Unit I
Chapter 3 - Sorghum
Scientific name: Sorghum bicolor
Season: Kharif Rabi and Zaid
Kingdom: Plantae
Family: Poaceae
Order: Poales
Chromosome number: 2n = 20
Origin: East-Central Africa
Introduction
• It is the king of Coarse cereals and is known as a camel crop because of its capacity to withstand a water stress situation.
• Sorghum is mainly cultivated in drier areas, especially on shallow and heavy clay soils.
• In recent years, there has been a shift in sorghum production from drier Western areas to wetter eastern areas.
Economic importance
• Sorghum ranks third in the major food grain crop of our country.
• It serves as an important source of cattle feed and fodder.
•Sorghum is used industrially for phenol formation.
• It has the capacity to withstand drought so grown as dry land food grain in India.
Uses of fodder crop
Malt
Commercial Malt is produced from GM cultivators with specific characteristics. Industrial Malt is produced from GH cultivators. the malt is used in the industrial production of sorghum beer.
Beer
Preparation of bear is a lie in the process covering three days. Ingredients for the preparation of beer are Malt, meal and yeast.
Bear powder
Instant beer powder is a premixed product that consists mainly of sorghum Malt, a starch component and brewer's yeast. A 24 hour period is needed before the beer can be consumed.
Sorghum meal
also known as mabele, directly competes with Maize meal. Sorghum with condensed tannins is not used for meal production.
Sorghum contains
Protein: 10-12%
Fat: 3%
Carbohydrates: 70%
Botany
Height - 0.5-4m
Root System
• Temporary roots of sorghum originate from radical and the rest of the roots are permanent.
• Coronal roots developed from the lowest nodes of the stem & are heavily branched.
Stem
• Thickness- 1-5 cm
• 7-18 nodes and internodes
• It does not produce tillers.
• The stem may be quite juicy and sweet.
Leaves
• 7-24 Leaves
• length- 30-135cm & width- 1.5-13cm
Inflorescence
• known as panicle
• 7.5 cm-50cm in length and 4-20cm in width
• composed of numerous spikelet's, which usually occurs in pairs, one of them is sessile and other pedicellate.
Climate and Soil Type
• Soil- Sandy loam soils having drainage.
• pH- 6-7.5
• Temp.- 25 - 32 C
• 40cm rain annually
• Tillage- 1 to 2 ploughings followed by 2 crosswise harrowings.
Varieties
Grain sorghum varieties
Rajasthan- SPV-245, SPV-96, CSH-6
Gujarat- GJ-38, 39, 40
T.N.- CO-24, 26, 25
Improved sorghum varieties
Rajasthan- Rajasthan Chari-1, 2,
Madhya Pradesh- MP Chari, PUSA Chari 23
UP- UP Chari-1, 2, 3, 4
Hybrid
CSH-1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14
Sowing Management
Planting Date- determined by first spring rain, distribution of seasonal rainfall, soil temp., frost-free period and the cultivator to be planted. The planting date should be delayed until the date of the last frost has passed.
Planting Depth- 2.5 cm. ( under drier conditions - 5 cm).
Row width- 45cm row distance & 15cm plant to plant distance.
Seed Rate - 30-70 kg/ha
Nutrient Management
12.5 t/ha of composed coir pith + NPK at 40:20:0. Apply FYM 750kg/ha.
Irrigation Management
Sorghum may use 20-22 inches of water during the growing season.
4 irrigations