Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is dual purpose cereal crop with high quality grain and fodder. It can be grown throughout season and shows tolerance to draught which facilitates the rain fed cultivation. For Semi Arid, it is the economically viable and suitable crop.
Sorghum grain has very important value in human food. It has great potential in the present health awareness scenario due to gluten free, slowly digestibility, good source of fiber, antioxidants, minerals and many health benefits. Sorghum grains are also utilized as poultry feed. Sorghum provides nutritive green and dry fodder to feed cattle and has potential to reach fodder shortage due to high growth rate. Dairy industries are fast growing in the state, so that there is a demand for valuable fodder because of green fodder is an economic source of nutrients for the dairy animals.
In Gujarat state, under cash crop scenario for cotton, castor, pigeon pea, sugarcane, groundnut etc., the cultivation of cereal crop including sorghum are decreasing in kharif season under high input system. Thus sorghum is mostly grown under low input system by poor and marginal farmers on poor fertile soil and on totally under low rainfall area with less fertilizer and other inputs like improved seed and without adopting scientific methods of cultivation. Due to cultivation in low input system, productivity and ultimate economic return is low as compared to cash crop. Thus there is need to motivate farmers for cultivation of sorghum in high input system and utilization of improved high yielding cultivars with adopting scientific cultivation practices.