Sorghum

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Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor

Sorghum bicolor

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Panicoideae
Genre : Sorghum
Scientific name
Sorghum
Monk
Sections
  • Chaetosorghum section
  • Section heterosorghum
  • Parasorghum section
  • Sorghum section
  • Section Stiposorghum

The species of the genus Sorghum ( ˈzɔrgʊm ) from the sweet grass family (Poaceae) are referred to as sorghum . The spelling Sorgum is also occasionally used.

The economically most important species of this taxon is the black millet ( sorghum bicolor ), which is the most important grain in Africa and is also planted in southern Europe , Central America and South Asia . It is mainly used for the production of flour and as fodder for cattle and is the grain that had the fifth largest acreage in the world in 2018 - after wheat , maize , rice and barley . It is originally from East Africa and is adapted to hot and dry climates. Another known type is mainly as a fodder crop , but also as an energy crop used Sudan grass ( S. sudanense ). The black millet is also used as bird food.

Systematics and nomenclature

The sorghum millets ( Sorghum sp. ) Belong to a genus from the tribe Andropogoneae of the subfamily Panicoideae, which belongs to the family of Poaceae. The Andropogoneae are also other important crops , such as. B. Corn ( Zea mays ) and sugar cane ( Saccharum officinarum ), assigned.

In the subfamily Panicoideae there are other genera or species that are known as millet. Economically important species of this grain can thus also belong to the genera Pennisetum (e.g. pearl millet ), Panicum (e.g. millet ), etc. Agriculturally used species of other subfamilies, such as B. the Chloridoideae , are referred to as millet, such. B. the finger millet ( Eleusine coracana ) from the genus Eleusine .

Certain grass weeds , such as As significant in Germany barnyardgrass ( Echinochloa crus-galli ) of the subfamily Panicoideae, carry the designation millet.

The sorghum is only part of the species known as millet.

The economically important type of sorghum millet is sometimes referred to as sorghum , although this name includes all species of the genus as defined above.

The genetic origin of the agriculturally important species Sorghum bicolor lies in today's Ethiopia . Sorghum was domesticated in South Saharan Africa. From approx. 2000 BC In BC, sorghum can also be found in central India, together with other African cultivated plants such as lablab ( Lablab purpureus ) and the cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ). In Egypt it became an important crop in the early Islamic period. Sorghum is similar in plant structure (morphology) to maize . They reach heights of up to 5 m and have stalks filled with pulp that can form side shoots at the nodes . The panicles are 10 to 60 cm long and have branches with two spikelets each, the upper one forms a hermaphrodite , the lower two male flowers. Sorghum panicles can be very different in their appearance, depending on the variety and origin, compact with closely spaced grains ( arid origin), or open with widely spaced grains ( humid origin). The bare grains are 4 to 5 mm thick, round and white, yellowish to red in color. The domesticated forms of the species Sorghum bicolor that are most frequently used worldwide have brownish grains. Bitter substances ( tannins ) in the grains of many cultivars can, depending on the concentration, protect against predators, especially bird-resistant sorghum .

species

Sorghum bicolor in Burkina Faso
Wild carrot ( Sorghum halepense )
In the genus Sorghum (here S. halepense ) a sitting ☿-spikelet and a stalked ♂-spikelet (purple in the left picture) are arranged side by side on the panicle branches. Only at the end of the panicle branches are there two stalked ♂ spikelets.

There are about 30 species of the Sorghum genus :

Economical meaning

In 2018, 59,342,099 t of sorghum were harvested worldwide. The EU import amounted to 608,764 t. The world's largest exporters are the USA, Australia and Argentina. Global yields were around 14.1 dt / ha in 2018, while hybrid breeding in the USA achieves 45.3 dt / ha, with ideal irrigation and fertilization up to 100 dt / ha. The main producer of sorghum is the USA with 9.27 mln t (2018), although the cultivation areas in Africa and Asia are significantly more extensive. The 10 largest producers harvested around 74% of the world's harvest in 2018.

