Sweet Sorghum Varieties Research Articles

Genetic Variability, Heritability and Selection of M2 Sorghum Super 2 Mutant Lines Derived from Irradiation Using Gamma Rays

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a potential plant to be developed as food, feed, and industrial raw materials. In Indonesia, sweet sorghum breeding is needed because only five varieties of sweet sorghum have been released. Genetic variability is essential in breeding. Through mutation induction, breeders can increase genetic variability so that new characters superior to their parents can be obtained. This study aimed to analyze the effect of various doses of gamma-ray irradiation on genetic variability in the agronomic character of the M2 population derived from the sweet sorghum Super 2 mutant and to select potential populations for further selection. The research was carried out at Experimental Garden, ICABIOGRAD, in February-June 2021. The material used was selected M2 mutant seeds from mutant populations resulting from gamma-ray irradiation of sorghum’s shoots of Super 2 variety with doses of 40, 50, 60, and 70 Gy. Variables observed were plant height, stem diameter, panicle length, panicle diameter, sugar content, and fresh and dry panicle weights. The results showed that all radiation doses could increase genetic variability in M2 plants compared to their parents. Significant differences in characters between the original parents and the M2 population with a dose of 40 Gy were seen in the top diameter of the stem, panicle length, and sugar content; at a dose of 50 Gy in panicle diameter, sugar content, and fresh panicle weight; at a dose of 60 Gy on plant height, top stem diameter, sugar content, fresh panicle weight; while at a dose of 70 Gy on bottom stem diameter and middle stem diameter. The potential population for further selection based on fresh weight is the irradiated mutant population with a dose of 70 Gy. In pre-analysis using Cluster Gram and 49 mutant genotypes of the 70Gy M2 population, a group of mutants similar to their parent (Super 2 sorghum variety) and the other group that was completely different from their parent was obtained.

Optimization of elements of forage sorghum cultivation in the south-west of the Central region of Russia

Relevance. In the agro-climatic conditions of the southwestern part of the Central region of Russia, studies have been conducted aimed at improving the zonal agrotechnology of forage sorghum in order to optimize individual elements of cultivation that are relevant and timely. The main task was to assess the effectiveness of mineral fertilizers and seeding rates on yield, crop structure, nutritional value of the aboveground mass of sorghum varieties and hybrids, their energy assessment in the conditions of gray forest soils of the Bryansk region.Material and methods. The experimental work was carried out in 2015–2020 at the experimental field of Bryansk GAU. The objects of research were 3 sorghum-sudan grass hybrids: Slavyanskoe pole 15 F1, Sabantuy F1, Solaris and 5 varieties of sweet sorghum: Zernogradskij yantar, Debut, Listvenit, Sazhen, Sever. Agricultural technology of experiments —adopted in the region for silage and fodder crops. The laying of experiments, field records and observations were carried out according to the Broad Unified Classifier of the CMEA, the International Classifier of the CMEA of cultivated species of the genus Sorghum Moench and the Methodology of the state variety testing of agricultural crops.Results. The significant influence of azophoska , borophosphate and ammonium nitrate on the growth, development, yield and quality of the feed massof sorghum-sudan grass hybrids has been established. The highest yield of 14.8–15.8 t dry matter or 65–71 t ofgreen mass per 1 ha formed sorghum-sudan grass hybrids Sabantuy F1 and Solaris in the variant with N90 feeding on the main background 1 — azophoska N60P60K60. High-yielding agrocenoses of sweet sorghum Listvenit were marked—, 65–70.9 t/ha of green mass with a seeding rate of 500 thousand pieces of germinating seeds per 1 ha. The highest yield of gross energy with the harvest was provided by the Listvenit variety (54.8 GJ/ha), in the Sazhen and Sever varieties in the range of 50.1–50.7 GJ/ha. A high energy coefficient of 4.3–4.5 and an energy efficiency coefficient of 2.1 and 2.4respectively were shown by crops of Listvenitand Sever varieties.

Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Sweet Sorghum Varieties and Hybrids

Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Sweet Sorghum Varieties and Hybrids

Evaluation of plant profile of Japanese Super Sorghum variety and its physicochemical and microbiological properties of fresh juice and concentrated syrup

Sweet sorghum with various varieties in Indonesia is a high potential source of sugar. The innovation of sweet sorghum variety to improve the quality attributes needs to evaluate for plant’s profiles for optimal utilization prospects. The objective of this study was to examine the profiles of Japanese Super Sorghum cultivated in Indonesia that comparisons of several other varieties of sweet sorghum and characterize the physicochemical and microbiological properties of fresh juice and concentrated syrup. Japanese Super Sorghum had the highest plant size, the highest number of leaves, and the highest yield of fresh juice compared to other varieties. Japanese Super Sorghum’s fresh juice had a pH of 5.28, Total Dissolve Solid (TDS) 12.5 ± 0.1 °Brix, dextran content of 421.25 ± 3.93 ppm, color ICUMSA 862.15 ± 10.79 IU, viscosity 2.11 ± 0.02 cP, and yield of fresh juice 56.76% from stems or 42.42% from the whole plant. The concentrated syrup had a higher pH, ICUMSA color, dextran content, and viscosity than fresh juice, but it had a lower microbial growth rate. Microbial growth in concentrated syrup decreased due to defecation and evaporation. Bacterial growth in fresh juice was 1.8x103 CFU/ml and only 0.5x103 CFU/ml in concentrated syrup. The total microbial growth in fresh juice was 22.0x103 CFU/ml and only 5.5x103 CFU/ml in thick syrup. In conclusion, concentrated syrup from Japanese Super Sorghum juice has good properties and high storability.

Comparative Analyses of Impact of Varying Germination Periods on Malt Quality and Wort Characteristics of Sorghum Bicolor (L) Moench and Sorghum Vulgare Varieties

Three Sorghum bicolor [L] Moench and two Sorghum vulgare varieties were steeped for 20 h at 30 ℃ and germinated for 2 to 6 d. The varieties differed in 1000-grain weight, germination energy, germination capacity, water sensitivity, nitrogen, protein, tannin and moisture contents. Sprouts length increased with germination days and varied with sorghum varieties. Malting loss increased with germination days and differed with cultivars. Cold water extract and hot water extract increased from 2-day to 4-day malts and thereafter decreased. Tannin content varied among cultivars, grains>malts>worts. Diastatic power (DP) and amylase activities increased in both sweet and non-sweet sorghum cultivars from day-2 to day-4 malts and then declined. Sweet sorghum malts revealed higher DP (ca 142.1 ºL) than the non-sweet malts (ca 119.6 ºL). Malts of sweet sorghum varieties had -, β- and γ-amylase activities while non-sweet cultivars indicated only - and β-amylase activities. Sweet sorghum worts had more reducing sugars than non-sweet sorghum varieties. Wort-yields (43.9-68.7%) and reducing sugars differed and increased from day-2 to day-4 malts and then decreased. Worts pH (5.1-6.7) varied with cultivars and the sweet generally had higher pH than non-sweet sorghum cultivars. Generally, the 4-day sweet sorghum malts yielded the best quality malts.

Performance of open-pollinated and hybrid fodder varieties of sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.)] in Grid regionLakshman

The present study was an effort to compare the performance of fodder open-pollinated and hybrids sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.)] in the Grid region. Two advanced sweet sorghum genotypes of open-pollinated (SPSSV15; SPSSV20), and two hybrids (PAC52093; SPSSH19) were planted at four locations of Grid region viz. two each at Sithouli (26.140° N, 78.196° E; 27.205° N, 77.498° E) and Turari (26.122° N, 78.177° E; 26.138° N, 78.207° E) of Gwalior District during rainy season of 2021. The seeds were sown using the manual dibbling method at a uniform depth of 5 cm during the second week of June in 3 replications. The recommended dose of fertilizers was applied in the form of urea, single super phosphate, and muriate of potash. Data on plant height, biomass accumulation, days to flowering and physiological maturity were recorded using standard procedures. At the 50 per cent flowering stage, ten representative plants from the four central rows of each plot were sampled. The plant biomass was oven-dried, ground and used for chemical estimation. Suitable statistical methods were used to analyze the data. The hybrid SPSSH19 proved superior to the rest of the genotypes under study in terms overall fodder performance and can be recommended as a fodder crop in the Grid region. Keywords: Grid Region, Hybrid sorghum, Nutrient Yield, Open-pollinated sorghum, Sorghum Fodder, Sweet Sorghum.

