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Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder
Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
 plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents in addition to the South West Pacific and Australasia
Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes ....
. Sorghum is in the subfamily Panicoideae
Panicoideae

Panicoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family . valign=top|Group 1: Panicodae*Tribe IsachneaeCoelachne'Cyrtococcum...
 and the tribe Andropogoneae
Andropogoneae

Andropogoneae is a tribe of grasses widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions. They use C4 carbon fixation physiology. This tribe is commonly referred to as the sorghum tribe....
 (the tribe of big bluestem
Big Bluestem

Big Bluestem is a tall grass native to much of the prairie and Great Plains regions of North America....
 and sugar cane).

For more specific details on commercially exploited Sorghum see commercial sorghum
Commercial sorghum

Commercial sorghum refers to the cultivation and commercial exploitation of species of grasses within the genus Sorghum. These plants are utilised for grain, fibre and fodder....
.

rous Sorghum species are used for food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
 (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"
Sweet sorghum

Sweet sorghum is any of the many varieties of sorghum which have a high sugar content. Sweet sorghum will thrive under drier and warmer conditions than many other crops and is grown primarily for Fodder, silage, and sugar production....
), fodder
Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
, the production of alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
s, as well as biofuels.






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Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder
Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
 plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents in addition to the South West Pacific and Australasia
Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes ....
. Sorghum is in the subfamily Panicoideae
Panicoideae

Panicoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family . valign=top|Group 1: Panicodae*Tribe IsachneaeCoelachne'Cyrtococcum...
 and the tribe Andropogoneae
Andropogoneae

Andropogoneae is a tribe of grasses widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions. They use C4 carbon fixation physiology. This tribe is commonly referred to as the sorghum tribe....
 (the tribe of big bluestem
Big Bluestem

Big Bluestem is a tall grass native to much of the prairie and Great Plains regions of North America....
 and sugar cane).

For more specific details on commercially exploited Sorghum see commercial sorghum
Commercial sorghum

Commercial sorghum refers to the cultivation and commercial exploitation of species of grasses within the genus Sorghum. These plants are utilised for grain, fibre and fodder....
.

Cultivation and uses

Numerous Sorghum species are used for food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
 (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"
Sweet sorghum

Sweet sorghum is any of the many varieties of sorghum which have a high sugar content. Sweet sorghum will thrive under drier and warmer conditions than many other crops and is grown primarily for Fodder, silage, and sugar production....
), fodder
Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
, the production of alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
s, as well as biofuels. Most species are drought tolerant
Xerophyte

A xerophyte or xerophytic organism is a plant which is able to survive in an environment with little available water or moisture, usually in environments where potential evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation for all or part of the growing season....
 and heat tolerant and are especially important in arid
Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the Individual growth and Morphogenesis of plant and animal life....
 regions. They form an important component of pastures in many tropical regions. Sorghum species are an important food crop in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, and South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
 and is the "fifth most important cereal
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 crop grown in the world". Kirsten Bomblies
Kirsten Bomblies

Kirsten Bomblies is a biological researcher. Her research plumbs the genetic, biophysical and other processes that give rise to organisms such as extant domesticated Maize and Sorghum ....
 has investigated some of the genetic details of different crop varieties of Sorghum in various populations globally.

A sorghum species, Johnson Grass
Johnson grass

Johnson grass is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but growing throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica and most larger islands and archipelago....
, is classified as a noxious weed.

The reclaimed stalks of the sorghum plant are used to make a decorative millwork material marketed as Kirei board
Kirei board

Kirei Board is an engineered panel product constructed from the stalks of a plant, Bamboo being the most widely used, although wheat, sorghum, and even cocoa can be used....
.

Sweet Sorghum
Sweet sorghum

Sweet sorghum is any of the many varieties of sorghum which have a high sugar content. Sweet sorghum will thrive under drier and warmer conditions than many other crops and is grown primarily for Fodder, silage, and sugar production....
 syrup is known as molasses in some parts of the U.S., though it is not true molasses
Molasses

Molasses is a thick by-product from the processing of the sugar beet or sugar cane into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese language word mela?o, which comes from "meli", the Greek word for "honey"....
.

Some species of sorghum can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide

Hydrogen cyanide is a chemical compound with chemical formula HCN. A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water is called hydrocyanic acid. Hydrogen cyanide is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and highly volatility liquid that boiling slightly above room temperature at 26 Celsius ....
, hordenine
Hordenine

Hordenine is a phenylethylamine alkaloid with antibacterial and antibiotic properties. It stimulates the release of norepinephrine in higher animals....
 and nitrates lethal to grazing animals in the early stages of the plant's growth. Stressed plants, even at later stages of growth, can also contain toxic levels of cyanide.

In India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, and other places, stalks are used for producing bio-fuel by squeezing the juice and then fermenting into ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
. Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University, often called A&M or TAMU, is a coeducational public university research university located in College Station, Texas, Texas....
 in the United States is currently running trials to produce the best varieties for ethanol production from in the USA.

Species

  • Sorghum almum
  • Sorghum amplum
  • Sorghum angustum
  • Sorghum arundinaceum
  • Sorghum bicolor
    Sorghum bicolor

    Sorghum bicolor , commonly called sorghum, is a plant species in the grass family Poaceae. It is the primary Sorghum species cultivated for grain for human consumption and for animal feed....
     (primary cultivated species)
  • Sorghum brachypodum
  • Sorghum bulbosum
  • Sorghum burmahicum
  • Sorghum controversum
  • Sorghum drummondii
  • Sorghum ecarinatum
  • Sorghum exstans
  • Sorghum grande
  • Sorghum halepense
    Johnson grass

    Johnson grass is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but growing throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica and most larger islands and archipelago....
  • Sorghum interjectum
  • Sorghum intrans
  • Sorghum laxiflorum
  • Sorghum leiocladum
  • Sorghum macrospermum
  • Sorghum matarankense
  • Sorghum miliaceum
  • Sorghum nigrum
  • Sorghum nitidum
  • Sorghum plumosum
  • Sorghum propinquum
  • Sorghum purpureosericeum
  • Sorghum stipoideum
  • Sorghum timorense
  • Sorghum trichocladum
  • Sorghum versicolor
  • Sorghum virgatum
  • Sorghum vulgare
    Sorghum vulgare

    Jowar is a species of Sorghum millet cultivated in many parts of Asia and Africa. The grains are used to make flat breads which form the staple food of many cultures....


Hybrids

  • Sorghum × almum
  • Sorghum × drummondii


See also


  • Baijiu
    Baijiu

    Baijiu , or shaojiu is a China distilled beverage alcoholic beverage. The name baijiu literally means "white liquor," "white alcohol" or "white spirits"....


Footnotes


External links

  • —Contains discussion on origin, processing and uses of sorghum
  • 2002-09-22