Sorghum is used for food, fodder, and the production of alcoholic beverages. It is drought tolerant and heat tolerant, and is especially important in arid regions. It is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and South Asia, and is the “fifth most important cereal crop grown in the world”.

In animal nutrition, grain sorghum is mostly used as an energy source and is a good feedstuff for poultry, pigs and ruminants. The stalks remaining after harvest can be grazed as some varieties stay green for a long period of time. Sorghum may also be grown for fodder, for grazing or cut green to make silage and hay.

Sorghum – Human Consumption

Sorghum is a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Poaceae (grass) which includes about twenty species of temperate and warm climates plants. Many of them are grown as forage or as cereals for human consumption. Sorghum grains colour varies from white and pale yellow to deep red, purple and brown, white, bronze and brown. Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L. Moench) is considered to be one of the four most important cereal grains used for human consumption. While sorghum is considered to be native to tropical Africa and continues to be a leading cereal grain the most areas of the continent. Now it has huge source in India.

The colour of the sorghum grain may be white, yellow, red, or brown. Certified food grade sorghum varieties are white but red has been recently developed for food use as well. Sorghum is higher in protein and lower in fat than corn. The mineral composition differs only slightly from corn, and the vitamin content in grain sorghum is similar to white corn.

Sorghum is sometimes referred to as kafir, kafir corn, durra, Milo, maize, Egyptian corn, African millet, Black Indian millet and pearl millet. The grain is an excellent food source when ground into flour and used to make pancakes, cake, pap, pancake Creole, porridge and flat breads. Sorghum is now used in a variety of recipes found online and in cookbooks, especially for people who are looking for gluten-free diet. Some recipes for which Sorghum is used include muffins, breads, pizzas, pasta dishes, cookies, cakes, and pies.

Some of the health benefits of sorghum include its ability to prevent certain types of cancer, help control diabetes, offer a dietary option for people with Celiac disease, improve digestive health, build strong bones, promote red blood cell development, and boost energy and fuel production.