Agronomic Characteristics and Multi-Cut Regeneration
Sudan grass is a warm-season annual fodder sorghum characterized by thin, leafy tillers and exceptional regenerative regrowth following cutting.
Improved multi-cut hybrids yield four to five cuttings per season when managed with timely irrigation and nitrogen top-dressing.
It thrives across semi-arid and subtropical tracts, demonstrating high heat tolerance and water use efficiency.
- Multi-cut capacity: Delivers three to five productive harvests across the summer and Kharif seasons
- Nutritional quality: Supplies eight to ten percent crude protein and over sixty percent total digestible nutrients (TDN)
- Drought hardiness: Deep root architecture extracts subsoil moisture during peak summer months
Sowing Practices, Seed Rate, and Cutting Schedule
Sowing should take place from March to July to ensure continuous green fodder availability through summer and monsoon seasons.
The first harvest is ready approximately fifty to fifty-five days after sowing at early boot stage, followed by subsequent cuts every thirty to thirty-five days.
- Seed rate: Approximately ten to twelve kilograms of certified seed per acre
- Spacing: Drill seeds in rows twenty-five to thirty centimeters apart at a depth of two to three centimeters
- Cutting height: Cut ten to twelve centimeters above ground level to protect basal tillering nodes for rapid regeneration
HCN (Prussic Acid) Toxicity Prevention and Feeding
Young, drought-stressed sorghum plants can accumulate toxic levels of hydrocyanic acid (HCN / prussic acid) in tender leaves.
Never harvest or graze Sudan grass when plants are under forty-five centimeters in height or experiencing severe drought stress.
Harvesting at early flowering or wilt-drying harvested green fodder for a few hours completely eliminates prussic acid hazards.
- HCN safety: Never feed young shoots under 45 cm in height to avoid acute livestock prussic acid poisoning
- Wilt drying: Allow freshly cut green fodder to wilt in the sun for 2 to 3 hours before chopping and feeding
- Silage making: Excellent crop for bunker silage preparation combined with molasses for winter feeding
Official source
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Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (ICAR-IGFRI) ↗Related on KisanPe
Common questions
What is the crude protein content of Sudan grass fodder?
Sudan grass harvested at the boot to early flowering stage contains approximately 8 to 10 percent crude protein on a dry matter basis.
How many cuts can be taken from multi-cut Sudan grass?
Under optimal irrigation and fertilizer management, improved multi-cut varieties yield 3 to 5 cuts per season.
Why should very young Sudan grass not be fed to dairy cows?
Young shoots under 45 cm or drought-stressed plants contain hydrocyanic acid (HCN), which can cause fatal prussic acid poisoning in ruminants.
General guidance, not personal advice. For your farm, ask your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or agriculture officer.
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