ABSTRACT
Improving production and utilization of sorghum in Asia Aruna C., B. Dayakar Rao, Vilas A. Tonapi and T. G. Nageshwar Rao, Indian Institute of Millets Research, India
1 Introduction
2 The sorghum production scenario in Asia
3 Sorghum utilization in Asia
4 Constraints on sorghum production in Asia
5 Genetic improvement of sorghum
6 Seed systems
7 Measures to improve sorghum cultivation in Asia and future prospects
8 Conclusion
9 References
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the fifth major cereal of the world after maize, paddy, wheat and barley as per Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) production data of 2014. It is crucial to the world food economy and contributes to household food security in many of the world’s poorest regions of both Africa and Asia. Sorghum is an important crop in the semi-arid tropics of the world because of its tolerance to various stresses, including drought, heat and salinity as well as its potential to produce substantial yields even under low input conditions (Ashok Kumar et al. 2011). Sorghum which is a C4 species has a higher photosynthetic ability and an ability to utilize nitrogen and water more efficiently. Hence, it is genetically suited to hot and dry agroecological conditions with low rainfall and drought which are mostly unsuitable for growing other food crops. Both grain and stover are highly valued products from sorghum which is grown widely for both food and feed. In the developing countries of Asia and Africa, it is predominantly grown for food purposes, while in the United States, Australia and China, it is grown for livestock feed and fodder purposes. In India, sorghum is grown in both the rainy and postrainy seasons. While rainy-season sorghum grain is used for both human consumption and livestock feed, post-rainy-season produce is used primarily for human consumption.
