Sorghum

on

 Millet- Sorghum

Family- Poaceae

Scientific Name- Sorghum bicolor (L) Munch

Common Name- Hindi- Jowar

https://pixabay.com/photos/sorghum-grains-cereal-grains-crops-6754158/

  • In the world, Jowar is cultivated in India, China, USA, Nigeria, Sudan, Argentina, Pakistan, Mexico, etc. 
  • In India it is mainly concentrated in peninsular and central India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Other states grow Sorghum in small areas primarily for fodder.

Origin and Distribution 

Origin
  • The place of origin is the North-Eastern quadrant of Africa, in view of the concentration of large number of wild and cultivated species in that area.
  • It was formerly held that sorghums had arisen from S. halepense. But since S. halepense is  a perennial with a rhizome, it is unlikely to be the ancestor of the annual sorghums.
  • Some botanists are of the opinion that S. sudanese Stapf. and some related species such as S. arundinaceum Stapf. and S. verticilliflorum Stapf. which are annuals, and native to North tropical Africa, could perhaps be the likely ancestors.
Distribution
  • Early evidence from hunter-gatherers in Sahara show that Sorghum was domesticated around 5,000 - 8,000 yrs ago.
  • It spread to India around 2000 BCE.
  •  From India the Sorghum plant reached China, Far East and the Americas, adapting to diverse environments.

Botanical Classification

  • Sorghum belongs to the tribe Andropogoneae.
  • The group Sorghastrae is one of the sixteen sub-tribes of the Andropogoneae (Stapf. 1917)
  • Garber (1954) split the sub-tribe into two main genera, and then sub-divided the genus Sorghum into six sub-genera.
Group- Sorghastrae
Genus- Sorghum
Sub- genera
  1. Chaeto sorghum
  2. Heterosorghum
  3. Sorghastrum
  4. Para-sorghum
  5. Stiposorghum
  6. Eu-sorghum - For cultivated plants the prefix 'Eu' is dropped and this group becomes section sorghum. It is divided into two sub-sections- the Halepensia and the Arundinacea. 
  • Halepensia - Perennial wild grasses with more or less elongated rhizomes. Chromosome number usually 2n=4x=40
  • Arundinacea - Annuals or tufted perennials without rhizomes. Chromosome number 2n=20, wild grasses or cultivated sorghum.

Commercial Classification of Sorghums

In America sorghums are classified on the basis of commercial utilisation, into four groups:
  1. Grain sorghums- These include those varieties which have relatively large, palatable seeds which thresh free from glumes, and are divided into distinct variety of groups- kafir, milo, hegari, feterita, durra and shallu, based on grain characters,
  2. Sorgos or sweet-sorghum grown for syrup production or for forage,
  3. Grass sorghums- for hay or pasture, and
  4. Broomcorn and special purpose sorghums.

Cytogenetics

  • The cultivated sorghum S. bicolor has chromosome number 2n=20.
  • Some of the wild, annual, grass-like species, such as S. versicolor, have chromosome number of 2n=10.
  • Other species such as S. halapense and S. almum have chromosome number 2n=40
  • This suggests a basic chromosome number of n=5, and that S. bicolor as well as S. halapense and S. almum  are polyploids.
  • The polyploid origin has been confirmed by cytological studies. Both tetraploid (4n=40) and octoplpoid 8n=80) plants were observed. 
  • The polyploid plants were shorter, stouter and flowered later than the corresponding diploids. 19% of pollen grains were sterile in the tetraploids and 80% were sterile in the octoploids.

Cultivated Species (grain and fodder sorghums)

