest yields occurs between 75°F and 80°F. It is frost sensitive. 59°F minimum for germination.
Management
Planting Date:	March in south Florida Mid April through June in central and north Florida
Planting Depth:	0.25-0.5 inch
Seeding Rate:	25 lb/acre drilled in rows (30 to 36 inch wide rows), or 30 to 40 lb/acre broadcast. Seeds may be white, yellow, red, or brown, with the darker-colored seed being higher in tannins.
Seed Cost:	Variable. BMR ($1.0/lb; $24 to 29/acre)
Fertilization:	For fertilization info click this link
Production:	Grain= 50 to 60 bu/acre. Forage= 4 to 12 tons/acre (90% DM); 15 to 30 tons/acre (wet). Sweet sorghum= 15 to 30 tons/acre (wet); 400 to 600 gallons/acre (estimated based on national production); in Florida, there is no large scale production) of sweet sorghum.
Notes
May cause nitrate poisoning if drought stressed, or under cloudy conditions. Also, potential prussic acid poisoning if grazed after frost, rain or plant stressed; not normally a concern when sorghum is harvested for silage but wait 4 days to harvest after killing frost In horses causes interstitial cystitis. New photoperiod sensitive cultivars will only flower when daylength is 12 1/2 hours. May attract root nematodes and sting nematodes. Not considered a problem as an invasive plant.

Sorghum

Adaptation

Management

Notes