Assessing the Efficiency of Different Nitrogen Fertilization Levels on Sorghum Yield and Quality Characteristics

Abstract

Sorghum is a Poaceae family plant that produces a lot of hay. A field experiment was carried out at the University of Thessaly’s experimental farm to investigate the hay yield and quality characteristics of six different sorghum varieties (V1: Buffalo grain, V2: Elite, V3: Big Kahuna, V4: 25K1009, V5: 4264, and V6: 5D61) under different nitrogen fertilization levels (N1: 0, N2: 80, N3: 160, and N4: 240 kg ha−1, using urinary ammonia 40-0-0). Pea for silage production was established in the same field prior to sorghum cultivation. Hay yield was found to differ significantly between the tested varieties and was also influenced by nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilization has a statistically significant effect on sorghum production, with a higher nitrogen supply contributing to a higher protein content in the sorghum yield. Other hay quality indicators, such as ash, NDF, and ADF, demonstrated differences between the different varieties and nitrogen fertilizer levels. According to the study, the variety that had stable output was “Elite”, which had good quality attributes and could be used as an alternative to feed production before sorghum development.

Keywords

• sorghum
• fertilization
• hay
• yield
• protein
• ADF