ABSTRACT. Nutrition values of silages from different sorghum cultivars are evaluated. Five 26-kg castrated
crossbred lambs, housed in pens equipped with feces and urine collectors for the study of their metabolism, were
employed in a 5 x 5 Latin square experimental design. Treatments consisted of silage from five different sorghum
cultivars: IPA 1011 and IPA 2564 (grain sorghum), IPA 2502 (dual purpose sorghum), IPA FS-25 and IPA 467
(forage sorghum). Protein level was corrected to 12% by adding a mixture of urea: ammonium sulfate (9:1).
Treatments IPA 1011, IPA 2564 and IPA 2502 provided high intake of dry matter, total carbohydrate and total
digestible nutrients, and low intake of neutral detergent fiber. Cultivars IPA 1011 and IPA 2564 provided high
apparent crude protein digestibility coefficient, whereas cultivars IPA 1011 and IPA 2564 had high total digestible
nutrient levels. All cultivars provided positive nitrogen. Owing to nutrient intake and digestibility values, grain
sorghum silages evidenced high potential in ruminant nutrition.
Keywords: nitrogen balance, composition, intake, digestibility, forage.