Nutrient Composition and Metabolizable Energy Values of 36 Sorghum Grain Varieties and Two Types of Corn

Sorghum grain is an important cereal to be cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas. The extension of its cultivation and application in animal and poultry diets may reduce the need for imported corn. In order to determine the nutritive value of sorghum, 36 sorghum grain (SG) varieties and one type of corn were grown at the same location. The grains were analyzed for their nutrient composition. Results from of proximate analyses showed that the ash, crude protein (CP), phosphorous (P) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of SG were 1.72±0.54, 11.6±1.18, 0.34±0.03 and 8.35±3.93, respectively. The ether extract (EE) of SG was lower than Iranian and imported corns. Iranian corn had higher amounts of CP (10.7%), EE (5.9%) and CF (3.3%) than the imported one (7.8, 4.2 and 2.25). Tannin contents of low and high SG varieties were 0.021% and 0.998%, respectively. The apparent and true metabolizable energies (AME and TME) of SG were decreased due to increasing the tannin contents. The values of TMEn</sub> (3853, 3771 and 3213 Kcal/kg) showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among low, medium and high tannin sorghum (LTS, MTS and HTS) varieties. However, in comparison with the SG, the corn had higher amounts of TME (3853, 3771 and 3213 VS. 3947 Kcal/kg). LTS had the highest AME (3453 Kcal/kg) among all the grains, while there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between MTS (3458 Kcal/kg) and the two corn grains (3406 Kcal/kg).