A Comparison of Pearl Millet and Sorghum-Sudangrass Pastures during the Frost-Prone Autumn for Growing Beef Cattle in Semiarid Region

Sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor x S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf.) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) provide adequate nutritive value for growing beef cattle; however, unlike pearl millet, sorghum-sudangrass produces hydrocyanic acid (which is toxic to livestock) when frosted. Forage yield, nutritive value, and weight gain of growing cattle grazing sorghum-sudangrass and pearl millet were compared during the frost-prone autumns of 2013 and 2014, at New Mexico State University's Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center in Tucumcari, NM USA, in randomized complete block designs each year with two replicates. No differences existed between pearl millet and sorghum-sudangrass forage yield, although there was a year-forage interaction for fiber-based nutritive value components because of maturity differences across years between the forages when freeze-killed. Pearl millet allowed for extending grazing of available forage for an additional 14 and 24 d in 2013 and 2014, respectively, compared to sorghum-sudangrass during the frost-prone autumn periods. During that period, when sorghum forages produce potentially toxic levels of hydrocyanic acid, animals grazing pearl millet accumulated an additional average of 94.9 kg live-weight gain ha(-1) (p < 0.001). These factors afford producers an opportunity to increase returns on the similar investments of establishing and managing warm-season annual forage crops each year, and allow more time to stockpile cool-season perennial and annual forages for winter and early spring grazing, or to reduce hay feeding.

Automated summary

This study compared the effects of sorghum-sudangrass and pearl millet on beef cattle feeding, finding that pearl millet allows for longer grazing periods during frost-prone seasons and promotes greater weight gain, while also reducing the risk of toxic hydrocyanic acid.