Sweet Pearl Millet Yields and Nutritive Value as Influenced by Fertilization and Harvest Dates

HighlightsJuice extraction resulted in a decrease in the nutritive value of the bagasse as compared with the initial biomass.Silages made from the second pressing bagasse were well conserved.Sweet sorghum silage has a better nutritive value than sweet pearl millet.Abstract. Pressing the biomass of sweet sorghum and sweet pearl millet in-field is one of the suggested options for bioethanol production. The extracted juice can be delivered to an ethanol plant, and the bagasse (pressing residue) can be used for ruminant feeding. Efficient carbohydrate extraction is highly important for good ethanol yield. However, enough carbohydrates must remain in the bagasse for its adequate conservation as silage. In this study, the ensilability and the chemical composition of the second pressing bagasse of sweet sorghum and sweet pearl millet were investigated. The bagasse was obtained following a second pressing of the first pressing bagasse after its impregnation with water based on three water:bagasse ratios (0.5, 1, and 1.5). Results indicated that water:bagasse ratio did not affect water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) extraction for both crops. The second pressing bagasse of sweet sorghum and sweet pearl millet contained 80.5 ±4.6 and 60 ±4.6 g of WSC kg-1 dry matter (DM), respectively. The second pressing bagasse of both crops had reduced nutritive value compared to the initial biomass, i.e., higher neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentrations along with lower non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentration, in vitro true digestibility of DM (IVTD), and in vitro NDF digestibility (NDFd). The second pressing bagasses of both crops also showed good ensilability, but sweet sorghum bagasse silages were of better nutritive value than sweet pearl millet bagasse silages (ADF = 446.2 ±3.7 vs. 463.2 ±3.7 g kg-1 DM, IVTD = 813.8 ±3.4 vs. 708.8 ±6.8 g kg-1 DM, and NDFd = 741.8 ±4.8 vs. 596.2 ±8.5 g kg-1 NDF, respectively). The water:bagasse ratio used for bagasse impregnation before the second pressing only affected the NDF concentration of silages, as a higher NDF concentration was obtained with a water:bagasse ratio of 1.5. Sweet sorghum and sweet pearl millet can be considered dual-purpose crops; the extracted juice can be fermented into ethanol, and the second pressing bagasse can be used to make good-quality silage. Keywords: Bagasse impregnation, Nutritive value, Silage, Sweet pearl millet, Sweet sorghum, Water-soluble carbohydrates.

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Bagasse Silage from Sweet Pearl Millet and Sweet Sorghum as Influenced by Harvest Dates and Delays between Biomass Chopping and Pressing

BioEnergy Research ◽

10.1007/s12155-015-9666-2 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 88-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Amélia dos Passos Bernardes ◽

Gaëtan F. Tremblay ◽

Gilles Bélanger ◽

Philippe Seguin ◽

Annie Brégard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Sweet Sorghum ◽

Sweet Pearl Millet ◽

Harvest Dates

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Forage yield, nutritive value, and ensilability of sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum in five Canadian ecozones

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2019-0031 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 99 (5) ◽

pp. 701-714

Author(s):

Hugo Alix ◽

Gaëtan F. Tremblay ◽

Martin H. Chantigny ◽

Gilles Bélanger ◽

Philippe Seguin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Sweet Sorghum ◽

Volatile Fatty Acids ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Pennisetum Glaucum ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Forage Yield ◽

Soluble Carbohydrate ◽

Sweet Pearl Millet ◽

The Pacific

Sweet pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] and sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], previously tested for ethanol production, were evaluated as high sugar crops for animal feeds to possibly replace silage corn (Zea mays L.). We compared the forage yield, nutritive value, and ensilability of one hybrid of sweet pearl millet and two of sweet sorghum to a locally adapted silage corn hybrid in five Canadian ecozones. Forage yields of sweet pearl millet and sorghum were similar to that of silage corn in the Boreal Shield, Mixedwood Plain, and Atlantic Maritime ecozones, greater in the Prairies, and lower in the Pacific Maritime ecozone. Across sites, forage dry matter concentration was less for sweet pearl millet (289 g kg−1) and sweet sorghum (245 g kg−1) than for silage corn (331 g kg−1). Sweet pearl millet had a lower total digestible nutrient (TDN) concentration (452 g kg−1 DM) and aNDF digestibility (NDFd) than sweet sorghum and silage corn along with greater neutral detergent fibre (aNDF) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations than silage corn. Sweet sorghum had greater aNDF and WSC, lower starch, and similar TDN (534 g kg−1 DM) concentrations, but greater NDFd compared with silage corn. Sweet pearl millet and sorghum fermented as well as silage corn, reaching low pH values and acceptable concentrations of lactic and volatile fatty acids. Sweet sorghum is therefore a viable alternative to silage corn in Canada except in the Pacific Maritime ecozone, but early-maturing hybrids with acceptable DM concentration at harvest are required.

