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School me on Sudex, please

Steve in VA

Steve in VA

Well-known Member
Location
Natural Bridge Virginia
You guys are a gold mine of intel. Given the few details I had, some of which were misleading, you correctly settled on the planting in the hay field as sudex. That is it. I've done some looking about but, well, why not avail myself of your knowledge? What are the pros and cons? It seems to be an annual; true? For those that have used it, have you been satisfied? Do you replant each year or are you using it as preparation for other grass plantings?

As always I am in your debt and thanks in advance.

Oh yeah, I'll be off the grid for a few days but will check back.
 
Sudex has to be planted annually. It does not work very well as a nurse crop because it is so thick/tall it will smother most things planted with it. We usually planted winter Rye and chopped it off when it was waist high. Then planted Sudex as a later forage to be chopped. I never tried to make dry hay with it. You would want to cut it earlier than when we chopped it as the stems would not dry well when they where large.
 
Thanks. That's good intel. Currently its every bit of 3' high except the edges which are maybe 18". I 'understand' that its toxic if cut less than 24". I didn't mean to imply that it was a nurse crop but rather that it was good for mostly cover crop until a spring planting of something else.

So, have you been happy w/ the results?
 
It's good cheap feed I've hayed it chopped it and haylaged it and grazed it out of all haylage was the most economical As for the toxic concern never had problems with the height concern you mentioned being toxic If you fertilize it heavy it will try to store nitrogen and you can run into toxic problems there I always fertilized with 100 pound of 34-0-0
100 pound of 18-46-0
100 pound of 0-0-60
Blended all together applie this combo at 300 lbs to acre
Plant in may where I live cut first cutting for haylage dryed the second cutting for dry hay then chopped third cutting and put it in silo When I said good cheap feed the important word is "cheap" sudex is low in energy you will need to feed something to supplement for energy If it frosts on it before your last cutting leave it it developes purseic acid in it. It is not worth the risk all sorhgrums and Sudan grasses do this if it frost on them sudex is cross with sorhgrums and something else can't remember After it frost on it don't even graze it mow it or chopp it it will kill animals
 
My dad used to grow the stuff back in the 80's. It COULD be a very good forage if cut when less than 3 foot tall, but if you get a rainy week it can grow a couple feet in that time and turn into some pretty tough, rank stuff.

In very dry periods, nitrate poisoning to cattle can be a problem, and as mentioned below, prussic acid that will kill cattle can be an issue as well. Both can mediated by ensiling, and letting it ferment for a few weeks. Here in WI, we could get 3 cuts if the weather cooperated.

There are some newer BMR varieties that are more digestible.

If it isn't growing already, I'd pick something else.

Good luck. Hope this helps.
 
There are better forages now. I have not planted sudex for 20 years or more. It is high fiber low protein forage. Just good filler.
 

Used to grow Sudex and square bale it as dry hay. First procedure: Cut with sickle bar mower, let it sit a day. Go over it with a crusher type conditioner. Let it dry another day or so depending on weather. Rake into small windrows. Condition the windrows, let sit until dry. Later procedure: Cut with NH haybineor Hesston pt 10. Normally it would dry ok. Cows loved it.

KEH
 
When I first started dairying in '79' I used it for green chop. I chopped a load every day for cows. By the time I got to the center of the field, the outside was ready to be chopped again. cows milked pretty good on it. Several guys tried to make hay but it's a bugger to get dry.
 
We used to plant it every year and chop half of it as silage and bale the other half as hay. I don't recall it being a nightmare to dry down and bale, but I was western Kansas and there's no end to hot and dry.
 
jd ,I bet you will know ,, one of the reasons I stay away from sudex haying and grazing is the freeze that changes the sugars to poison ????,I think it is very important that anyone that raises this stuff fully understand the challenges and pitfalls ??,.. what can you tell US about sudex and freezing weather and grazing ??,,.thanks,jim
 
If cut in the right stage it has as much protein as alfalfa but it has to but done in the vegetative stage. Let the stuff get to big and all you have is filler.
 
(quoted from post at 23:55:39 08/07/16) If cut in the right stage it has as much protein as alfalfa but it has to but done in the vegetative stage. Let the stuff get to big and all you have is filler.
Click to expand...

Ditto that Sudax/Sudan if harvested in early stage of growth can be very high protein forage. Prussic acid poisoning dissipates in hay or silage after being stored for a few weeks . Nitrite poisoning if present never leaves the lower part of plant. Sudax when cut for hay can take 5 gdays to week or more to be dry enough to make dry hay.
 
Sudex is great to kill out other weeds such as johnsongrass. It grows so fast nothing else has a chance. Yes it can be hard to dry. We used to put it up as chopped hay. Cows loved it and the stems were all chopped up so it still worked in taller stuff, although the feed value decreases. It would also be a good cover crop that will winter kill and prevent winter annual weeds from starting.
 
Pop tried the stuff back in the late 60's when it first came to the attention of the industry. We kinda grew out of the urge rather quickly for all of the reasons stated below. It seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. Within ten years or so about everybody else in the area had scratched that particular itch and moved on, also.
 
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