International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
Abstract
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the fifth most important
cereal crop in the world. Different types of sorghum are
recognized. These are: grain sorghum, dual purpose
(grain and fodder) sorghum, fodder sorghum, forage
sorghum and sweet stalk sorghum. Also two types of
sorghums are noted based on the season of adaptation;
these are rainy (wet) season or postrainy (dry) season
sorghum. There are two distinct sorghum growing
seasons in India, kharif (rainy season; June–October) and
rabi (postrainy season; October–January). In India, the
grain productivity is about 1.2 t ha-1 in the rainy season,
and about 0.8 t ha-1 in the postrainy season whereas the
global grain productivity of sorghum is 1.4 t ha-1
(FAOSTAT 2011). The grain sorghum requirements for
these two seasonal adaptations are quite diverse due to
different agroclimatic conditions (Rana et al. 1997).
There has been a significant decline in area under grain
and dual purpose sorghum during the rainy season due to
grain molds, but the area has remained stable in the
postrainy season where mostly dual purpose sorghums
are cultivated
