Stem Yield, Syrup Production, and Brix Content of Sweet Sorghum In Eastern Kentucky.

Sweet sorghum is a drought-tolerant, C4 grass with a demonstrated high yield potential in Eastern KY. A study was conducted in 2010 to determine the stem yield, syrup production, and Brix content of nine commercial sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) varieties. The varieties included Dale, Della, SugarDrip, Theis, M81-E, Keller, Top 76-6, Umbrella, and Simon. Total stem production (wet weight) ranged from 6.93 to 29.95 tons/acre for Umbrella and Keller, respectively. Syrup production ranged from 2.11 to 7.62 tons/acre for Simon and Keller, respectively. The Brix content ranged from 13.4 to 17.8 for M81-E and Top 76-6, respectively. These data suggest that Keller and Dale are highly productive it stem yield while Keller and M81-E were most productive in syrup production. There were strong tendencies for higher yielding varieties to have low Brix content.