Nutritive Evaluation of Three New Sorghum Hybrids in Crossbred Cows

Fifteen crossbred lactating cows were divided into three groups of five each, and fed ad lib new variety sorghum hybrids viz. MFSH-4, SSG-080 and SX-17 along with 40% concentrate mixture for 90 days and a digestibility trial of 7 days was conducted at the end of feeding trial. Mean DMI (kg/d) was significantly higher in SSG-080 than MFSH-4 and SX-17 by 7.28 and 7.67%, respectively. The digestibility of DM, EE, ADF, NDF and OM was higher (P<0.05) in SX-17 as compared to MFSH-4 and SSG-080 groups. The milk yield and its composition were statistically similar in all the three groups except milk fat per cent which was higher (P<0.05) in SX-17 (5.07%) as compared to MFSH-4 (4.06%) and SSG-080 (3.90%). It is concluded that feeding of SX-17 sorghum hybrid to lactating crossbred cows resulted in improved DMI, digestibility of nutrients and milk fat percentage as compared to MFSH-4 and SSG-080.