• India, Nigeria, China are the largest producers of millets in the world. Millet is the 4^th most widely cultivated food crop after Rice, Wheat and Maize.
• Coarser Millets include: Jowar, Bajra, Ragi etc. ^{NABARD 2021}
• Millets belongs to C₄ group of plants.

Sorghum/Jowar

• Botanical Name: Sorghum bicolor
• Family: Poaceae
• Origin: East Central Africa
• Chromosome: 2n = 20
• Sorghum is poor in lysine but rich in leucine.
• Sorghum is known as Camel Crop because it has the capacity to grow in arid soils and can withstand against prolonged drought.
• King of Coarse Cereals.

  

• Due to higher Leucine (amino acid) content, higher dose of sorghum in food causes Pellagra disease. It is due to deficiency of Niacin (Vitamin B3).
• Symptoms = D4 (Diarrhea, Dermatitis, Dementia, and Death).

Climate

• Sorghum is a short-day plant.
• Warm season crop. Suitable temperature for optimum crop growth is 27-32ºC.
• Requirement of rainfall throughout growth period is 400-600 mm.
• It can tolerate drought conditions as well as water logging condition.

Soil

• Soils with clay loam or loam texture.
• It does well in pH range of 6.0-8.5 as it tolerates considerable salinity and alkalinity.
• The black cotton soil of central India is very good for its cultivation.

Seed Rate

• Grain: 12-15 kg/ha
• Fodder: 30-35 kg/ha
• Seed depth: 3-4 cm
• Test weight: 25 – 30 gm
• Germination: Hypogeal
• Spacing: 45 x 12 cm
• Plant population: 1,50,000 plants
• Sowing: Last June to first week of July.

• Hybrids: CSH 1 to 6, CSH 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18
• 1st Hybrid: CSH-1 in 1964 (Coordinated Sorghum Hybrid - 1).
• One of the most important male sterile variety: Combine Kafir 60 (CK-60).
• Roots are finer and more fibrous than maize.

  

• Inflorescence is called Panicle (commonly called Head).

  

• Usually no tillering, prop roots may develop.
• C₄ and often cross-pollinated plant.
• Thinning is important operation at 12-15 cm (within row).
• Sorghum crop for fodder purpose should be used after 50% flowering because sorghum leaves at knee stage possess a high amount of HCN which is poisonous to the animals.
• HCN (Dhurin alkaloid) present in early stage (40-50 days) in upper leaves of crop. It is synthesized by roots of the sorghum plant.
• Under draught condition if animal are grassed of sorghum leaves with 0.5 gm of HCN may be die.

Varieties of Sorghum:

• Best high yield variety of Rabi Jowar: M 35-1
• Drought and salinity tolerant for rain-fed: CSH 1, 6, 9, 11 and 3
• Sweet sorghum: RSSV 46, 53, 59, 84, 96, NSS 216
• Both grain and fodder: CSH 13 and CSV 15
• Low HCN: IS 208, IS 28450 and 288692
• Multi-cut fodder: MFSH 7, 885 F, CO (FS) 29
• Prabhani Shakti: India’s first biofortified Sorghum (jowar), with significantly higher iron and zinc than regular sorghum, was formally launched 2018.
• Developed by ICRISAT it was released for cultivation by Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Maharashtra.

Disease

Insect-Pests

Yield

• The right stage for harvest is when grains have become hard having less than 25 % moisture.
• Grain/ Irrigated: 25-30 q/ha.
• Fodder: 300-400 q/ha

• India, Nigeria, China are the largest producers of millets in the world. Millet is the 4^th most widely cultivated food crop after Rice, Wheat and Maize.
• Coarser Millets include: Jowar, Bajra, Ragi etc. ^{NABARD 2021}
• Millets belongs to C₄ group of plants.

Sorghum/Jowar

• Botanical Name: Sorghum bicolor
• Family: Poaceae
• Origin: East Central Africa
• Chromosome: 2n = 20
• Sorghum is poor in lysine but rich in leucine.
• Sorghum is known as Camel Crop because it has the capacity to grow in arid soils and can withstand against prolonged drought.
• King of Coarse Cereals.

  

• Due to higher Leucine (amino acid) content, higher dose of sorghum in food causes Pellagra disease. It is due to deficiency of Niacin (Vitamin B3).
• Symptoms = D4 (Diarrhea, Dermatitis, Dementia, and Death).

Climate

• Sorghum is a …

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