World Grain - March 2015 - 36

FEATURE

IMPROVING
SORGHUM
W

hile scientists are working to help sorghum meet its
full yield potential, grower groups are simultaneously building new and larger markets for the crop.
tion and acreage. It is a staple food crop for people in the semiarid and tropics of Africa, Asia and Central America. It is suited
food grains. Worldwide, the land area dedicated to sorghum
production has increased by 66% over the past 50 years.
It is drought tolerant, can thrive in poor soils, requires
little or no fertilizer, and will grow in a wide range of temperatures and altitudes, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
However, sorghum doesn't always live up to its yield potential, especially when faced with pests, disease, drought and
problematic soil. Researchers hope to change that with new
hybrids that can provide more consistent results.
Kansas State University (KSU) researchers have been
working to produce hybrids that can come closer to realizing sorghum's yield potential. ARS scientists are examining
cropping strategies to improve yields, while another team is
developing a new line of sorghum.

Sorghum growing in a breeder's field in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. The panicle on
the left, with orange-yellow seeds, is an elite inbred line, while the panicle
on the right is the same elite line with an induced mutation. This new sorghum variety, developed by ARS scientists, yields 30% to 40% more seeds.
Photos courtesy of USDA ARS.
36

by Susan Reidy

Scientists work on new crop
varieties, as market for crop grows
in biofuels, exports
Demand for sorghum already is strong, with developing
countries primarily using it for food, while more industrialized nations use it for animal feed and pet food. Export demand is growing, particularly to China, which is looking for
alternative feed ingredients.
The crop also has great potential as a biofuel feedstock, researchers believe, with one bushel producing as much ethanol
as a bushel of corn, but using up to one-third less water in the
plant growth process.
IMPROVING YIELDS
Sorghum is a valuable cash crop, and its drought tolerance

ways to exploit sorghum's potential.
Merle Vigil, an ARS soil scientist and research leader in the
Central Plains Resources Management Research Unit in Akron,
Colorado, U.S., and other researchers found that by using certain
March 2015 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com



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