Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of seeding methods and rates on the growth characteristics, forage yield and nutritive value of sorghum X sudangrass hybrid (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, cv. Pioneer 988) grown under application of animal manure in 1995. The application amount of animal manure were 40MT in cattle manure, 30MTha in swine and poultry manure. The methods and rates of seeding treated in this study were drill of 30kg, and broadcast of 30, 60 and 100kgha of seeding rates. The plant height was 180cm, 191cm and 204cm in cattle, swine and poultry manure, respectively. Plant height in the plot of drill was higher by about 15cm than those of broadcast plots. The dry matter(DM) yield was 7.73, 8.87 and 9.80MTha in cattle, swine and poultry manure, respectively. A significant higher forage yield was produced in the plot of drill, compared with broadcast(Pc0.05). DM yields in broadcast of 60kg and lOOkg of seeding rates were higher than that of 30kg of seeding rate of broadcast. However, no significant difference in forage yield was found between 60kg and IOOkg of seeding rates. The average DM yield was 11.16, 6.94, 8.26 and 8.83MTIha in drill(30kg), broadcast 30, 60 and 100kgIMT of seeding rates, respectively. The nutritive value of sorghum x sudangrass hybrid was very similar among treatments. The crude protein yields were 1,010kg in cattle manure, 1,180kg in swine manure, and 1,592kg in poultry manure. The protein yield was significantly high in the plot of drill. In conclusion, seeding by drill was recommended for forage production and protein yield of sorghumxsudangrass hybrid, and proper seeding rates were 30kg in drill and 60kg in broadcast. (Key words : Sorghumxsudangrass hybrid, Seeding rate, Seeding method, Forage yield, Nutritive value, Animal manure)

Keywords

• Sorghum$\times$sudangrass hybrid;
• Seeding rate;
• Seeding method;
• Forage yield;
• Nutritive value;
• Animal manure