Effects of stage of maturity upon yield, composition, and nutritive value of whole plant corn and forage sorghum

Forages ar e th e major feed source in most phases of production for the beef cattle industry in Hawaii.Forage crops such as corn and sorghum off er gr eat potential both for increasing total for ag e production p er acre and flexibility of utilization, since th ey can b e fed eithe r as gr een chop or ensiled .The us e of intensively grown forage crops in b eef production programs could provide means for increasing total b eef production.It could also improve the sub-optimal rate of post-weaning performance that is frequ ently observed in growing beef catt le grazin g only unimproved pastures.In addition, forage crops might b e utilized in conjunc tion with concentrate feeds during certain p eriods of th e fatt ening phase of production.Most res earch concerning th e nutritive valu e of forage crops has been cond ucte d in temperate re gions .Additional information is need ed r egarding the nutritive valu e of these forages produced in subtropical climates.This study was conducted to investigate the eff ects of stage of maturity upon yield, composition and nutritive value of whol e plant corn and forage sorghum grown under h igh-rainfall, subtropical conditions.JT his study wa s cond uc te d in coope ra tion with W estern Regional Proj ect W-94, Range Livesto ck Nutrition.