Assessment of Losses in Sweet Sorghum Genotype (SSV 74) due to Leaf Blight caused by Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) Leonard and Suggs

Background: Leaf blight caused by Exserohilum turcicum (E. turcicum) is commonly or generally found on sorghum grown in the sub-tropics and tropical lowlands during summer. The pathogen is easily wind disseminated and apparently most consistent in their occurrence and severity across the diverse sorghum growing environments. The sweet sorghum variety SSV 74 was released by University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad for kharif season mainly for fodder purpose. This variety is also good for ethanol production and jaggery making. However, for the last several years this variety was showing its susceptibility to the leaf blight caused by E. turcicum and causes heavy losses both in fodder and its quality. Even though there are reports of the presence of leaf blight caused by E. turcicum on the grain sorghum, no precise information is available on the presence of the leaf blight on sweet sorghum in India as well as in the world and no information is available about the magnitude of losses caused by this disease. Hence, the experiment was conducted to assess the losses caused by the E. turcicum. Methods: An experiment on loss assessment in sweet sorghum due to leaf blight caused by E. turcicum was carried out at Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, during kharif 2017 using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and seven treatments. Six treatments were imposed with hexaconazole at 0.1% besides a treatment with unsprayed control. Result: Lowest per cent disease index (PDI) (24.76%) as well as area under disease progressive curve (789.61) was observed in treatment involving six sprays of hexaconazole at 0.1% followed by five sprays, (PDI: 27.51%, AUDPC: 815.32) and four sprays T4 (PDI: 32.57%, AUDPC: 908.80). Highest fodder yield (46.47 t/ha), brix value (12.47%), crude fibre content (28.22%), leaf ash content (23.08%) and crude protein content (5.29%) was observed in treatment with six sprays of hexaconazole at 0.1%. With respect to the per cent increase over control, 17.47-37.20 per cent increase in fodder yield, 7.4-21.17 per cent in brix value, 11.64-9.66 per cent in crude fibre content, 12.74-62.91 per cent in leaf ash content and 4.36-13.00 per cent in crude protein content was observed at one spray to six sprays with hexaconazole at 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Evaluation of Cell Wall Chemistry of Della and Its Mutant Sweet Sorghum Stalks.

The cell wall compositional (lignin and polysaccharides) variation of two sweet sorghum varieties, Della (D) and its variant REDforGREEN (RG), was evaluated at internodes (IN) and nodes (N) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and two-dimensional (2D) 1H-13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The stalks were grown in 2018 (D1 and RG1) and 2019 (D2 and RG2) seasons. In RG1, Klason lignin reductions by 16-44 and 2-26% were detected in IN and N, respectively. The analyses also revealed that lignin from the sorghum stalks was enriched in guaiacyl units and the syringyl/guaiacyl ratio was increased in RG1 and RG2, respectively, by 96% and more than 2-fold at IN and 61 and 23% at N. The glucan content was reduced by 23-27% for RG1 and by 17-22% for RG2 at internodes. Structural variations due to changes in both cellulose- and hemicellulose-based sugars were detected. The nonacylated and γ-acylated β-O-4 linkages were the main interunit linkages detected in lignin. These results indicate compositional variation of stalks due to the RG variation, and the growing season could influence their mechanical and lodging behavior.

Quantitative trait loci mapping of stem sugar content and stem diameter in sorghum recombinant inbred lines using genotyping-by-sequencing.

