ABSTRACT
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is the fifth most important coarse cereal. It is mainly grown in the semi-arid tropics for food and nutritional security. Sorghum is a staple cereal food crop for more than 500 million people throughout the world. The production and utilization of sorghum fall within two broad regions. The first region comprises countries in Africa and Asia, where sorghum is produced using traditional practices, at a small-scale, subsistence level and the grain is mainly used for human consumption. The second region includes some developed and a few developing countries, where the sorghum production system is mechanized and on a large scale, more inputs are utilized and yields are higher, with grains used for animal feed. The United States is the largest sorghum producer, followed by Mexico, Nigeria and India. The top exporters are the United States, Australia and Argentina. The average productivity of sorghum varies from 0.28 Mg ha-1 in Nigeria to 4.4 Mg ha-1 in Argentina (FAOSTAT, 2014). Across the globe, the average sorghum yield remains below 1 Mg ha−1, because of the low level of inorganic fertilizer use, the low or non-existent use of pesticides and the use of traditional varieties or landraces. However, where intensive agriculture is practised, the yields are much higher and are comparable with those of other major coarse cereal crops. Over the past 25 years, sorghum production has increased steadily in the semiarid tropics due to a combination of an increase in the area under cultivation and better techniques to improve yields.
