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IVDMD, Total Sugars, and Lignin Measurements on Normal and Brown Midrib (bmr) Sorghums at Various Stages of Development¹

Reduced lignin concentrations found in brown midrib (bmr) mutants of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench., have great potential for increasing the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of sorghum forage. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of five bmr mutants on IVDMD, lignin concentration and total sugars of young vegetative forage that would be used for grazing or hay.

Forage from bmr 12 and bmr 18 harvested 4 weeks after planting was significantly higher in IVDMD than their normal counterparts in each of the 3 years tested. Three other mutants were not consistently higher in IVDMD indicating a possible environmental interaction. Total reducing and non-reducing sugars were not related to IVDMD and the bmr mutants did not have a significantly different total sugar concentration than normal types. Four weeks after planting, IVDMD of bmr 12 forage was 7.2 and 5.6 percentage units higher than normal forage for leaves and stems, respectively. The differences observed for the bmr gene should lead to significant improvement in animal performance.

Key Words: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. • Quality • Digestibility • Mutants

² Research geneticist and research agronomist, USDA, SEA-AR; and chemist; all of the Univ. of Georgia, College of Agric. Exp. Stns., Coastal Plain Station, Agronomy Dep., Tifton, GA 31793.

Received for publication March 9, 1981.

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