  1. S. bicolor (Linn.) Moench. A stout grass with culms up to 4 m in height and 3.5 cm wide near the base, usually sweet, grains broadly elliptic to obovate or rotundate or sub-globose in back view, predominantly reddish or brown. 
  2. S. caffrorum Beauv. (Kafirs) A stout grass with culms up to 3 m in height and 3 cm wide near the base, insipid or sweet, grains broadly elliptic to orbicular, biconvex, white, yellow, grey, red or brown.
  3. S. caudatum Stapf. A stout grass with culms up to 4 m in height and 3 cm wide near the base, Leaves 10-28 in number, grains broadly elliptic to rotundate, orbicular or obovate in back view, 3-5 mm, white, yellow, grey, red or brown.
  4. S.cernum Host. (white durra) A stout grass with culms up to 3.5 m in height and 2.5 cm wide near the base, mostly insipid, leaves 7-22 in number.
  5. S. conspicuum Snowden. A stout grass with culms up to 4.5 m in height, simple or branched and insipid. Leaves 15-21 in number, grains ovate to rotundate, compressed and flattened, 4-5 mm, white, yellow, or red.
  6. S. dochna (Forsk) Snowden. A stout grass with culms up to 4 m in height, sweet or insipid. Leaves 7-12 in number, grains oblong, obovate-oblong, dull white to yellow, brown or red.
  7. S. durra (Forsk) Stapf. Brown Durra. A tall grass with culms up to 4.5 m in height, Leaves 10-30 in number, grains elliptical to obovate-elliptic, often with a very broad, rounded, much exposed top, more compressed and wedge shaped below, white, yellow, or red, lateral lines usually distinct.
  8. S. membranaceum Chiob. A tall grass with culms up to 5 m in height and 2 cm or more  wide near the base, insipid or rarely sweet, Leaves 16-21 in number, grains elliptic-oblong to rotundate, white, yellow, red or brown. 
  9. S. miliiforme (Hack) Snowden. A stout grass with culms up to 3 m in height and 1.5 cm wide near the base, predominantly sweet. Leaves many, grains sub-globose, 3-4 mm, yellowish, reddish or blackish brown.
  10. S. nervosum Bess. ex Schult (Kaolings) A stout grass with culms up to 5 m in height and 3 cm wide near the base, usually insipid. Leaves 6-15 or more, grains elliptic to obovate-elliptic, dull white to ivory yellow, brown or red, lateral lines well defined.
  11. S. roxburghii Stapf. A tall grass with culms up to 5 m in height and 2.5 cm or more wide near the base, insipid or rarely sweet, Leaves 10-15 in number, grains elliptic to rotundate, white, yellow or red, lateral lines evident.
  12. S. subglaberscens (Steht.) A slender to stout grass with culms up to 3 m in height, insipid, leaves few to 18 or more, grains white, yellow or red. The duration of the crop is generally 3 to 4 months.

Wild Species (mostly fodder sorghums)

  1. S.controversum  (Steud) Snowden. A loosely tufted perennial grass with woody rhizomes.
  2. S. halepense (Linn.) A perennial grass with abundant creeping rhizomes.
  3. S.milaceum Roxb. Snowden. A tall, loosely tufted, perennial grass with short, thick, densely matted rhizomes.
  4. S.propinguin (Kunth) Hitchcock. A tall, loosely tufted, perennial grass with a few stout rhizomes.
  5. S.pupureo-sericeum (Hochst). A robust annual grass, with culms up to 1.2 m in height.
  6. S.sudanense (Piper) Sudan Grass. An annual grass, up to 3m in height, or sometimes persisting as a loosely tufted perennial.
  7. S.leiocladum (Hack). A native of Australia.
  8. S.verticilliflorum (Steud). A annual or loosely tufted, perennial grass up to 3.5 m in height, found in some localities of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Botany of the plant

Sorghum crop. Image by MGB CEE via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Annual, erect, single stalked or tillering.
  • Leaves alternate, sheaths often shorter than the internodes, ligules short, membranous.
  • Inflorescence a panicle, contracted or loose, penducle erect, wavy or goose necked, spikelets in clusters of two's or three's, one sessile and hermaphrodite and the other (or others) pedicelled, staminate or sterile.
  • Florets two, in both types of spikelets, lower floret is usually reduced to an empty lemma, upper hermaphrodite in the sessile, male or neutral in the pedicelled spikelets.
  • Stamens three, stigma's two, styles terminal or sub-terminal with plumose stigmas, fruit a caryopsis.

