Warm Season Annual Forage Performance Trials

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension continued their research to evaluate warm season annual forage systems. Warm season annual forages include grasses such as sorghum, sudangrass, sorghumsudangrass, Japanese millet, and pearl millet varieties. These grasses prefer the warmth of the summer months and generally thrive between June and August. Warm season annuals can be grazed or harvested for stored forage. Since warm season annuals thrive in hot weather they could supplement pasture during the summer slump. The summer slump is a period during the summer that cool season perennial grasses slow in growth and quality. The goal of this project was to evaluate the yield and quality of commercially available varieties of warm season annuals. In addition, we were interested in investigating the value of combining brassica forage with warm season annuals. The goal was to maximize forage yield and quality

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

Local seed systems and village-level determinants of millet crop diversity in marginal environments of India:

"In the subsistence-oriented, semi-arid production systems of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, India, the environment is marginal for crop growth and often there is no substitute for millet crops. Across communities, farmers grow thirteen different combinations of pearl millet, sorghum, finger millet, little millet, and foxtail millet varieties, but individual farmers grow an average of only two to three millet varieties per season. The notion of the seed system includes all channels through which farmers acquire genetic materials, outside or in interaction with the commercial seed industry. Data are compiled through household surveys and interviews with traders and dealers in village and district markets. Based on the concept of the seed lot, several characteristics of local seed markets are defined and measured by millet crop, including seed transfer rates for farmer-to-farmer transactions and seed replacement ratios. Most seed transactions appear to be based on money. Seed supply channels differ by improvement status of the genetic material. Econometric results indicate the significance of the seed replacement ratios and seed volumes traded in determining the levels of crop biodiversity managed by communities, in addition to the household, farm and other market-related factors identified by previous studies. These are interpreted as indicators of market strength." Authors' AbstractSeed systems, Crop diversity, Seed industry and trade, genetic variation,

Pearl millet and sorghum improvement in India:

millions fed, food security, Pearl millet, Sorghum,

Factors affecting sorghum protein digestibility

In the semi-arid tropics worldwide, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is cultivated by farmers on a subsistence level and consumed as food by humans. A nutritional limitation to its use is the poor digestibility of sorghum protein when wet cooked. The factors affecting wet cooked sorghum protein digestibility may be categorised into two main groups: exogenous factors (grain organisational structure, polyphenols, phytic acid, starch and non-starch polysaccharides) and endogenous factors (disulphide and non-disulphide crosslinking, kafirin hydrophobicity and changes in protein secondary structure). All these factors have been shown to influence sorghum protein digestibility. More than one factor may be at play at any time depending on the nature or the state in which the sorghum grain is; that is whether whole grain, endosperm, protein body preparation, high-tannin or condensed-tannin-free. It is proposed that protein crosslinking may be the greatest factor that influences sorghum protein digestibility. This may be between ?- and ß-kafirin proteins at the protein body periphery, which may impede digestion of the centrally located major storage protein, a-kafirin, or between ?- or ß-kafirin and a-kafiri

Summer Annual Variety Trial

Warm season grasses, such as sorghum x sudangrass crosses, sudangrass, and millet are high-yielding annuals that can provide quality forage in the hot summer months, when the cool season grasses that make up most pastures and hay meadows in the Northeast enter dormancy and decline in productivity. The addition of summer annuals into a rotation can provide a harvest of high-quality forage for stored feed or grazing during this critical time. Generally, summer annuals germinate quickly, grow rapidly, are drought resistant, and have high productivity and flexibility in utilization. The UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils team conducted this variety trial to evaluate the yield and quality of warm season annual grasses

LEAST COST WORLD TRADE PATTERNS FOR GRAINS AND MEATS

International Relations/Trade,

Local Seed Markets and the Determinants of Crop Variety Diversity in Marginal Environments: The Case of Millet in Semi-Arid India

The purpose of the research paper is to characterize biological diversity related to millets in the semi-arid regions of India at various spatial scales of analysis (e.g., farm household versus community levels) and place that evidence in a broader seed systems (includes both formal and informal) context. An important finding of this research is that producer access to millet genetic resources is affected by the extent to which seed is traded via formal markets or through other social institutions, along with farm and household characteristics. Findings also underscore the need for an enhanced theoretical understanding of local seed markets in analyzing crop variety choices and the diversity of materials grown in less favored environments.Crop Production/Industries,

The Economic Reality of Underutilised Crops for Climate Resilience, Food Security and Nutrition: Assessing Finger Millet Productivity in India

In spite of the considerable potential contribution of neglected and underutilised crops to climate resilience, food security and nutrition; widespread adoption of these crops remains a challenge. Uptake is inhibited by poor economic performance due to low yields, compounded further by various social factors. Using farm survey data and aggregated time-series data from four states in southern India, this study examines factors influencing productivity in finger millet cultivation. A farm-level yield gap analysis is complemented by an analysis of total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1999 and 2014 to better understand the role of research and innovation. Results suggest that there is considerable potential for improved growing practices to achieve better yields, but also education levels and technical support emerge as crucial factors for boosting finger millet productivity. The TFP analysis indicates a moderate level of growth, with a high variability and conflicting trends between states, suggesting a need to invest more in research and development, extension and infrastructure. Sustained productivity gains will require research efforts that respond to the needs expressed by farmers and that finger millet forms part of an overall strategy for sustainable intensification

Sudan Grass, Soybeans, and Other Supplementary Hay and Pasture Crops

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