Carrot millet

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Carrot millet
Sugar millet (Sorghum bicolor) in the field

Sugar millet ( Sorghum bicolor ) in the field

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Genre : Sorghum
Type : Carrot millet
Scientific name
Sorghum bicolor
( L. ) Moench

Black millet ( Sorghum bicolor ), also Sorgho , Dari , Durrakorn (after Arabicذرة dhura ), known as broom grain , guineakorn , Shallu , Milo or Jowar , is the most important millet species from the sorghum genus withinthe sweet grass family (Poaceae). As sweet sorghum to all sugary varieties referred this kind . Other varieties of the species are as grain sorghum , fiber millet or sorghum referred.

The botanical common name for the usually weeds fought Sorghumart Wild sorghum is halepense sorghum .

The carrot millet is often simply called sorghum millet . At the same time, however, the other species of the genus Sorghum are also referred to as sorghum .

description

illustration
Panicle of black millet
Sugar millet ( Sorghum bicolor ), section of the fruit cluster

The annual bluegrass reaches stature heights of 2.50 to 5 meters. The plant structure is somewhat similar to maize . Two to three shoots form from a strong root system. The leaves are arranged in two rows on the approximately 1.5 cm thick, pith-filled stalk . The flowers are formed in compact to loose panicles. The round caryopses have a diameter of 4 to 8 mm, they can be white, yellow or red depending on the variety.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 20.

Occurrence

The black millet comes from Africa and is common there as well as in America, Asia and Europe in drier, warm and temperate climates as forage grass.

The location requirements of the heat-loving and frost-sensitive plant are low, it only avoids waterlogging and cold soils. Deep (sandy) loam soils are ideal. The pronounced drought tolerance of the millet is promoted by the ability to interrupt growth in drought and to resume it later.

history

African slaves brought the sugar millet to the United States in the early 17th century . There it was first known as Guinea corn . From 1850 it was widely cultivated and used as a sweetener, especially in the form of molasses . Syrup production in the USA peaked in 1879 at 28 million  gallons (equivalent to around 108,000 tons of sugar). Since the production of the syrup was very labor-intensive, the production volume dropped dramatically during World War II . Today the US produces less than 1 million gallons annually, but that makes it the largest producer of sugar millet syrup. Cultivation areas for millet for making syrup can still be found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Cultivation

Economical meaning

There are no worldwide cultivation figures specifically for black millet, only for the entire genus of sorghum (see there).

The global cultivation of sugar millet is also not statistically recorded. The cultivation area in the USA is estimated at around 8,000 hectares. Another source estimates the cultivation area in India at 1,600 ha. China has published plans according to which 4.8 million liters of ethanol are to be produced from sugar millet. With ethanol yields of around 6,000 l / ha, this would correspond to a cultivation area of ​​800 ha. These figures show that the cultivation of sugar millet only takes up very little land worldwide.

Crop rotation requirements

Millet is self-tolerating and also possible as a secondary crop following a main crop. It fits into a crop rotation with soy and corn, but should not be grown after tobacco. Different varieties are available depending on the site conditions and the date of cultivation.

sowing

Sowing takes place late in May, as soil temperatures of at least 12 to 15 ° C are required for germination. The sowing takes place in a seedbed plowed in the previous autumn at a depth of 2 to 3 cm with a row spacing of 25 to 50 cm and approx. 20-25 seeds / m 2 (7-8 kg / ha). The seedbed must then be re-consolidated. In the US, sugar millet is increasingly preferred and transplanted using tobacco planters.

Fertilization and plant protection

The high nitrogen requirement is covered by a needs-based fertilization, similar to silage maize (approx. 180 kg N at 140 dt dry matter / ha yield). The withdrawal of further nutrients (approx. 15–20 kg P 2 O 5 , 110–180 kg K 2 O) are covered by sufficient supply from the soil reserves and replaced within the framework of crop rotation fertilization. The use of herbicides or machine hoes can be useful because of the slow growth of the plant, but only a few products are approved for use in sorghum.

Harvest and Conservation

Field with sorghum in the Nuba Mountains (Sudan)

The harvest takes place when the dry matter content of the above-ground biomass is between 28 and 35%, which is reached between mid-September and the end of October. It should be done before the first night frosts. A row-independent header on the forage harvester enables a clean harvest.

The Straubing Technology and Promotion Center has been carrying out extensive variety trials with sorghum since 2006. A total of 278 varieties of the species Sorghum bicolor , Sorghum sudanense and hybrids of these species were tested, which could be reduced to 52 varieties that were promising under the local conditions. In 2008 the yields were between 10.9 and 24.5 t / ha, with large differences between varieties and locations.

As with silage maize, it is preserved by ensiling (lactic acid fermentation with exclusion of air). The two substrates can also be mixed.

use

In West Africa , especially in the Sudan zone , sorghum bicolor is an important grain from which z. B. (millet porridge) and Dolo (millet beer) are produced. Sorghum is also important in East Africa . It is used, for example, to produce Merisa , Pombe and Tella beers .

In India , sorghum is a staple food in arid areas in the middle of the country ( Maharashtra , northern Karnataka ). To the north of it (in western Madhya Pradesh ) it is considered food for the poor and is grown in Gujarat as fodder. It is eaten mostly as flat bread ( Marathi : Bhakri , Kannada : jōļada rotti ) to various vegetable curries.