Ecology

  • Soil requirement- Medium and deep black soils are pre-dominantly suitable for growing sorghums. Whereas the rabi sorghums are wholly confined to Black cotton soil, the kharif sorghums are  grown on light soils.
  • Cultivation practices- The preparation of land with ploughs or blade harrows with least application of farmyard manure, line showing with a seed drill in rows 30 to 45 cm apart and interculturing with bullock drawn implements, continue to be practised and are very relevant even today.
  • Crop rotation- A 2 year rotation of Jowar-cotton is most common during kharif in the Deccan and central plateau. The introduction of groundnut to make it a three-year rotation is more profitable. During Rabi the Jowar-cotton, Jowar-gram, or Jowar-Jowar rotations are  common.
  • Mixed Cropping- Mixed cropping of Jowar-Arhar is most common. Mixtures with moong, urad, cowpea and even with bajra and other cereals, vegetables etc during kharif are practised under different situations. During rabi the mixing of Jowar and safflower is the most common practice.
  • Manuring- Sorghum has relatively heavy requirements of major fertiliser elements. Amounts of the three major fertiliser elements (N, P and K) contained in the plants of grain sorghum crop are- 152 kg/ hectare, 58 kg/ hectare and 51kg/ hectare of N, P and K respectively.
  • Harvesting- harvesting and threshing or carried out manually or with bullock power. Thrashing by running a tractor or with power operated treasures is also practised. The harvested grain is sun-dried and storage is conventional.

Structure of Grain

The structure of grain is similar to that of other cereals, comprising the fibrous pericarp (7.3-9.3 %), the starchy storage tissue or endosperm (80-84.6 %) and the oil rich germ (7.8-12.1 %). The outer layers of the pericarp contain wax, in some varieties the outer layer may contain pigment and in some other varieties, a layer of pigment is also found beneath the pericarp.

Chemical composition

Approximate analysis of the grain is as follows:
  • Moisture 10.4-13.0
  • Protein   9.73-10.29
  • Fat.        2.80- 3.18
  • Ash.       1.57-1.87
  • Ca.         51.4- 127.3
  • P.           149.6- 204.0
  • Fe.         1.1-2.6 mg/100g
  • The grain also contains small quantities of riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, folic acid, pantothenic acid and carotene.
  • Sorghum protein- The protein content in the grain ranges from 7 to 26% . In the protein lysine content is 0.5 to 3.8% and leucine 8 to 27%. The protein availability is limited in Sorghum varieties containing tannins.

Pests and Diseases

Fungal Diseases

  1. Seedling blight is a soil-borne disease, casual organisms our Pythium aphanidermatum and P. debaryanum are responsible for damping off. 
  2. Among the seed borne Fusarium spp. , Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Rhizopus spp. and Aspergillus spp. are important. 
  3. Root necrosis is caused by Helminthosporium trucicum and leaf blight by Colletotrichum graminicolum.
  4. Downy mildew, caused by  Sclerospora sorghi
  5. Charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseoli
  6. Pooch-Boeing diseases, caused by Fusarium moniliforme
  7. Grain smut and loose smut , caused by Sphacelotheca sorghi and S. cruenta
  8. Head smut , caused by Sphacelotheca reiliana
  9. Long smut , caused by Tolyposporium ehrenberghii
  10. Ear moulds are caused by Fusarium spp. , Penicillium spp. , Curvilaria spp., Helminthosporium spp. and Aspergillus spp.
  11. Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia purpurea
  12. Leaf blight, caused by Helminthosporium trucicum
  13. Cercospora leaf spot, caused by Cercospora sorghi
  14. Zonate leaf spot, caused by Gloeocercospora sorghi
  15. Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum graminicolum
Field Pests

  • Shoot fly, stem borers, pink borer, sorghum midge, warhead bug.

Pests of stored grain

  • Angoumois grin moth, rice moth, almond moth, rice weevil, lesser grain borer, red flour beetle, khapra beetle, saw-toothed grain beetle, long headed flour beetle, cigarette beetle, etc.

Sorghum Uses 

  1. Culinary- It is used whole in salads and as a substitute of rice. Ground into flour to make roots, pancakes, porridge, etc
  2. Biofuel- High sugar content makes it ideal source for ethanol production.
  3. Animal feed- Fodder crop for livestock.
  4. Industrial- Used for brewing, syrup and other food products.
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Location: J3FR+HQ Delhi, India

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