Sweet Sorghum

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About Sweet sorghum:

It is the most important millet crop occupying the largest area among the cereals next to rice.
One of the key characteristics of sweet sorghum varieties is their drought resistance. It allows them to enter a dormant state during extended periods of dryness and resume growth afterwards.
Required climatic conditions and
- The crop does not prefer high rainfall as high soil moisture or continuous heavy rain after flowering may hamper sugar increase.
- All soils that have medium depth with good drainage are suited.
- Depending on the soil (red, black, laterite and loamy) and its depth water requirement may vary which in turn decide the suitability of the crop.
Unique features of Sorghum
- It has ability to withstand low water and nitrogen inputs, as well as its tolerance for salinity and drought stress, makes it an ideal crop for farmers in arid regions.
- Research has shown that, under intense water scarcity conditions, sweet sorghum makes use of its stalk juice to supplement its plant needs.
It is used in the food industry and its stalk is used for the production of value-added products like ethanol, syrup and jaggery and bioenriched bagasse as a fodder and as a base material for cogeneration.
It can produce grains, animal feed and sugary juice, making it unique among crops.
The grains from sweet sorghum are prepared as steamed bread or porridge malt for traditional beer, as well as in commercial beer production across the continent.

Q1: What is Ethanol?

Ethanol is an agricultural by-product which is mainly obtained from the processing of sugar from sugarcane, but also from other sources such as rice husk or maize.

Source: Sweet sorghum is a hardy, nutritious, biofuel crop that offers solutions in drought-hit southern Africa