OAR@ICRISATMechanization of sweet sorghum production and processingISrinivasauthorR VAdakeauthorB V SReddyauthorG RKorwarauthorChRavinder ReddyauthorBVenkateswarluauthorADangeauthorMUdayakumarauthorSweet sorghum is a unique multipurpose crop and of late widely promoted as biofuel crop. Its ability to produce grains for food/feed and stalks for fuel/ feed makes it one of the popular choices in the dryland regions. This crop is now widely grown in many of the countries as a feasible biofuel crop under different climatic conditions because of short its growing period and low water requirement (Soltani and Almodares 1994) as compared to sugarcane. When compared to other biofuel crops, sweet sorghum is best suited for ethanol production because of its higher total reducing sugar content (Huligol et al. 2004). Further, its suitability for mechanized crop production, seed propagation and higher ethanol production capacity of sweet sorghum have drawn the attention of researchers. The bagasse from sweet sorghum after the extraction of juice has a higher biological value in terms of micronutrients and minerals than the bagasse from sugarcane when used as animal feed (Seetharama et al. 2002). It can also be processed as a feed for ruminant animals. The crushed stalk contains similar levels of cellulose as sugarcane bagasse, and therefore is a good prospect as raw material for pulp and briquette making (for fuel purposes). Many attempts were made to use sweet sorghum for ethanol production in a centralized model of crushing the stalk for juice at the industry level. However, this model had some difficulties as the raw material availability was restricted for small period in a year apart from the problems of transportation of stalk from the farmer’s fields to distillers.SorghumAgriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics2013International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid TropicsBook Section

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