Sorghum

Botanical Name :

Sorghum bicolor

English Name :

Sorghum

Hindi Name :

Juwar

Family Name :

Cyperales: Poaceae

Sorghum

Cultivation

Grain sorghum is native to Asia and Africa where it has been grown since ancient times. This marvelous, energy-producing plant is a basic food for mankind in regions of Africa, Asia and India.

Varieties

it is very hardy and can be grown in areas of the world that are too hot or too dry for other crops to be grown successfully. Grain sorghum is a small round berry which may vary in color from yellow to cream to white. This is the grain sorghum that is raising the interest of various snack food processors in the United States. Grain sorghum is one of the five more important cereal crops behind rice, wheat, corn and barley.

Nutrition Value

Sorghum is rich in potassium and phosphorus. It has good amount of calcium with small amounts of iron and sodium.

Usage

One species, Sorghum bicolor, is an important world crop, used for food (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"), fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Most varieties are drought- and heat-tolerant, and are especially important in arid regions, where the grain is one of the staples for poor and rural people.