Comparative Evaluations of Rice and a sorghum–sudangrass Hybrid as Crawfish Forage Crops

Abstract Comparisons were made among experimental ponds of red swamp crawfish Procambarus clarkii that were planted with either rice Oryza sativa, a sorghum–sudangrass hybrid Sorghum bicolor × S. sudanense, or a mixture of rice and sorghum–sudangrass. sorghum–sudangrass produced the greatest forage biomass and also exhibited the best biomass persistence. Ponds planted in rice, the industry standard, had the highest dissolved oxygen, but were depleted of forage by the end of the production season. The rice and sorghum–sudangrass mixture maintained an intermediate profile of standing forage over the crawfish production season and exhibited the lowest dissolved oxygen values. Crawfish production was similar among all treatments and averaged 1,185; 1,135; and 1,107 kg/ha for ponds planted in rice, sorghum–sudangrass, and the rice and sorghum–sudangrass mixture, respectively. Size grade distributions of harvested crawfish were also similar. Crawfish growth trials conducted in enclosures placed over forage subs...