Sweet sorghum is an important crop with sugary stem that can mainly be used for syrup, fodder and bio-fuel. Many sugar content QTLs have been discovered from different sources through breeding worldwide. Most of these QTLs are detected using exotic germplasm as a mapping population. This study aimed to detect and map QTLs for stem sugar content and stem diameter targeting Ethiopian recombinant inbred lines of sorghum using genotyping-by-sequencing. Genotyping-by-sequencing and phenotyping using 139 recombinant inbred lines of sorghum as mapping populations were conducted. A total of 1082 polymorphic and high quality SNP markers that are evenly distributed across the ten linkage groups of sorghum were selected to detect and map the trait of interest. A genetic linkage map using 1082 SNP markers was constructed and several QTLs associated with stem sugar content and stem diameter were identified. Phenotypic variation explained by qBrix4-1 and qBrix2-1 ranged from 6.33 to 14%, respectively. Over two seasons, four QTLs for stem sugar content (qBrix1-1, qBrix2-1, qBrix4-1 and qBrix4-2) and three QTLs for stem diameter (qSD1-1, qSD8-1 and qSD9-1) were detected. QTLs that significantly associated with stem sugar content and stem diameter have been detected and mapped. This will help sorghum breeding program to develop superior sweet sorghum varieties through the use of appropriate crop improvement approaches like marker assisted breeding. This ultimately contributes to the current development plan to considerably improve food, feed and bio-fuel supply in developing countries like Ethiopia.

Research on the potential of some sweet sorghum genotypes as bioethanol source underMediterranean conditions

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor var. saccharatum (L.) Mohlenbr.) is a variety of sorghum developed for the harvest of sweet juice, rather than grain. It has been identified as a potential ethanol feedstock crop for rainfed areas in different parts of the world. It is a promising source of bioenergy due to its high biomass, drought tolerance and low input. This study was conducted to determine the potential of bioethanol production from different sweet sorghum varieties under the Çukurova conditions with a Mediterranean climate. Experiments were conducted over two years in 2016 and 2017 on the experimental fields of the Eastern Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute in Adana province between June and October in randomized blocks design with four replications. Harvest was performed at the dough stage of panicle grains. Based on two-year data, an average of days to harvest values of the varieties varied between 98.6 and 134.4 days, plant height between 233.2 and 429.3 cm, stalk diameters between 22.26 and 26.55 mm, stalk yields between 69.0 and 182.6 t ha-1, juice yields between 22.98 and 62.74 m3 ha-1, juice recoveries between 26.79% and 39.94%, brix values between 12.55% and 20.0% and theoretical bioethanol yields between 2020 and 5302 L ha-1. Grass1, M81E, Roma, Theis, UNL Hybrid#3 and No91 genotypes had stalk yields over 150 t ha-1 and bioethanol yields over 4500 L ha-1, thus they were superior to the other varieties in stalk and bioethanol yields. Present findings revealed that the Çukurova region was quite suitable for maximum bioethanol production from sweet sorghum.

Adaptation test and selection of numbu mutant sweet sorghum lines for character improvement of numbu variety

Sweet sorghum is a potential crop of agro-industry for food, feed and bioenergy. The availability of sweet sorghum varieties in Indonesia is still limited. One of the varieties that have a great demand is Numbu. Numbu has a large seed size, attractive color and contains juice in the stem, however it is still has weaken on small stems and low and unstable brix juice content. The efforts to assemble new superior varieties can be achieved through mutation breeding activities. Mutant lines produced from irradiation of Numbu varieties are expected to experience better character improvements than Numbu varieties. This study aims to find out the character improvements that occur in Numbu mutant lines which are tested in several different locations and to select potential Numbu mutant lines to be released as new superior sweet sorghum varieties. The research was conducted in five environments using 10 Numbu mutant lines and arranged into randomize block design with 3 replications. The results showed that the environment, genetic and interaction of genetic x environment had a significant effect for all observed, while the interaction of genetic x environments value for all observed characters have high variation depend on environment and environement gave the biggest contribution to variation, however generally mutant lines were have a better characters than Numbu variety There is no important characters has stability performance in various environment, but they have a good performance on specific environment. Four mutant lines those have the potential to be released as new superior varieties were MNB3, MNB5, MNB8 and MNB10.

