Evaluation of three sorghum cultivars [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] for animal feeding

Abstract

The study was conducted in the cooperative of credits and services (CCS) Reytel Jorge of the Jesús Menéndez municipality –Las Tunas province, Cuba–, in order to evaluate, on a Brown soil without carbonates, the productive performance of three sorghum cultivars: CIAP 132-R, CIAP 29 and CIAP 2e-95. A randomized block design was used, with four replicas per treatment in 9-m2 plots and a distance of 1 m between replicas. The sorghum seeds, with 98 % germination, were from the Central University of Las Villas. Seeding was done at a depth of 4 cm and the distance between furrows was 40 cm. Regarding plant height at 45 and 60 days all the cultivars differed among themselves, and the highest value corresponded to cv. CIAP 29 and the lowest to CIAP 132- R. Cv. CIAP 2e-95 showed the highest dry mass, while CIAP 29 had a moderate one. Likewise, the highest grain yield was obtained with cv. CIAT 2e-95 (14,4 t ha-1), while CIAP 132 -R and CIAP 29 had lower yields, without differences between them. It is concluded that the three cultivars can be used for animal feeding.