Sorghum bicolor

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in the field

Called sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), also Durrakorn, broom corn, Guinea corn, Shallu, Milo, or jowar, is the most important millet species in the genus Sorghum within the family of grasses ( Poaceae ). As sweet sorghum consists of all the sugary forming of this type Other names for varieties of grains are millet, sorghum grain or forage sorghum.

The botanical common name for the usually fought as a weed Sorghumart Wild sorghum is Sorghum halepense.

The sorghum is often also called the sorghum. At the same time the other species of the genus Sorghum be also referred to as sorghum millets.

• 5.1 Sorghum
• 5.2 fiber millet

Description

This one-year bluegrass reaches stature heights from 2.50 to 5 meters. The plant habit is somewhat similar to corn. From a vigorous root system, two or three shoots form. At about 1.5 cm thick, marrow -filled stalk the leaves are arranged in two rows. The flowers are formed in compact to loose panicles. The round caryopses have diameters of 4 to 8 mm, depending on the variety, they can be white, yellow or red.

Occurrence

The sorghum comes from Africa and is there as well as used in the Americas, Asia and Europe in drier, warm and temperate areas as fodder grass.

The site claims the thermophilic and frost-sensitive plant are low, only waterlogged, cold floors avoids them. Profound ( sandy ) loam soils are ideal. The pronounced drought tolerance of sorghum is promoted by the ability to interrupt the growth in dry conditions and resume later.

History

African slaves brought the sweet sorghum beginning of the 17th century in the United States. She was first known as Guinea corn. From 1850 it has been cultivated and distributed as a sweetener, especially in the form of molasses, used. The syrup production in the U.S. reached in 1879 with 28 million gallons ( equivalent to about 108,000 tonnes of sugar ) to peak. Since the production of the syrup was very labor intensive, the production volume decreased drastically during the Second World War. Today in the U.S. annually less than 1 million gallons are produced, but that the U.S. is still the largest producer of syrup from sweet sorghum. Areas for growing sweet sorghum for the production of syrup are still to be found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Cultivation

Economic Importance

Worldwide cultivation figures specifically for sorghum are not available, only the entire genre of sorghum, millets ( see there).

The worldwide cultivation of sweet sorghum is also excluded from the statistics. The acreage in the U.S. is estimated to be approximately 8,000 ha. Another source estimates the area under cultivation in India to 1,600 ha, China has published plans, after which 4.8 million liters of ethanol to be produced from sweet sorghum. Ethanol yields of about 6,000 l / ha, this would equal a cultivation area 800 ha These figures show that the cultivation of sweet sorghum takes only very small areas around the world.

Crop rotation requirements

Sorghum is self- compatible and also as a second crop following a main crop possible. It fits in a crop rotation with soybeans and corn, but should not be grown after tobacco. Depending on site conditions and cultivation dates are different varieties available.

Sowing

Sowing takes place late in May, since soil temperatures of at least 12 to 15 ° C are required for germination. Sow the seeds in a plowed the previous autumn seedbed to a depth of 2 to 3 cm in row spacing from 25 to 50 cm and 20-25 grains / m (7-8 kg / ha). Then a return consolidate the seedbed is required. In the U.S., sweet sorghum is increasingly preferred and transplanted with tobacco planters.

Fertilization and plant protection

The high nitrogen demand is a demand- fertilization, similar to corn silage, covered (about 180 kg N at 140 dt dry matter / ha yield ). The withdrawals of other nutrients ( 15-20 kg P2O5 and 110-180 kg K2O) are covered in sufficient supply from the soil inventories and replaced as part of the crop rotation fertilization. The use of herbicides or mechanical hoe can be useful because of the slow development of the young plant, but only a few agents have been approved for use in sorghum.

Harvesting and Conservation

Harvesting is done at a dry matter content of the aboveground biomass between 28 and 35 %, which is reached between mid-September and late October. This should be done before the first frosts. A series of independent header on the forage harvester allows for a clean harvest.

The Technology and Support Center Straubing Since 2006 extensive variety trials with sorghum millet. We tested a total of 278 varieties of the species Sorghum bicolor, Sorghhum sudanense and crosses of these species could be reduced to 52 promising under the conditions prevailing varieties. 2008, net revenues were 10.9 to 24.5 t / ha, with large differences between varieties and locations.

The preservation is done as in silage maize silage by (lactic acid anaerobic fermentation ). The two substrates can be mixed and matched.

Use

In West Africa, particularly in the Sudan zone, Sorghum bicolor is an important crop from which eg Tô ( millet porridge ) and Dolo ( millet beer ) are produced.

Scientists are currently working on sorghum varieties with improved nutritional content such as vitamin A, zinc, iron, and several amino acids.

Sweet sorghum

Sweet sorghum is used for syrup production ( molasses ) as green fodder and silage, in developing countries, as fuel and building material ( thatching ). Beginning of the 19th century was the syrup production from sweet sorghum still economically significant, but was then replaced by sugar beet and sugar cane. Today the U.S. is the largest producer of syrup from sweet sorghum.

In Germany, sweet sorghum is tentatively grown in dry locations for use as silage in animal feed or as a biogas substrate. The biogas production is similar methane yields as in the fermentation of corn silage can be achieved. According cold Schmitt et al. these are at 300 to 360 liters of methane / kg organic dry mass compared to 295-380 liters of methane / kg organic dry matter in maize.

In the U.S., sweet sorghum is also used for the production of bioethanol. An important reason for the increasing attention of the sweet sorghum is that it provides with its sugary stalk the raw material for bioethanol and to a limited extent foods from the grains. Unlike corn, wheat or sugar cane sweet sorghum thus allows a simultaneous production of food and energy.

According to M. Schmitt cold sugar content of 35 % in the dry matter (DM ) to achieve the overall plant and 8-9 % in the fresh mass (FM). The table to the right shows the standing shares of the main ingredients of the sweet sorghum. The sugar content is made up of about 63 % sucrose, 21 % glucose and 16 % fructose together. After extraction of the sugar juice is left as the remainder, the bagasse, which is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

Fiber millet

The fiber of millet, which is grown on especially high content of cellulose fibers, is also predominantly grown for energy use. There are also traditional material uses such as the manufacture of brooms, the use as a building material or for making paper.

Wild sorghum

Sorghum halepense (L. ) Pers., Also known as Johnson grass, is native in the Mediterranean, but grows throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been in all continents and most islands and groups of islands spread down to Antarctica. It reproduces by rhizomes and seeds. It is used as fodder and erosion control. As a weed it is glyphosate - resistant, as already noted in Argentina and the United States.

Diseases and Pests

• Anthracnose Colletotrichum graminicola by
• Wilt by Helminthosporium
• Black rot
• Grasshoppers, gall midges ( Cecidomyiidae ), birds