Lost Crops of Africa Volume I: Grains (1996) / Chapter Skim
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8 Sorghum: Subsistence Types
8 Sorghum: Subsistence Types
Pages 145-158
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From page 145... ...
The other, equally huge, runs north to south covering the drier areas of eastern and southern Africa from the Sudan to South Africa (see map, page 1311. The recent past has not been kind to these two vast regionsespecially the first.
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From page 146... ...
; · Resistance to insects (particularly headbugs) ; · Resistance to molds; and · Tolerance of bird pests and striga, a parasitic plant that is an impossible pest in certain regions.3 In addition to the agronomic qualities mentioned above, subsistence sorghums have been carefully selected for features that affect the appearance, texture, taste, preparation, or shelf life of traditional foodstuffs.
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From page 147... ...
SORGHUM: SUBSISTENCE TYPES 147 Scratching a living in Nigeria's dry northern region, a farmer plants seeds in soil turned to dust. Sorghum s adaptation to a wide range of such marginal conditions is an enormous asset in a crowded world.
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From page 148... ...
· The plants tend to be tall and lanky and have a low harvest index.6 · The plants flower toward the end of the rains, thereby helping the grains escape fungi and sucking bugs, which are prevalent while the rains persist but disappear during the dry months that follow. 4 Information based on Carr, 1989.
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From page 149... ...
NEXT STEPS Actions to open the vast and promising future of subsistence sorghums include those discussed below. Sharing Varieties7 As noted earlier, truly outstanding sorghums can be found throughout Africa.
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From page 150... ...
`111111111111111- ~ -~iSiSiSiS~S:SiS:S~SiS~S~SSS~S~SSSSSSS~S~S~SSSSS~S~S~S~S~S~SSS~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~SSSS~:s:~.~s.s:s~s:s~s~s~s:s:sis~s~s~s:s~sssss~s~::s~s~S~SsS~S~SsS::~ ~1~t Burkina Faso. Sorghum farmer inspects his maturing crop.
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From page 151... ...
For example, it is not for nothing that West African farmers grow sorghum plants wide apart. The crop is an excellent scavenger of nutrients and will grow successfully in soils in which maize fails completely, but it must then have room to develop large root systems.
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From page 152... ...
"Hot spots" have been identified for many traits of economic importance. Midge, for example, is constantly severe at Sierra Talhada in northeast Brazil; Busseola fusca is severe at Samaru in northern Nigeria.
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From page 153... ...
Raising Pest Resistance Among the traditional sorghums of the tropics are some with good resistance to foliar diseases and excellent tolerance to most of the indigenous insect pests. However, to maintain this happy position, research must be continued, especially on the use of systemic insecticides against borers and shoot-fly.'3 Unfortunately, the natural resistance is closely related to the amount of phenolic compounds (particu '2 Information from S
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From page 154... ...
Any `'improved" materials lacking striga tolerance could be catastrophic to farmers in areas where this parasite is serious. A striga plant produces tens of thousands of seeds, each of which can remain viable for a decade or more.
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From page 155... ...
Easing the Burden of Handling The amount of hand labor needed to prepare the land, control the weeds, and scare away the birds is a serious limit to sorghum production in African subsistence farming. These are significant barriers to increased production.
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From page 157... ...
(The starch gel collapsed overnight.) The sorghum program in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali currently uses small diagnostic tests to evaluate advanced breeding materials for toh keeping quality.
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From page 158... ...
Sorghum caffron~m
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