Prospect of Sorghum as a Biofuel Feedstock
2015
d bellmer | p srinivasa rao | w z lizarazu | a monti
P Srinivasa Rao, W Z Lizarazu, D Bellmer, A Monti, 'Prospect of Sorghum as a Biofuel Feedstock', Series on Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Crop Plants, pp.303-330, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis), 2015
Show more [+] Less [-]In this chapter we review the genetic variability and related agronomicperspectives of sweet sorghum. These characteristics are mainlypresented and discussed taking in mind quantitative and qualitativetraits of sweet sorghum as a multipurpose feedstock. The recentremarkable expansion of bioenergy crops, encouraged by favorablebiofuel policies, has boosted intensive research programs worldwideon the use of sweet sorghum as feedstock for food, fodder, energyand in other industrial applications. In energy terms, sorghum is theonly feedstock where ethanol can be produced either through grain,sweet juice, syrup or biomass, in other words having relevance to fi rst,second and third generation biofuels. As a row crop, managementpractices developed for other conventional crops under a wide rangeof agro-climatic conditions can be easily adapted to cultivate sweetsorghum, thanks to its versatility and low input requirements. However,harvesting, transportation from fi eld to processor and processingremain as past and present unsolved problems. Moreover the largediversity in traits, important for biofuel production, opens up excellentopportunities for sweet sorghum improvement through traditionalbreeding and modern molecular tools. In general biofuel candidatetraits present across the sorghum genus are governed by multiplegenes, and both additive and dominance components of gene actioncan be exploited while breeding for high stalk sugar and juice yieldinggenotypes. In order to take full advantage of all carbohydrate forms itwould be advantageous to develop specialized cultivars that allow asingle process to utilize all plant components for liquid fuel production.However, more focused research in this area may aid in enhancing theeconomic viability and environmental sustainability of sweet sorghumvalue chain
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