Cover Crops: Sorghum Sudan

Table of Contents

1. Description: Family
2. Growth Habits
3. Sensitivity to Herbicides: Weed Control
4. Benefits and Concerns
5. Getting Started
6. Related Links

Description

Family

• Grass – summer annual
• Refers to a wide range of grasses related to sorghum and sudangrass
• Usually a cross between a forage or grain sorghum and sudangrass

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Germination

• Requires warm soil for germination – 68° to 85° F.

Top Growth

• Rapidly growing summer annual grass
• Wide cultivar variation – height ranges between 45 cm. to over 5 m.
• Has lower leaf area than corn

Root System

• Has more secondary roots than corn
• Roots can reach depth of greater than 124 cm

Overwintering

• Frost sensitive

Site suitability

• Extreme drought tolerance
• Prefers neutral pH but can tolerate 5.0 to 9.0
• Tolerant of salinity

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Sensitivity to Herbicides: Weed Control

There are no herbicides registered for weed control in sorghum sudan grasses. Use narrow rows and appropriate agronomic practices to establish a vigorous crop canopy as soon as possible.

Benefits and Concerns

Nutrient Management

• heavy feeder due to crop biomass
• may need additional nitrogen to facilitate decomposition

Pest Management

• nematode suppression – selected varieties only
• weed suppression from competition for light, water and nutrients

Organic Matter

• can produce massive amounts of dry matter (4,000 to 5,000 lbs./acre)
• chop plant down when it reaches 1-1.2 m. to encourage tillering and deeper root growth
• manage the crop with chopping to avoid maturity as stalks gets fibrous and woody with age and slow to break down

Erosion Control

• reasonable, soil conservation alternative to summer fallowing

As Feed

• can be used as forage
• wait until mature to avoid problems with prussic acid
• do not feed if plants have been stressed or frozen

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Getting Started

Establishment

• Plant in warm soils – no sooner than 2 weeks following corn

Cost & Availability

• There is a wide variation in cultivars available and some confusion with sorghum
• Cost is moderate depending on the variety
• Some varieties have nematode suppressing properties;
• BUYER BEWARE: Make you sure know what you’re buying when getting seed