Feed quality of new Sudan grass varieties

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to determine the feed quality of New Sudan grass varieties. On average, the highest plant height was found in Sudan grass variety Nika (274 cm) in 2019-2020. These rates in Sputnitsa and Aleksandrina were loer by 23 and 30 cm, respectevely. The yield of green matter after two cuts in the new variety Nika was 41.0 t ha-1 and 9.59 t ha-1 of hay. These rates in the recognized varieties varied in the range of 35.0-36.0 t ha-1 and 7.98-8.28 t ha-1. The maximum protein content for varieties Nika, Sputnitsa standard and Aleksandrina were 13.72%, 11.33%, and 11.72%, respectevely. The fiber content in the air-dry matter was 25.20% in Nika, 26.01% in Sputnitsa and 26.03% in Aleksandrina. When determining the presence of metabolizable energy in sheep feed, it was found that the variety Nika contained 2.03 MJ, Aleksandrina – 1.96 MJ, Sputnitsa – 1.90 MJ in 1 kg of green matter. The new variety Nika also had similar maximum rate in 1 kg of hay and amounted to 8.79 MJ. Among the studied varieties of Sudan grass, the most significant amino acid content was also obtained in the variety Nika. The maximum rate of asparagine and glutamic acids in the air-dry matter of this variety was 1.84% and 1.38%, respectively. The dry matter of the variety Nika contains high level (0.5-1.0%) of the amino acids proline, glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, and lysine. A significant amount of threonine, serine, isoleucine, tyrosine, and arginine amino acids (0.3-0.5%) was obtained in the air-dry matter of Sudan grass. The content of methionine and histidine amino acids in hay was low (less than 0.27%).