Summer Annual Variety Trial

Warm season grasses, such as sorghums, sudangrass, crosses, and millets are high-yielding summer annuals that can provide quality forage in the hot summer months, when cool season grasses are not as productive. The addition of summer annuals into a rotation can provide a harvest of high-quality forage for stored feed or grazing. Generally, summer annuals germinate quickly, grow rapidly, are drought resistant, and have high productivity and flexibility in utilization. However, it is important to know the challenges of growing summer annuals, including the high cost of annual establishment, increased risk of stand failure due to variable weather, and the risk of toxic levels of nitrates and prussic acid in sorghum and sudangrass crops. UVM Extension conducted this variety trial to evaluate the yield and quality of warm season annual grasses.