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28/08/2012 · See a sorghum plant growing in Downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, as part of the N.C. Museum of History's historical garden plantings. Also known as sugarcane...
What is the plant sorghum used for?
How is Sorghum Used? In the United States and other countries across the globe, sorghum grain is primarily used for livestock feed and ethanol production, but is becoming popular in the consumer food industry and other emerging markets.
Can humans eat sorghum?
Sorghum can be cooked and eaten, though it is also frequently processed into ingredients for other dishes. A quarter cup of whole-grain sorghum contains approximately: Calories: 163. Protein: five grams.08-Oct-2020
What does sorghum look like growing in a field?
Grain sorghum is one of the most important dryland crops grown in the area stretching from Texas to South Dakota. It is a plant that looks a lot like corn but is shorter and more colorful. The head grows on the top of the plant and is white, yellow, red or bronze. Sorghum is sometimes referred to as milo.
What does the crop sorghum look like?
That traditional sorghum looks like an overgrown corn plant, up to 10 feet tall, with a head of seeds on top. Today, American farmers grow two kinds of sorghum. Sweet sorghum is tall; you can use it to make a sweet syrup or just feed the whole plant to animals. But most sorghum in the U.S. is grown for feed grain.31-Oct-2013
Is sorghum a superfood?
Health Benefits The number of nutrients in this little grain is stunning—it's no wonder it's considered a superfood. A serving of whole-grain sorghum (1/4 cup dry) delivers 10% of the Daily Value for iron, making it beneficial for people who follow a vegetarian lifestyle.27-Jul-2020
Can diabetics eat sorghum?
Thus, the consumption of sorghum diet may protect against hyperglycemia and oxidative damage and may therefore serve as functional food for management of diabetic mellitus.12-Mar-2018
How did sorghum get in my yard?
It looks like grain sorghum to me, and probably arrived in your yard via the birds, as it is a popular component of commercially packaged bird feed. The fact that it's near a fence would tend to give support to this theory! Yup, that's probably the culprit there.
Why do farmers grow sorghum?
Corn yields more after sorghum than after corn, it's drought tolerant, catches more snow and pheasants love it. With advances in corn genetics to increase drought tolerance and the adoption of glyphosate-resistant corn, many farmers may ask, "Why should I grow grain sorghum?"28-Apr-2014
Is sorghum and milo the same thing?
Grain Sorghum. Sorghum is a coarse, upright growing grass that is used for both grain and forage production. ... Grain sorghum is also called "milo" and is a major feed grain for cattle.
Where do you find sorghum in the grocery store?
You can find sorghum among the other whole grains, as well as in the bulk bins, so you can buy just a bit to try it!19-Aug-2016
How is sorghum harvested?
Grain sorghum is harvested with a combine using a grain header with a rigid cutter bar, a flex header in the rigid position or a row crop header. Guards that help pick up heads are recommended if heads are drooping or stalks are lodged.
What part of sorghum do we eat?
Sorghum is a nutritional powerhouse. Unlike other grains it has no inedible hull, which allows us to eat the entire grain and reap the benefits.01-Aug-2016
Why is sorghum used in agriculture?
First and foremost, in the United States, sorghum is used as livestock feed and turned into ethanol. It's a popular crop to grow within the drier regions of the States because it is drought resistant.
What is sorghum in Texas?
Grain sorghum is one of the most important dryland crops grown in the area stretching from Texas to South Dakota. It is a plant that looks a lot like corn but is shorter and more colorful. The head grows on the top of the plant and is white, yellow, red or bronze. Sorghum is sometimes referred to as milo.
How tall is sorghum?
That traditional sorghum looks like an overgrown corn plant, up to 10 feet tall, with a head of seeds on top. Today, American farmers grow two kinds of sorghum. Sweet sorghum is tall; you can use it to make a sweet syrup or just feed the whole plant to animals. But most sorghum in the U.S. is grown for feed grain.
What is sorghum in the family Poaceae?
Andropogon subg. Sorghum Hackel. Sorghum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae. Some of these species have grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals.
Where is sorghum native to?
One species, Sorghum bicolor, was originally domesticated in Africa and has since spread throughout the globe. Seventeen of the 25 species are native to Australia, with the range of some extending to Africa, Asia, Mesoamerica, and certain islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One species is grown for grain, ...
Does sorghum have flavonoids?
All sorghums contain phenolic acids, and most contain flavonoids. Sorghum grains are one of the highest food sources of the flavonoid proanthocyanidin. Total phenol content (in both phenolic acids and flavonoids) is correlated with antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity is high in sorghums having dark pericarp and pigmented testa.
What is sorghum used for?
One species, Sorghum bicolor, native to Africa with many cultivated forms now, is an important crop worldwide, used for food (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses" ), animal fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Sorghum's cultivation has been linked by archeological research back ...
Is sorghum a snack?
Popped sorghum is popular as a snack in India. The popped sorghum is similar to popcorn, but the puffs are smaller. Recipes for popping sorghum by microwave, in a pot, etc, are readily available online. Most varieties are drought - and heat-tolerant, nitrogen -efficient, and are especially important in arid regions, ...
Is sorghum toxic to animals?
In the early stages of the plants' growth, some species of sorghum can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide, hordenine, and nitrates, which are lethal to grazing animals. When stressed by drought or heat, plants can also contain toxic levels of cyan ide and nitrates at later stages in growth.
Where is S. bicolor grown?
These varieties form important components of forage in many tropical regions. S. bicolor is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and South Asia, and is the 5th most important cereal crop grown in the world.
Overview
Sorghum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species, Sorghum bicolor, was originally domesticated in Africa and has since spread throughout the globe. Seventeen of the 25 species are native to Australia, with the range of some extending to Africa,
Cultivation and uses
One species, Sorghum bicolor, native to Africa with many cultivated forms, is an important crop worldwide, used for food (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"), animal fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Sorghum's cultivation has been linked by archeological research back to ancient Sudan around 6,000 to 7,000 BP.
All sorghums contain phenolic acids, and most contain flavonoids. Sorghum grains are one of th…
Role in global economy
Global demand for sorghum increased dramatically between 2013 and 2015, when China began purchasing US sorghum crops to use as livestock feed as a substitute for domestically grown corn. China purchased around $1 billion worth of American sorghum per year until April 2018, when China imposed retaliatory duties on American sorghum as part of the trade war between the two countries.
Species
Species recorded include:
• Sorghum amplum – northwestern Australia
• Sorghum angustum – Queensland
• Sorghum arundinaceum – Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Madagascar, islands of the western Indian Ocean
Further reading
• Watson, Andrew M. (1983). Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World: The Diffusion of Crops and Farming Techniques, 700–1100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24711-X.
External links
• "Sorghum" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). 1911.
• FAO Report (1995) "Sorghum and millets in human nutrition"
• Sorghum on US Grains Council Web Site
• Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association, organization for the promotion and development of sweet Sorghum as a source for biofuels, especially ethanol