Sorghum
Sorghum
Scientific name: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
English name: Sorghum.
Bangla/Local names: Dedhan, Jowar, Kasajonar, Kurbi
Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1981)
| Kingdom | :Plantae |
| Division | :Magnoliophyta |
| Class | :Liliopsida |
| Subclass | :Commelinidae |
| Order | :Poales |
| Family | :Poaceae |
| Genus | :Sorghum |
| Species | :S. bicolor |
Figure: Field View of Sorghum
Botanical Description of Sorghum
Habit: Annual herb,
Root: Tap root system
Stem: Erect, solid, having node and internode.
Leaf: Simple, alternate, sessile, divided into two parts- leaf-sheath and leaf-blade, at the junction of leaf-sheath and leaf-blade auricle and legume are present. The leaf-sheath and stem are glabrous with waxy bloom.
Inflorescence: Panicle with primary, secondary or tertiary branches.
Flower: Spikelets are spared one sessile and hermaphrodite, the other pedicellet and male or sterile.
Figure: Sorghum Flower
Perianth
Androecium: Stamens 3, anthers 3-4 mm long, yellow.
Fruit: Caryopsis polished, broadly elliptic, 2- 3 mm long, red or reddish-brown, embryo 1 mm long.
Figure: Inflorescence of Sorghum
Figure: Sorghum Spikelet
Chromosome number: 2n=20
Economic Importance: Itis one of the major grain crops for human food throughout the drier areas of Africa and India. The fodder varieties are used widely for feeding cattle and horses. The stalk are used for Stover, roughage.
Figure: Grain Sorghum
Type of sorghum (according to International Board of Plant Genetic Resources)
- Bicolor sorghum
- Guinea sorghum
- Caudatum sorghum
- Kafir sorghum
- Durra sorghum