India

To encourage the use of sweet sorghum as a feedstock for biofuel (ethanol) production in India, a consortium of partners from the public, private and research sectors have joined hands. Sweet sorghum is more suitable as feedstock for the ethanol industry because of its unique properties such as wide adaptability, drought tolerance, water and nutrient use efficiency along with high annual biomass yields. Sweet sorghum accumulates sugars in the stalks that can be crushed to extract juice, which can then…

With ethanol production the most viable option for sugar mills facing depressed sugar prices, some mills are looking to use sweet sorghum to produce transport-grade ethanol in the sugarcane off-season. A consortium of researchers and sugar mills are working with the farming community in Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Pondicherry and Karnataka in India to take this to a new commercial level. With sugar prices depressed to around `2,300 per ton for the past two to three years, the mill is expecting…

Trials of postrainy sorghum hybrids and distribution of the hybrids to as many private sector seed companies as possible was a major recommendation of the private sector seed industry at a recent consultation meeting. This would enable the companies to test the hybrids in multiple locations and identify the best ones for commercialization. Currently, private sector presence is dismal in the sorghum seed chain as open pollinated varieties are predominant in postrainy sorghum. This initiative would ensure their active participation…

In India, improved productivity through better varieties offers an attractive opportunity for sorghum farmers to improve their incomes and at the same time meet the country’s demand. With this as the backdrop, the inception workshop of the second phase of “Improving postrainy sorghum varieties to meet the growing grain and fodder demand in India” project was organized by ICRISAT’s Research Program on Dryland Cereals on 18-20 March at the ICRISAT headquarters. The project is funded by the Australian Centre for…