In China , the Kaoliang schnapps is made from black millet .

Scientists are currently working on sorghum varieties with improved nutrient content, such as vitamin A, zinc, iron and several amino acids.

Millet

Average composition of the sugar millet
water in% FM 70-76
sugar in% TM 18-20
Crude protein in% TM 7.5-9.5
fat in% TM 1.1-1.5
Crude fiber in% TM 32 - 38
ash in% TM 8.0-8.5

Sugar millet is used for syrup production (molasses), as green fodder and as silage , in developing countries also as fuel and building material (roofing roofs). At the beginning of the 19th century, syrup production from sugar millet was still economically important, but was then superseded by sugar beet and sugar cane. Today the US is the largest producer of sugar millet syrup.

In Germany, sugar millet is being grown on a trial basis in dry locations, for use as silage in animal feed or as a biogas substrate . In the case of biogas production, methane yields similar to those achieved in the fermentation of corn silage can be achieved. According to Kaltschmitt et al. this is between 300 and 360 liters of methane / kg of organic dry matter compared to 295 to 380 liters of methane / kg of organic dry matter for maize .

In the USA, sugar millet is also used to produce bioethanol . One important reason for the increasing attention to sugar millet is that its sugar-containing stalk provides the raw material for bioethanol and, to a limited extent, food from the grains. Unlike corn, wheat or sugar cane, sugar millet allows food and energy to be produced at the same time.

According to M. Kaltschmitt, sugar contents of 35% in the dry matter (DM) of the entire plant and 8 to 9% in the fresh matter (FM) are achieved. The table on the right shows the proportions of the most important ingredients in sugar millet. The sugar content consists of approx. 63% sucrose , 21% glucose and 16% fructose . After the sugar juice has been extracted , what remains is the bagasse , which mainly consists of cellulose , hemicellulose and lignin .

Fiber millet

The fiber millet, which is grown for a particularly high content of cellulose fibers, is also mainly grown for energetic use. There are also traditional material uses such as the production of brooms (usually called "rice straw brooms"), use as building material or for paper production.

Related species

Wild carrot

Wild carrot ( Sorghum halepense )

Sorghum halepense ( L. ) Pers. , also known as Johnson grass , is native to the Mediterranean, but grows across Europe and the Middle East. The plant has spread to all continents and most islands and archipelagos, except Antarctica. It reproduces through the rhizome and seeds . It is used as fodder and protection against erosion. As a weed, it is resistant to glyphosate , as has already been established in Argentina and the United States.

The species has roots over a meter deep.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 40.

Diseases and pests

literature

Web links

Commons : Carrots  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Sorghum halepense:

Individual evidence

  1. Sorghum millet (Sorghum bicolor) as an energy and raw material plant  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 159 kB), information sheet from the Technology and Promotion Center of the Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests, accessed on April 4, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.tfz.bayern.de  
  2. a b c Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas. 8th edition. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Page 267.
  3. ^ RA Ballinger: A history of sugar marketing through 1974. US Department of Agriculture, Economics, Statistics and Cooperatives Service, Agricultural Economic Report No. 382, 1975. PDF ( Memento of the original dated May 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ers.usda.gov
  4. M. Bitzer (National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association, USA): Personal communication, October 15, 2008.
  5. Agribusinessweek: Sweet Sorghum: A New 'Smart Biofuel Crop , Archived Copy ( Memento of the original from May 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 15, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.agribusinessweek.com
  6. Biofuels Digest: China to produce 3.8 million metric tons of ethanol from sweet sorghum stalks , http://www.biofuelsdigest.com , August 31, 2007, accessed October 24, 2008.
  7. A. Roller: Suitability for cultivation of energy millet in Bavaria. In: Renewable raw materials. No. 50, December 2008, BLT Wieselburg, p. 14.
  8. Nutritionally Enhanced Sorghum for the Arid and Semi Arid Tropical Areas of Africa ( Memento of May 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ).
  9. a b c Martin Kaltschmitt, Hans Hartmann, Hermann Hofbauer (eds.): Energy from biomass. Basics, techniques and procedures. Springer Verlag, Berlin and Heidelberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-540-85094-6 .
  10. Technologie- und Förderzentrum Straubing: Symposium Energy Plants , October 24, 2007 ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.4 MB). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fnr-server.de
  11. See a manufacturer's page, catalog of rice straw brooms on sorghum-brooms-durciansky.com.
  12. A. Belocchi, F. Quaranta, V. Mazzon, N. Berardo, E. Desiderio: Fiber sorghum: influence of the harvesting methods on plant moisture and fiber content. International South Europe Symposium Non-Food Crops: From Agriculture to Industry, Bologna, Italy, 15. – 16. May 2003.
  13. Western Farm Press: Johnsongrass resistance to glyphosate confirmed in Argentina  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 28, 2006. (accessed January 24, 2014).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / westernfarmpress.com  
  14. Delta Farm Press: Glyphosate-resistant johnsongrass in Mid-South ( Memento of the original from May 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 19, 2008 (accessed January 24, 2014). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / deltafarmpress.com