Regeneration of biological resources from the tropical BRC in Montpellier, France S. Vancoppenolle © CIRAD

Sorghum

Thanks to its plasticity and wide range of forms (phenotypes), sorghum can be integrated into many cropping systems in tropical and temperate zones. Furthermore, it remains a vital food crop for people in arid and semi-arid tropical regions. Its capacity to provide numerous ecosystem services makes it a crop of the future. Some 20 CIRAD researchers are involved in sorghum research. Their work covers every aspect of the use of the various types of sorghum, from the design of sustainable, input-saving cropping systems to the creation and dissemination of new varieties better suited to current and future environmental constraints and market demand.

CIRAD is involved in international and national sorghum research programmes

CIRAD's research fits into the following frameworks:

a global partnership coordinating operations at the main international research institutions on sorghum production in Africa.
platforms in partnership for research and training (dPs).

Appraisals

Advice on choosing varieties in line with specific objectives and production conditions
Advice on organizing and implementing participatory breeding programmes in partnership with producer groups
Research project assessments
Advice on producing quality seed in tropical zones
Analyses of grain technological quality and composition
Analyses of the biochemical composition and food quality of straw and whole plant biomass
Analyses of stem anatomical diversity and optimization of biomass processing.

Expertise

Biodiversity and exploitation of genetic resources

Genetic resource management, analyses of gene diversity and flows, molecular biology, ecophysiology, varietal creation and breeding
Seed production, including F1 hybrid seed.

Optimization of production

Agricultural engineering for cropping system design
Cropping practices and fertilization
Weed and pest control.

Crop models

Samara: plant stand growth and yield elaboration simulator, depending on genotype and biophysical constraints: support of the design of varietal ideotypes and of varietal assessments in target agro-climatic environments
EcoMeristem: plant growth simulator on the scale of an organ within a plant stand: the smallest biological scale considered by the model aims to pinpoint and understand the processes that determine the plasticity and diversity of phenotypes depending on their abiotic environment; for instance, the model is used to aid the phenotyping (to analyse genetic control) of complex traits (biomass, sugar and grain production), which it is able to break down, and the exploration of varietal ideotypes that optimize the combination of those elementary processes in a given environment.

Optimization of processing techniques

Grain processing techniques and product quality
Image-guided biomass conversion.