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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Drought-resistant Sorghum is Back in the Reckoning -Rahul V Pisharody

Drought-resistant Sorghum is Back in the Reckoning -Rahul V Pisharody

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published Published on Aug 9, 2014   modified Modified on Aug 9, 2014
-The New Indian Express


HYDERABAD: If the unimpressive spell of southwest monsoon across the state continues, the government, which seems proactively making a sustainable crop choice for cultivation by having declared a soil survey, might well want to work towards revival of droughtresistant crop sorghum, which once used to be one of the largest cultivated dryland crops in the region, feel scientists at the Directorate of Sorghum Research. DSR, a central agency under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) notes that sorghum provides multiple opportunities to the state to lead the country. "Our state relies on monsoon and irrigation to cultivate rice, maize and cotton and ignore millets including sorghum which should be the sustainable choice considering the heat, dry and loose soil or lack of monsoon and irrigation," said JV Patil, director of DSR. DSR has been able to achieve a record highest productivity of 90 quintals per hectare in the fields of Tenali in the undivided state. Not only for highly nutrient content in grains, Telangana can be the sorghum seed capital, he observed. "In Nizamabad, we produce the best quality of hybrid sorghum seeds and sell it across the country, especially northern India," he noted.

PROMOTION: So as to promote consumption of this drought-resistant grain, DSR has also partnered with fast-moving consumer goods majors, including Britannia, ITC and eight other companies, to provide assistance in research and development (R&D) and promote sorghum-based products in the country. B Dayakar Rao, principal scientist, centre of excellence and millets value chain at DSR, said that millet cultivation has proved to be profitable in all previous droughtlike situations. "Profitability, marketability and awareness have been low and through our ‘Eat Rite' brand of sorghum products, we have been proving the commercial viability of cultivating sorghum," he pointed out. At present, only parts of Adilabad, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Rangareddy and Nalgonda cultivate Sorghum. "Up to 70 per cent of about Rs 35 to 40 which consumer pays for a kilogram of sorghum goes to the farmer. Our studies have proved that sorghum is the best choice for crop rotation and inter-crop cultivation," said Dayakar Rao. Looking at a demand-based research, DSR had launched in 2011 various sorghum-based ready-to-cook and ready-toeat products, including multigrain and sorghum atta, pops, rawa, roasted flakes, vermicelli, cookies, and pasta under its brand ‘Eat Rite'. "Any dish made with rice can now be made with sorghum. We have retrofitted the machinery to suit sorghum. MoUs with at least 15 firms have been signed and around 100 clusters across the country function with our technology," said Rao. High Yield In 2012-13, United AP stood fourth in the country in terms of area cultivated, fourth in terms of total production and second in terms of yield per hectare. Sorghum grain is used for food requirements and industrial requirement, fodder, and seed production among others.


The New Indian Express, 8 August, 2014, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/Drought-resistant-Sorghum-is-Back-in-the-Reckoning/2014/08/08/article2369453.ece


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