The Potential of Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum in Sub-Saharan Africa as Affected by Variety and Sowing Time

Renewable bio-energy is receiving worldwide importance in view of depleting fossil energy. Research works on sorghum as bio-fuel crop in sub-Saharan Africa are meager. The study aimed to investigate the potential of sweet sorghum for ethanol production from stem-juice. The experiment was conducted in Sudan, Khartoum State, during 2016-2017. Forty local and exotic sweet sorghum varieties arranged in RCB Design were investigated under irrigated conditions across three sowing times. Yields of cane, juice, sugar, ethanol and related attributes were studied. Highly significant differences (P=.01) were detected among varieties and interaction with sowing time. Ethanol yield potentials for some varieties were comparable to those reported in India and USA (1162-1416 L ha-1). High brix values (20-22%) and cane yields (45-51 ha-1) were encountered. Juice yield was low (3673-13743 L ha-1) probably due to reduced milling efficiency. The exotic materials performed better than the local ones in theoretical ethanol productivity and related attributes other than cane yield. Eight exotic and five local varieties were recommended for ethanol production. None of the Ankolib materials appeared to have notable potential for ethanol production. Interaction of sowing time with variety has great impact on ethanol yield implying the importance of variety option for different sowing times. It was concluded that the study furnished basic data needed for assessing the economic feasibility of ethanol production from irrigated sweet sorghum in sub-Saharan Africa-Sudan.

Physiology and whole-plant carbon partitioning during stem sugar accumulation in sweet dwarf sorghum.

A greater rate of phloem unloading and storage in the stem, not a higher rate of sugar production by photosynthesis or sugar export from leaves, is the main factor that results in sugar accumulation in sweet dwarf sorghum compared to grain sorghum. At maturity, the stem internodes of sweet sorghum varieties accumulate high concentrations of fermentable sugars and represent an efficient feedstock for bioethanol production. Although stem sugar accumulation is a heritable trait, additional factors that drive sugar accumulation in sorghum have not been identified. To identify the constraints on stem sugar accumulation in sweet sorghum, we used a combination of carbon-11 (11C) radiotracer, physiological and biochemical approaches, and compared a grain sorghum and sweet dwarf sorghum line that have similar growth characteristics including height. Photosynthesis did not increase during development or differ between the sorghum lines. During the developmental transition to the reproductive stage, export of 11C from leaves approximately doubled in both sorghum lines, but 11C export in the sweet dwarf line did not exceed that of the grain sorghum. Defoliation to manipulate relative sink demand did not result in increased photosynthetic rates, indicating that the combined accumulation of C by all sink tissues was limited by the maximum photosynthetic capacity of source leaves. Nearly 3/4 of the 11C exported from leaves was transported to the lower stem in sweet sorghum within 2h, whereas in grain sorghum nearly 3/4 of the 11C was in the panicle. Accordingly, the transcripts of several sucrose transporter (SUT) genes were more abundant in the stem internodes of the sweet dwarf line compared to the grain sorghum. Overall, these results indicate that sugar accumulation in sweet sorghum stems is influenced by the interplay of different sink tissues for the same sugars, but is likely driven by elevated sugar phloem unloading and uptake capacity in mature stem internodes.

Starve to Sustain-An Ancient Syrian Landrace of Sorghum as Tool for Phosphorous Bio-Economy?

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient, playing a role in developmental and metabolic processes in plants. To understand the local and systemic responses of sorghum to inorganic phosphorus (Pi) starvation and the potential of straw and ash for reutilisation in agriculture, we compared two grain (Razinieh) and sweet (Della) sorghum varieties with respect to their morpho-physiological and molecular responses. We found that Pi starvation increased the elongation of primary roots, the formation of lateral roots, and the accumulation of anthocyanin. In Razinieh, lateral roots were promoted to a higher extent, correlated with a higher expression of SbPht1 phosphate transporters. Infrared spectra of straw from mature plants raised to maturity showed two prominent bands at 1371 and 2337 cm−1, which could be assigned to P-H(H2) stretching vibration in phosphine acid and phosphinothious acid, and their derivates, whose abundance correlated with phosphate uptake of the source plant and genotype (with a higher intensity in Razinieh). The ash generated from these straws stimulated the shoot elongation and root development of the rice seedlings, especially for the material derived from Razinieh raised under Pi starvation. In conclusion, sorghum growing on marginal lands has potential as a bio-economy alternative for mineral phosphorus recycling.

