Sorghum bicolor

Sorghum bicolor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Sorghum
Species: S. bicolor
Binomial name
Sorghum bicolor
(L.) Moench
Synonyms[1]

Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum[2] (/ˈsɔːrɡəm/) and also known as great millet,[3] durra, jowari, or milo, is a grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food, both for animals and humans, and for ethanol production. Sorghum originated in northern Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions.[4] Sorghum is the world's fifth most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize and barley. S. bicolor is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 m high. The grain is small, ranging from 2 to 4 mm in diameter. Sweet sorghums are sorghum cultivars that are primarily grown for foliage, syrup production, and ethanol; they are taller than those grown for grain.[5][6]

Sorghum bicolor is the cultivated species of sorghum; its wild relatives make up the botanical genus Sorghum.

Cultivation

Seed head of sorghum in India
Sorghum with a recurved peduncle trait. Turpan basin, Xinjiang, China. In some varieties and in certain conditions, the heavy panicle will make the young soft peduncle bend, which then lignify in this position. Combined with awned inflorescence, this forms a two-fold defence against birds.

The leading producers of sorghum bicolor in 2011 were Nigeria (12.6%), India (11.2%), Mexico (11.2%) and the United States (10.0%).[7] Sorghum grows in a wide range of temperature, high altitudes, toxic soils and can recover growth after some drought.[5] It has four features that make it one of the most drought-resistant crops:

Richard Pankhurst reports (citing Augustus B. Wylde) that in 19th-century Ethiopia, durra was "often the first crop sown on newly cultivated land", explaining that this cereal did not require the thorough ploughing other crops did, and its roots not only decomposed into a good fertilizer, but they also helped to break up the soil while not exhausting the subsoil.[8]

Uses

Red on white sorghum grains

Sorghum is cultivated in many parts of the world today. In the past 50 years, the area planted with sorghum worldwide had increased 66%.[7] In many parts of Asia and Africa, its grain is used to make flat breads that form the staple food of many cultures.[9][10] The grains can also be popped in a similar fashion to popcorn.

Sorghum
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 1,418 kJ (339 kcal)
74.63 g
Dietary fiber 6.3 g
3.30 g
11.30 g
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.

The species can be used as a source for making ethanol fuel, and in some environments may be better than maize or sugarcane, as it can grow under harsher conditions.[5] It typically has protein levels of around 9%, enabling dependent human populations to subsist on it in times of famine, in contrast to regions where maize has become the staple crop. It is also used for making a traditional corn broom.[11]

The reclaimed stalks of the sorghum plant are used to make a decorative millwork material marketed as Kirei board.

Sweet sorghum syrup is known as molasses in some parts of the U.S., although it is not true molasses.

In China, sorghum is known as gaoliang (高粱), and is fermented and distilled to produce one form of clear spirits known as baijiu 白酒 of which the most famous is Moutai (or Maotai). Sorghum was ground and the flour was the main alternative to wheat in northern China for a long time.

In India, where it is commonly called jwaarie, jowar, jola, or jondhalaa, sorghum is one of the staple sources of nutrition. An Indian bread called Bhakri, jowar roti or jolada rotti, is prepared from this grain. In some countries, sweet sorghum stalks are used for producing biofuel by squeezing the juice and then fermenting it into ethanol.[12] Texas A&M University in the United States is currently running trials to find the best varieties for ethanol production from sorghum leaves and stalks in the USA.[13]

In Korea, it is cooked with rice, or its flour is used to make cake called susu bukkumi.

In Australia, South America, and the United States, sorghum grain is used primarily for livestock feed and in a growing number of ethanol plants.[14]

In Central America, tortillas are sometimes made using sorghum. Although corn is the preferred grain for making tortillas, sorghum is widely used and is well accepted in Honduras. White sorghum is the preferred sorghum for making tortillas.[15]

In several countries in Africa, including Zimbabwe, Burundi, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria, sorghum of both the red and white varieties is used to make traditional opaque beer. Red sorghum imparts a pinkish-brown colour to the beer.[15]

Sorghum is one of a number of grains used as wheat substitutes in gluten-free recipes and products.

Agricultural uses

It is used in feed and pasturage for livestock. Its use is limited, however, because the starch and protein in sorghum is more difficult for animals to digest than the starches and protein in corn. Research is being done to find a process that will pre-digest the grain. One study on cattle showed that steam-flaked sorghum was preferable to dry-rolled sorghum because it improved daily weight gain.[7] In hogs, sorghum has been shown to be a more efficient feed choice than corn when both grains were processed in the same way.[7]

The introduction of improved varieties, along with improved management practices, has helped to increase sorghum productivity. In India, it is estimated that productivity increases have freed up six million hectares of land. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with partners produces improved varieties of crops including sorghum. Some 194 improved cultivars of sorghum from the institute have been released.[16]

Research

Research is being conducted to develop a genetic cross that will make the plant more tolerant to colder temperatures and to unravel the drought tolerance mechanisms, since it is native to tropical climates [17][18] In the United States, this is important because the cost of corn was steadily increasing due to its usage in ethanol production for addition to gasoline. Sorghum silage can be used as a replacement of corn silage in the diet for dairy cattle.[19] Other research has shown that a timely harvest of sorghum is essential for a safe feed product. The plants need to be harvested during the time when the plant's total moisture content is between 63 and 68 percent, to prevent lodging. Approximately, this is when the grain reaches the "soft dough" stage. More research has found that sorghum has higher nutritional value compared to corn when feeding dairy cattle. And the type of processing is also essential in harvesting the grain's maximum nutrition. Feeding steam-flaked sorghum showed an increase in milk production when compared to dry-rolling.[19] When a grain is steam-flaked, it is cooked slightly, this makes certain nutrients more available to be digested.

