Final Report for FNE96-157
Project Information
Note to readers, attached is the complete final report for FNE96-157.
The sweet sorghum variety trial for 1996 included 22 varieties, of which six varieties has been grown in 1995. The rest were acquired from sweet sorghum producers in the southeast. These varieties were selected because they mature early in other parts of the United States. This is an important consideration when growing sweet sorghum here in Vermont.
Overall, the plants were stunted in height and smaller in diameter at Clear Brook Farm when compared with sweet sorghum at the Williamson farm. We expected some decrease in yield there due to the soil deficiencies, but not to the extreme we observed. This is an important finding because although sweet sorghum does not require as much fertilizer as other row crops such as corn, we are finding out what can affect the taste and quality of the finished syrup, so fine tuning the fertilization of sweet sorghum is a challenge.