Sorghum × drummondii

Sudan grass (Sorghum × drummondii )

The Sudan grass (Sorghum × drummondii, often under the synonym sorghum sudanense ) is a plant of the family Gramineae ( Poaceae ).

Description

The Sudan grass is an annual plant, its stalks are between 1 and 2.5 meters tall and have a diameter of 3 to 6 mm. The leaf sheath is glabrous or partly, including at the base, pubescent. The Bald leaf blade is linear or linear - lanceolate, 15-30 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, the ligule is brown.

The inflorescence is a loose, slender branched panicle, which is 15 to 30 inches long and 6 to 12 inches wide and is composed of two to five Ährchenpaaren. Seated spikelets are elliptical and 6 to 7.5 millimeters long, their callus is hairy, the lower glume is leathery, tapering upward, is finely decorated with slender, stiff bristles and clearly nerviert with eleven to thirteen side ribs. The upper lemma ovate or ovate - elliptic, bilobed at the apex, the awn is 10 to 16 millimeters long.

Stalked spikelets are male or sterile, linear - lanceolate and permanently. The fruit ( a caryopsis ) is elliptic to inversely egg-shaped elliptical, 3.5 to 4.5 mm long and enclosed by glumes. The chromosome number is 2n = 20

Dissemination

The species is native to northeast Africa in Sudan and Egypt. It can be found there along river banks and irrigation canals, it spreads like a weed. Sudan grass is a C4 plant, warmth, and quite tolerant of drought.

Systematics and Botanical History

The species is of hybrid origin and originated from a cross between the sorghum Sorghum bicolor and Sorghum arundinaceum. The innumerable forms of this common junction were described as Sorghum × drummondii ( Steudel ) Millspaugh & Chase.

Cultivation

Because of the in Central Europe only low growing experience based information on methods of cultivation and harvest volumes so far largely based on experimental results.

At low soil requirements, Sudan grass is warmth and frost- sensitive but considerably drought tolerant than maize ( the dominant Central European arable crop for feed and biogas ). Sudan grass can interrupt the growth in dry conditions and resume it later. Because of their slow early growth of Sudan grass crops are in the establishment phase as susceptible to weed infestation.

Some cultivars are available. Sowing takes place in May. Harvesting Sudan grass with the forage harvester at the beginning of panicle emergence in the second half of June and again in late October or early November. In field trials were at two harvests between 30 to 44 quintals per hectare ( t / ha ) dt at low income levels and 67-82 / ha are harvested at a high level of income.

Several years of trials in Germany (since 2005 in parallel in seven states ) confirm the basic suitability of plants for cultivation in Central Europe. But larger acreage not currently exist, only a few areas around Würzburg and Worms.

Use

Sudan grass is mainly used as fodder plants, while the feed value is slightly lower than that of Silomaises. Because of their Massenwüchsigkeit the plant is also increasing interest in biogas industry. With pure fermentation of Sudan grass biogas yields of 500 to 600 cubic meters per ton of dry organic substance can be achieved with methane contents of 50 to 55 volume percent.