Effects of manure types on the growth and yield of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in dryland

Sweet sorghum is one of the superior commodities to increase the production of food and energy. Sweet sorghum seeds produce carbohydrates that can be processed into food ingredients, while the sap from the stems and starch in the seeds can be converted into bioethanol through fermentation processes. Sweet sorghum crops tolerant to drought and stagnant water can produce on marginal land and relatively resistant to pests and diseases. This research aims to determine the interaction between sweet sorghum varieties and kinds of organic fertilizer on the growth and yield of sweet sorghum in dryland. The research method is a factorial experiment using Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD), which consists of two factors, which is sweet sorghum varieties and manure types. The varieties which were used are Kawali and Numbu. The second treatment used is without manure, chicken manure, goat manure, cow manure, and vermicompost. The total treatment combination is ten units, and each combination is repeated three times. The research variables are plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index, fresh stover weight, dry stover weight, sap content, panicle length, number of seeds per panicle, and production per hectare. Data were analyzed using the F test with a 95% confidence level if there is significantly a difference and then followed by the DMRT method at the 5% level. This research shows that the highest production per hectare is sorghum treatments by chicken manure equal 2.64 ton/ha, and this yield is higher than all other treatments.

Initial material for the development of sweet sorghum varieties and hybrids

Sweet sorghum is an alternative forage crop in some agricultural regions of the country. It is widely used for the production of green mass, hay, haylage, grass chop, i.e. it provides the necessary complex of feed for raising farm animals and poultry. The current study was carried out in the period from 2018 to 2019 on the experimental plot of the FSBSI ARC “Donskoy” located in the southern part of the Rostov region. The soil of the experimental plot was ordinary carbonate blackearth (chernozem). The objects of study were 210 collection samples of sweet sorghum. The period ‘sprouts – full maturity’ of the collection samples varied from 80 to 127 days. The early ripening group (which reached full maturity in 80–101 days) included 61.4% (129 pcs) of the studied sweet sorghum samples. The samples ‘K-1437/2’, ‘K-1502/1’, ‘Sakharnoe 7’, ‘K-1809’, ‘Moment’, ‘Sahara’, ‘Simon’ with 82-86 days of vegetation period were identified as the sources of early maturity. According to sugar content in stem sap, the collection samples varied from 5 to 22%. There was identified high (15.1–19.0%) sugar content in 28.1% (59 pcs) of the sorghum samples and very high (more than 19.1%) sugar content in 5.7% (12 pcs) of the sorghum samples. The samples ‘K-2027/2’, ‘Orangevoe uluchshennoe 01’, ‘K-153’, ‘K-1373’, ‘Simon’, ‘Szeegedibanne’ were identified as the samples with high sugar content (21–22%). The samples ‘Bizon’, ‘Zubr’, ‘Mamont’, ‘K-668/2’, ‘SPV-441’, ‘Sacca line’, which had 14–18 leaves, were identified as the sources of high foliage. The samples ‘OS-20’, ‘Zernogradskoe 1UK’, ‘Yarik’, ‘Mamont’, ‘Leoti Red’, ‘Sacca line’ were identified according to high leaf area, exceeding that of the standard variety by 102–159 cm2.

