Comparative study on the yield and nutritional quality of different sweet sorghum varieties in the dry farming area of Gansu Province

This study aimed to determine the most suitable sweet sorghum varieties in the dry farming area of Gansu province to enrich local forage resources and to support the development of herbivorous animal husbandry. Fifteen sweet sorghum varieties were selected for the randomized block experiment to analyze the variance of the yield and nutritional quality. The membership function method was used to evaluate the comprehensive production performance. The results showed that the content of CP, NDF, ADF, WSC, and TDN were significantly different among the varieties/lines (P < 0.05). The sequence of nutrient contents was irregular among varieties, except for ADF and TDN, which were consistent. The highest content of CP and TDN were found in Liaotian 3 (7.61%, 62.50%), respectively and the highest content of WSC was found in 2018 JT-7 (27.77%). The lowest content of NDF and ADF were found in Jintianza 3 (47.90%) and Liaotian 1 (27.70%), respectively. There were significant differences in dry matter yield among varieties (lines). The highest dry matter yield was 20.63 t·ha⁻¹, in Jintianza 3. CP yield difference between varieties was not significant with the highest yield, 1.31 t·ha⁻¹, in Zhuangmu 79141; TDN yield difference between varieties was significant (P < 0.05) with the highest yield, 12.67 t·ha⁻¹, in Jintianza 3. The DM yield and the content of CP, WSC, NDF, and ADF were evaluated by the membership function method using fuzzy mathematics. As a result, Jintianza 3, 2018 JT-7, and Liaotian 3 were the most suitable varieties in this arid region, as they had the best integrated production performance.