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Abstract
Low forage quality of available perennial warm-season grasses during mid-summer through late summer affects the production of stocker cattle in the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP). Finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaertn L.), which is a drought tolerant annual grass, could be a promising forage for the SGP. This field study assessed the adaptability and forage characteristics of 11 finger millet accessions originally sourced (1964–1981) from different parts of the world. Results of this study suggested that finger millet can generate forage yields ranging from 5.0 to 12.3 Mg ha−1 165 days after planting. Finger millet forage contained 105 to 156 g kg−1 crude protein, 598 to 734 g kg−1 neutral detergent fiber, 268 to 382 g kg−1 acid detergent fiber, 597 to 730 g kg−1 in vitro true digestibility, and 387 to 552 g kg−1 neutral detergent fiber digestibility. Ten of the 11 accessions flowered and produced grains with yields varying from 60 to 1636 kg ha−1. Overall, finger millet has the potential to serve as an alternative crop for the production of forage and possibly grain in the SGP. Further research needs to be focused on developing strategies for agronomic management and evaluating the capacity of finger millet under different grazing and hay production settings in the SGP.
Highlights
Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based production systems are the primary choices of producers in the U.S Southern Great Plains (SGP)
All finger millet accessions showed excellent emergence (>90%) despite some seeds being in storage forgases
Finger millet accessions sourced from different geographic locations exhibited a range of adaptation regarding the summer conditions of the SGP
Summary
Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based production systems are the primary choices of producers in the U.S Southern Great Plains (SGP). Most of the winter wheat is conventionally tilled and grown in continuous rotations and separated by periods of summer fallow under rain fed conditions. Winter wheat is grown to produce grain, forage, or forage-grain combinations of products [2,3]. Summer fallow from June to September is considered a conservative technique that helps to store moisture for the following wheat crop. The winter wheat-summer fallow system has various concerns pertaining to sustainability such as the presence of low amounts of forage before and after available wheat paddocks [4], low efficiency in the usage of precipitation and available soil water by wheat-summer fallow systems [5], increased vulnerability to soil erosion through conventional tillage, and reduced amounts of organic nitrogen and carbon in soils [6]
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