Astro is a fine stemmed forage sorghum that is photoperiod sensitive, ensuring it is ultra-late flowering.
It is a versatile all-rounder hybrid, ideally suited to either intensive or range grazing. It can also be used for green-chop or for making hay, round bale or pit silage.
Key Features
• Ultra-late flowering Sorghum x Sudan Grass
• Photoperiod sensitive with ultra-late flowering
• Exceptional forage yields with rapid re-grazing intervals
• Suited to dryland or irrigation
• Increased utilisation
Advantages
• Fine stemmed
• Rapid regrowth
Benefits
• High yields with high quality
• Easy to manage over large areas
• Ideal for grazing, silage or hay production
Seed Treatments
A range of seed treatments available. Please contact your local supplier for details.
Performance
Astro produces a large amount of DM and is easy to manage due to its ultra-late flowering.
Variety Management/Agronomy
When planted after mid-October it will not become reproductive until mid-autumn, ensuring ease of management, particularly over large areas for sheep and cattle grazing or for hay production.
Whilst Astro is ultra-late flowering, it does not mean that grazing should be unnecessarily delayed. It is still recommended to use the crop when it is around 900mm to 1100mm (About 3ft) tall.
Under favourable conditions this height should be reached in approximately six weeks after sowing, and these conditions also allow for rapid regrowth, which improves the potential for multiple grazings throughout the season.
Suggested Sowing Rates
Marginal Dryland:* 3-7kg/ha
Good Dryland:* 7-20kg/ha
Irrigation: 15-20kg/ha
*Dryland planting rates based on good stored soil moisture at time of sowing.