Additional research is being done on sorghum as a potential food source to meet the increasing global food demand. Sorghum is resistant to drought- and heat-related stress. The genetic diversity between subspecies of sorghum makes it more resistant to pests and pathogens than other less diverse food sources. In addition, it is highly efficient in converting solar energy to chemical energy, and also in usage of water.[20]  All of these characteristics make it a promising candidate to help meet the increasing global food demand. As such, many groups around the world are pursuing research initiatives around sorghum (specifically Sorghum bicolor): Purdue University ,[21] HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology,[20] Danforth Plant Science Center,[20] and the University of Nebraska,[22] among others.

Another research application of sorghum is as a biofuel. Sweet sorghum has a high sugar content in its stalk, which can be turned into ethanol. The biomass can be burned and turned into charcoal, syn-gas, and bio-oil. 

Genome

The genome of Sorghum bicolor was sequenced between 2005 and 2007.[23][24]

Parasite

Sorghum is a host of the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica.[25] This parasite is a devastating pest on the crop.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Plant List".
  2. ↑ "Sorghum bicolor". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ↑ Dillon, Sally L.; Shapter, Frances M.; Henry, Robert J.; Izquierdo, Liz; Lee, L. Slade (1 September 2007). "Domestication to Crop Improvement: Genetic Resources for Sorghum and Saccharum (Andropogoneae)". NIH. PMC 2759214 Freely accessible.
  5. 1 2 3 "Grassland Index: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench".
  6. ↑ "Sweet Sorghum". Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Producers. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Jeri Stroade; Michael Boland & Mykel Taylor. "AGMRC Sorghum profile".
  8. ↑ Richard Pankhurst, Economic History of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 193.
  9. ↑ O P Sharma (1993). Plant Taxonomy. Tata McGraw-Hill. p. 439. ISBN 0-07-460373-6.
  10. ↑ National Research Council (1996-02-14). "Sorghum". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. Lost Crops of Africa. 1. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  11. ↑ "How to make a broom". Ogden Publications, Inc. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  12. ↑ "Sweet Sorghum : A New "Smart Biofuel Crop". agribusinessweek.com. 30 June 2008.
  13. ↑ "Ceres and Texas A&M to Develop and Market High-Biomass Sorghum for Biofuels (Texas A&M University System Agriculture Program)". gnewsarchive.tamu.edu. 1 October 2007.
  14. ↑ United Sorghum Checkoff Program
  15. 1 2 "Sorghum and millets in human nutrition". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  16. ↑ Sorghum, a crop of substance. Downloaded 16 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "Sorghum Research Showing Promise". Oklahoma Farm Report. 23 February 2011.
  18. ↑ Ogbaga, Chukwuma C.; Stepien, Piotr; Johnson, Giles N. (October 2014). "Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) varieties adopt strongly contrasting strategies in response to drought". Physiologia Plantarum. 152 (2): 389–401. doi:10.1111/ppl.12196.
  19. 1 2 Micheal J. Brouk & Brent Bean. Sorghum in Dairy Cattle Production Feeding Guide (PDF).
  20. 1 2 3 "HudsonAlpha and collaborators expand sorghum research program - HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology". HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  21. ↑ Communications, Purdue Agricultural. "Purdue leading research using advanced technologies to better grow sorghum as biofuel - Purdue University". www.purdue.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  22. ↑ Network, University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Web Developer. "Sweet Sorghum Research | Department of Agronomy and Horticulture | University of Nebraska–Lincoln". agronomy.unl.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  23. ↑ Paterson, Andrew H.; John E. Bowers; Remy Bruggmann; Inna Dubchak; Jane Grimwood; Heidrun Gundlach; Georg Haberer; Uffe Hellsten; Therese Mitros; Alexander Poliakov; Jeremy Schmutz; Manuel Spannagl; Haibao Tang; Xiyin Wang; Thomas Wicker; Arvind K. Bharti; Jarrod Chapman; F. Alex Feltus; Udo Gowik; Igor V. Grigoriev; Eric Lyons; Christopher A. Maher; Mihaela Martis; Apurva Narechania; Robert P. Otillar; Bryan W. Penning; Asaf A. Salamov; Yu Wang; Lifang Zhang; Nicholas C. Carpita; Michael Freeling; Alan R. Gingle; C. Thomas Hash; Beat Keller; Patricia Klein; Stephen Kresovich; Maureen C. McCann; Ray Ming; Daniel G. Peterson; Mehboob-ur-Rahman; Doreen Ware; Peter Westhoff; Klaus F. X. Mayer; Joachim Messing; Daniel S. Rokhsar (2009-01-29). "The Sorghum bicolor genome and the diversification of grasses". Nature. 457 (7229): 551–556. Bibcode:2009Natur.457..551P. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 19189423. doi:10.1038/nature07723.
  24. ↑ Sorghum bicolor genome on Phytozome
  25. ↑ Yoshida, Satoko; Maruyama, Shinichiro; Nozaki, Hisayoshi; Shirasu, Ken (28 May 2010). "Horizontal Gene Transfer by the Parasitic Plant Stiga hermanthica". Science. 328 (5982): 1128. Bibcode:2010Sci...328.1128Y. PMID 20508124. doi:10.1126/science.1187145.
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