Mineral and Fermentative Profile of Forage Sorghum Irrigated with Brackish Water

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study determined the mineral composition of sorghum Ponta Negra and its silage, irrigated with different leaching fractions with brackish water. Two experiments were performed: The first step evaluated the sorghum irrigated by four leaching fractions with brackish water (0, 5, 10 and 15%) and 4 repetitions. In the second experiment, sorghum was harvested at 101 days to make experimental silos which, according to the leaching fractions, four treatments were formed, with 5 repetitions each, totaling 20 silos stored for 90 days. A randomized block design was adopted. Different leaching fractions with brackish water provided a quadratic behavior was observed for Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Sulfur (S) on the sorghum plant. A positive linear effect was observed for Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Sodium (Na) with the increase in leaching fractions with brackish water in the irrigation of sorghum plant. Regarding sorghum silage, the leaching fractions with brackish water promoted a positive linear effect for the N content and quadratic effect for P, K, Ca, Mg and Na. Despite the high content of soluble salts in the water resources available in arid and semi-arid regions, the use of irrigation leaching fraction has been considered a viable alternative for the production of tolerant forage crops.