ABSTRACT
Improving sorghum cultivation in South America Rafael Augusto da Costa Parrella, Robert Eugene Schaffert, Cicero Bezerra de Menezes, José Avelino Santos Rodrigues, Jurandir Vieira Magalhães, Cynthia Maria Borges Damasceno, Dagma Dionísia da Silva and Simone Martins Mendes, Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, Brazil
1 Introduction
2 History of sorghum in Brazil
3 Improvement of grain and forage sorghum
4 Improvement of sorghum for bioenergy
5 Sorghum tolerance for aluminium and low levels of phosphorus
6 Genetic and molecular approaches to studying biomass production and sorghum quality
7 Improving disease resistance
8 Sorghum pests
9 Conclusion
10 Where to look for further information
11 References
Agribusiness is a strategic sector for the Brazilian economy, representing 23% of the GDP (CEPEA 2015). Beef cattle, poultry and swine production are predominant Brazilian agribusiness activities on the world stage. Brazil has the second largest cattle herd in the world with about 211 million head. In addition, since 2004, Brazil has taken the lead in meat exports, supplying 20% of internationally traded meat, and sales in over 180 countries. The Brazilian poultry industry has become the world’s third largest producer and leading exporter. The swine industry in Brazil is ranked fourth in world production and exportation of pork (MAPA 2015).
