Cultivar selection, planting geometry, and plant population are the key factors determining grain sorghum yields in water deficit areas. The objective of this study was to investigate whether clump geometry (three plants clustered) improves microclimate within crop canopy when plants are grown under varying water levels. In a 2-yr sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) greenhouse study, plants wer...

The potential interaction between grain (starch) and protein sources with varying ruminal degradation rates on N utilization in growing lambs was evaluated. Three grain sources with varying ruminal degradation rates, (barley greater than steam-flaked sorghum [SFSG] greater than dry-rolled sorghum [DRSG]) and three protein sources (urea greater than a 50:25:25 mixture of urea: blood meal:corn gl...

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration has led to concerns about potential effects on production agriculture as well as agriculture’s role in sequestering C. In the fall of 1997, a study was initiated to compare the response of two crop management systems (conventional and conservation) to elevated CO2. The study used a split-plot design replicated three times with two management systems as m...

Root segments and root-soil cores (6.5-cm diameter) from fields and nurseries of winter wheat and sorghum were tested for N2 fixation by using the acetylene reduction assay. Wheat samples (approximately 1,200) from 109 sites generally had low or no activity (0 to 3.1 nmol of C2H4 produced per h per g [dry weight] of root segments), even after 24 h of incubation. However, a commercial field of S...

In 1996, an effort began to quantify soil water storage, crop use, and productivity on dryland systems in western Kansas. Research 4-year rotations with wheat grain sorghum was initiated at the Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, KS. Rotations were wheat-wheat-sorghum-fallow (WWSF), wheat-sorghum-sorghum-fallow (WSSF), continuous (WW). Soil planting averaged about 9 in. following ...

Thin porridge from cereals and starchy tubers is a common complementary food in Sub Saharan Africa. It may be high in antinutrients, low in energy, and nutrient density hence inadequate in providing infants' high energy and nutrients requirements per unit body weight. Consequently, undernourishment levels among children under 5 years are high. Therefore, there is need to avail nutrient-dense co...

_____________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of slow-release α-amylase in ruminal in vitro digestion of maize and sorghum grains. Digestibility was measured using an in vitro procedure with 40 mL of buffer and 10 mL of ruminal fluid, flushed with CO2 and incubated at 39 °C. The digestibility of sor...

The effects of reconstitution of sorghums on dry matter, energy, protein and amino acid digestibilities, and the nature of protein binding by sorghum tannins during digestion were investigated. Grains from a high and a low tannin sorghum were reconstituted by adding 30% (wt/wt) distilled water to the grain and stored at 25 degrees C for 20 days with an acetic-propionic acid mixture added to det...

Sorghum bicolor is a genetically diverse C4 monocotyledonous species, encompassing varieties capable of producing high grain yields as well as sweet types which accumulate soluble sugars (predominantly sucrose) within their stems to high concentrations. Sucrose produced in leaves (sources) enters the phloem and is transported to regions of growth and storage (sinks). It is likely that sucrose t...

China is one of the world's fastest growing economies showing an impressive growth on consumption of animal protein which has resulted on a rapidly increasing derived demand for feed grains. Corn is the key feed crop for China, however, the government policies have boosted domestic corn prices above international levels. Some important facts signal that China is becoming a large market of feed ...