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Sugar Yield of Sweet Pearl Millet and Sweet Sorghum as Influenced by Harvest Dates and Delays Between Biomass Chopping and Pressing

BioEnergy Research ◽

10.1007/s12155-014-9504-y ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 100-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Amélia dos Passos Bernardes ◽

Gaëtan F. Tremblay ◽

Gilles Bélanger ◽

Annie Brégard ◽

Philippe Seguin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Sweet Sorghum ◽

Sugar Yield ◽

Sweet Pearl Millet ◽

Harvest Dates

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

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11060541 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 541

Author(s):

Leonard M. Lauriault ◽

Leah H. Schmitz ◽

Shad H. Cox ◽

Eric J. Scholljegerdes

Keyword(s):

Weight Gain ◽

Beef Cattle ◽

Pearl Millet ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Agricultural Science ◽

Forage Yield ◽

Hydrocyanic Acid ◽

Science Center ◽

Forage Crops ◽

Sorghum Sudangrass

Sorghum–sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor × 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.

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Short communication. Forage and nutritive value of the pruning residues (leaves plus summer lateral shoots) of four grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars at grape harvest and two post-harvest dates

Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.5424/sjar/2007054-287 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 517

Author(s):

D. Kok ◽

E. Ates ◽

I. Korkutal ◽

E. Bahar

Keyword(s):

Vitis Vinifera ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Short Communication ◽

Vitis Vinifera L ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Harvest Dates ◽

Lateral Shoots ◽

Pruning Residues

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Warm-season annual forages in forage-finishing beef systems: I. Forage yield and quality

Translational Animal Science ◽

10.1093/tas/txz075 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 911-926 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Deidre D Harmon ◽

Dennis W Hancock ◽

Robert L Stewart ◽

Jenna L Lacey ◽

Robert W Mckee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Pennisetum Glaucum ◽

Block Design ◽

Warm Season ◽

Forage Yield ◽

Experimental Unit ◽

Beef Production ◽

Sorghum Sudangrass ◽

Value Determination

Abstract The demand for a year-round supply of fresh, locally grown, forage-finished beef products has created a need for forage-finishing strategies during the summer months in the southeast. A 3-yr study was conducted to evaluate four warm-season annual forages in a southeastern forage-finishing beef production system. Treatments were four forage species and included brown-midrib sorghum × sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor var. bicolor*bicolor var. sudanense; BMR), sorghum × sudangrass (SS), pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.; PM], or pearl millet planted with crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.; PMCG]. Treatments were distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Pastures (0.81 ha, experimental unit) were assigned to one of four forage treatments, subdivided, and rotationally stocked with a variable stocking density. British-cross beef steers (n = 32; 3-yr average: 429 ± 22 kg) grazed for 70, 63, and 56 d in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. Put-and-take animals were used to maintain a forage allowance of 116 kg forage dry matter /100 kg body weight. Forage mass was measured by clipping a 4.3-m2 area in triplicate on d 0 and on 14-d intervals. Hand grab samples for forage nutritive value determination and quadrat clippings for species compositions were measured on d 0 and on 34-d intervals until termination of the trial. Forage mass was lowest (P < 0.01) for PMCG at the initiation of the grazing trial, whereas BMR was greater (P < 0.01) than SS at wk 6. Total digestible nutrients in 2014 were greater for SS compared to BMR and PM at the middle harvest (P < 0.01) and BMR, PM, and PMCG at the final harvest (P < 0.01). At the middle and final harvests in both 2015 and 2016, PM and PMCG contained greater (P < 0.01) concentrations of crude protein than SS. These results suggest that BMR, SS, PM, and PMCG may all be used in southeastern forage-finishing beef production systems, as long as the producer strategically accounts for the slight growth and nutritive value differences throughout the season.

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Optimization of Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Extraction from Sweet Sorghum and Sweet Pearl Millet Biomass

BioEnergy Research ◽

10.1007/s12155-020-10107-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 237-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Noura Saïed ◽

Mohamed Khelifi ◽

Annick Bertrand ◽

Mohammed Aider ◽

Gaëtan F. Tremblay

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Sweet Sorghum ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Soluble Carbohydrate ◽

Sweet Pearl Millet ◽

Water Soluble Carbohydrate

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Nutritive value of proteins of pearl millet of high-yielding varieties and hybrids

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn19690102 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 913-916 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

A. K Goswami ◽

K. P Sharma ◽

K. L SEHGAL

Keyword(s):

Pearl Millet ◽

Dietary Protein ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Protein Efficiency Ratio ◽

Optimum Level ◽

Lysine Content ◽

Efficiency Ratio ◽

Reference Protein ◽

Limiting Amino Acid ◽

High Yielding Varieties

1. Two high-yielding varieties and three hybrids of pearl millet were evaluated for their chemical composition and protein efficiency ratio (PER) for rats at a level of 6.38% dietary protein. PER values ranged from 0.94 to 1.21 and were significantly different.2. Tryptophan contents of the proteins were above the optimum level of the FAO reference protein. Lysine content was deficient in all the samples and was probably the limiting amino acid in the PER test.

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