FeedEx Forage Sorghum
FeedEx is an early to mid-season flowering, (approx. 82 days), hybrid sorghum that provides earlier grazing opportunities than later flowering varieties. It is high yielding and has quick recovery after grazing or cutting.
FeedEx can be used for direct grazing, silage or hayand is ideally suited to areas where there is good underlying soil moisture or irrigation throughout the growing period.
Forage sorghums will germinate best when soil temperatures reach 16° Celsius and rising. Earlier sowings are possible but slow germination in cold soils can make seedlings susceptible to attack from disease and insects.
FeedEx is a lower cost product that can be sown to produce good late spring and summer forage in lieu of other supplementary feed options, or as an excellent cover or green manure crop.
| Characteristic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genetic type | Sorghum x Sudan grass |
| Early seedling vigour | Very strong |
| Leaf / stem ratio | High (FeedEx has finer stems than some Sorghums) |
| Cold tolerance | Excellent |
| Digestibility | Excellent when grazed between 750 – 1200mm high |
| Recovery after grazing | Very strong |
| Disease | Intermediate resistance to most races of rust and leaf blight |
| Prussic acid | Similar to other forage sorghums |
FeedEx compared to alternate varieties
| Variety | Crude Protein (N x 6.25) | Metabolisable Energy | Digestibility | Neutral Detergent Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FeedEx | 17.4% of DM | 9.5 MJ/kg DM | 64.5% of DM | 56.5% of DM |
| Super Dan 2 | 15.5% of DM | 9.9 MJ/kg DM | 67.0% of DM | 56.8% of DM |
| BMR | 15.7% of DM | 9.2 MJ/kg DM | 62.7% of DM | 58.5% of DM |
| Speedfeed 2 | 16.6% of DM | 9.3 MJ/kg DM | 63.6% of DM | 57.4% of DM |
| Sprint | 13.8% of DM | 9.3 MJ/kg DM | 63.6% of DM | 57.6% of DM |
| Bettagraze | 13.6% of DM | 9.5 MJ/kg DM | 64.4% of DM | 56.5% of DM |
| Trials conducted by Southern Farming Systems – Feed tests conducted by DPI Hamilton (Feedtest) Data supplied by Stephen Pasture Seeds Ballarat | ||||
2010 Summer Forage Trial – Shepparton (sown 2/12/2009)
Soils
FeedEx can be sown onto a wide range of soils and is best sown into a well prepared friable seed bed that has good availability to moisture for the whole growing period. Sorghum does not like waterlogged soils especially during establishment.
Establishment
FeedEx like other sorghums is sensitive to colder soils, therefore should not be planted too early. Ensure soil temperatures are a minimum of 16° Celsius and rising to achieve rapid establishment.
Apply a minimum of 150 kgs/ha of a compound type fertiliser and ensure that a nitrogen based fertiliser is applied after each grazing.
Management
Grazing intervals are dependent on temperatures and moisture availability and can vary from 4 to 5 weeks to the first grazing and between 2 to 4 weeks to the second and third grazings if the growing conditions allow.
For best results FeedEx should be sown into areas that have good sub soil moisture available through the growing season or where there is irrigation available.
Ensure that soil temperatures are a minimum of 16° Celsius to achieve good rapid establishment.
Apply a minimum of 150 kgs/ha of a compound type fertiliser and ensure that a nitrogen based fertiliser is applied after each grazing. Graze each time it reaches the .8 to 1m stage.
FeedEx is a lower cost product that can be sown to produce good late spring and summer forage in lieu of other supplementary feed options, or as an excellent cover or green manure crop.
Recommended sowing rates:
FeedEx should be sown at:
Dryland: 3 to 6 kgs/ha;
Good Dryland: 6 to 10 kgs/ha
Irrigation: 15 to 25 kgs/ha