Information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the largest growing countries is only available for the entire genus of sorghum, which is presumably predominantly bicoloured sorghum . The following table provides an overview based on the FAO data:

Largest sorghum producers (2018)
rank country Quantity
(in t )
1 United StatesUnited States United States 9,271,070
2 NigeriaNigeria Nigeria 6,862,343
3 SudanSudan Sudan 4,953,000
4th EthiopiaEthiopia Ethiopia 4,932,408
5 IndiaIndia India 4,800,000
6th MexicoMexico Mexico 4,531,097
7th BrazilBrazil Brazil 2,272,939
8th China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China 2,192,032
9 NigerNiger Niger 2,100,190
10 Burkina FasoBurkina Faso Burkina Faso 1,929,834
remaining countries 15,497,186

See also: The largest wheat producers , The largest rye producers , The largest barley producers , The largest rice producers , The largest corn producers , The largest oat producers

use

Food and feed

Sorghum bicolor is hardly suitable for baking, but is used as food in the form of porridge , groats or flatbreads . It is also used to make beer , for example for the traditionally produced Umqombothi in South Africa , Dolo in West Africa, Pombe in East Africa and Merisa in Sudan. Sorghum is important for industrial beer production as it is suitable for the production of gluten-free beer for people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance). Similar to maize, sorghum can be used as fodder as a whole plant, but must either be fed fresh or ensiled or dried to reduce the content of the cyanogenic glycoside dhurrin .

Sorghum bicolor in Saxony-Anhalt

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

Renewable raw material

Growing areas

Sorghum is becoming increasingly important as a renewable raw material . Studies show the value of sorghum sudanense and other species, such as the sugar-rich form of black millet known as sugar millet ( sorghum bicolor ), as an energy plant for generating electricity or gas from biomass . In the USA, sugar millet is used to make bioethanol . A parallel use of the fibers (fiber millet ) is possible. B. manufactured the "Kirei-Board" fiberboard. In Germany, the usability of sugar millet and Sudan grass as a fermentation substrate for the production of biogas is being intensively investigated.

The journal Nature reported in June 2007 that the People's Republic of China will generate 15 percent of its fuel requirements from renewable raw materials by 2020 and therefore intends to increasingly cultivate sorghum (instead of maize ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Crops> Sorghum. In: FAO production statistics for 2018. fao.org, accessed on August 3, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Parrot Network Working Group: Some things about millet, quinoa and amaranth , accessed on July 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ a b ars-grin.gov: GRIN Species Records of sorghum , side of the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), accessed 4 April 2010
  4. ↑ ars-grin.gov: GRIN Genera of Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae , page of the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), accessed April 4, 2010
  5. ↑ Sorghum millet (Sorghum bicolor) as an energy and raw material plant  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 156 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  
  6. ^ Daniel Georg Döhne: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench - Sorghum as a substitute for maize in Germany. Bachelor thesis, University of Neubrandenburg, 2010, online (PDF; 7.47 MB), accessed on June 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Sorghum. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ René TJ Chappers: Roman Footprints at Berenice. The Cotsen Institute of Archeology Press, Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-1-931745-27-7 .
  9. ↑ Nutritionally-Enhanced Sorghum for the Arid and Semi-Arid Tropical Areas of Africa ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2010 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. on grandchallenges.org. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grandchallenges.org
  10. ↑ L. Laurenz: Agricultural aspects of NaWaRo procurement and the utilization of fermentation substrates. 2005. online ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2006 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. (PDF), on Landwirtschaftskammer.de. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.landwirtschaftskammer.de
  11. ↑ A sorghum solution to meeting renewable fuel targets ( Memento of the original dated November 3, 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. on biomedcentral.com, accessed Nov. 1, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.biomedcentral.com
  12. ^ Sascha Peters: Materialrevolution II. De Gruyter, 2014, ISBN 978-3-03821-000-9 , p. 71.
  13. ↑ Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony / 3N Competence Center Lower Saxony Network Renewable Raw Materials: Renewable raw materials - cultivation instructions for energetic use and material recycling. Oldenburg 2008, pp. 11-15
  14. ↑ Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR): 2nd Symposium Energy Plants (2009) , publication for the symposium on 17./18. November 2009, from the series Gülzower Technical Discussions, Volume 34, 291 pages, as PDF.
  15. ↑ W. Dongjun: China looks for alternative biofuel options. In: Nature. Volume 447 (897), 2007, p. 897, doi : 10.1038 / 447897a .

Web links

Wiktionary: Sorghum  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Sorghum  - Collection of images, videos and audio files