ABSTRACT
Sorghum is an important source of grain and fodder, forage and biomass throughout the world. In the United States, grain sorghum is the prominent crop; however, non-grain or forage sorghum plays an important role as a feedstock globally. Forage sorghum is phenotypically diverse with cultivars that are used primarily for silage, cultivars that may or may not include sudangrass that are primarily used for haying and grazing, and more recently, high-yielding and sweet cultivars that have been positioned for use as renewable feedstocks. Sorghum was quickly identified as one of the most appropriate dedicated energy crops. In addition, having scalable and well-understood production practices makes sorghum more acceptable than many lesser developed perennial grasses. Relative high yields make it an excellent choice over grain-based annuals, and because it is generally not used for human food, it is of less concern in the food-versus-fuel debate (Staggenborg et al., 2008). Sorghum has been used as a renewable feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol, steam via combustion and methane via anaerobic digestion. Traits such as brown midrib (BMR) and brachytic dwarfism, and heat and drought tolerance make sorghum adaptable to many marginal environments.