Biomass and sugar production dynamics in sweet sorghum variety Roger

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is a crop that is well known for its high production of biomass and sugars in the stem juice. The objective of this work was to evaluate the productivity of sweet sorghum ‘Roger’ based on the dynamics of sugar production and dry biomass by considering different production methods and plant phenological stages. The experimental design consisted of different tillage and fertilization methods established in a randomized complete block design with a split plot arrangement. Tillage treatments were assigned to the plot using the three levels of minimum tillage, traditional tillage, and traditional tillage that included a subsoil operation. Fertilization treatments were assigned to the subplot using the three levels of organic fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer, and without fertilizer. Data collection was performed at different plant phenological stages from anthesis to physiological maturity. Results showed that evaluated agronomic parameters depended on the phenological stage (P < 0.05) rather than the production methods (P > 0.05). Thus, the distribution and accumulation of sugar by stem internodes was associated with plant phenological components. The highest values of the concentration of total soluble solids (14.89%), juice sugar content (22.91 g), juice sugar concentration (527.46 mg g-1 DW), dry biomass (60.04%), and dry biomass yield (19.01 t ha-1) were observed at the physiological maturity stage of the plant.

Assessing Ethanol Yield from Fermented Juice of Local and Exotic Sweet Sorghum Varieties Grown in Sudan

An experiment was conducted in 2017 at Alwaha Project, Khartoum State to study the potential of ethanol yield from fermented juice of local and exotic sweet sorghums. 40 genotypes were arranged in RCB design. Juice yield, ethanol yield as percentage of fermented juice, actual and theoretical ethanol yields were studied. The Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was used in the fermentation process. ANOVA tests, correlation and regression analysis of actual vs theoretical ethanol yield were performed. Significant differences were detected among genotypes for ethanol yields. High ethanol yields as percentage from fermented juice were obtained, but ethanol yield per hectare was relatively low due to low juice yields. The genotypes BlueRibbon and KensasCollies from exotic materials; 5AbjSG51 and S.154 Ab70 from local materials were identified as promising for ethanol production. Correlation between actual ethanol yield and Juice yield was positive and highly significant. Regression analysis indicated that theoretical ethanol yield was little bit overestimated. It was concluded that juice yield is more crucial than ethanol concentration in maximizing ethanol yield of sweet sorghum. More efforts are needed to develop high juice-yielding genotypes. Juice maximization can also be achieved by using efficient milling devices and optimizing cultural practices.

Bioethanol Production from Stalk Residues of Chiquere and Gebabe Varieties of Sweet Sorghum.

Bioethanol produced from renewable resource has potential to solve environmental pollution and to satisfy the need of demand and supply. It favours the use of nonfood lignocellulosic materials. Ethanol produced from plant materials can sustain the economy by reducing cost of imported petroleum, emitting neutral CO2. Moreover, it enhances the economy by providing value added market opportunities for transportation and agricultural sector. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate bioethanol production from stalk residues of Chiquere and Gebabe varieties of sweet sorghum collected from West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Response surface methods with a three factor (inoculum size, pH, and dilution rate) with triplicate run by using the Box–Behnken method was referred. The experiment employed dilute acid hydrolysis, because it is an easy and productive process by treating the stalks with 4% of sulfuric acid for effective hydrolysis of substrate. Finally, the fermentation was carried out at 30°C for 72 hours on a shaker at 180 rpm by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The significance of the result was evaluated by using ANOVA, where P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. In the process, maximum yield of ethanol was obtained at an inoculum size of 5% (22.40%), pH level of 4.0 (21%), and dilution rate at 10 ml (21.46%). Very low yeast inoculum size and dilution factor have positive effect on the yield of ethanol, whereas very high dilution rate produced negative impact on ethanol production. FTIR spectroscopy peaks associated with O-H, C-O, and C-H stretching vibrations confirmed the presence of ethanol obtained from sweet sorghum stalks. The results of our study indicated that, being available in bulky amounts and nonedible material, sweet sorghum stalks can serve as potential feedstock for bioethanol production in developing countries such as Ethiopia.

Biological Characteristics and Productivity of Sweet Sorghum Varieties in the Arid Conditions of Southeastern Kazakhstan

Biological Characteristics and Productivity of Sweet Sorghum Varieties in the Arid Conditions of Southeastern Kazakhstan