Breeding Advancements of Sorghum in Europe

The ability of sorghum to survive in harsh environments makes it an attractive alternative to maize in Europe. Sorghum is tolerant to drought and high temperatures but is susceptible to cold temperatures. The demand for this crop is expected to increase on the continent due to an increase in nutrition-related diseases and changing climate conditions. According to the IPCC report, the northern parts of Europe are expected to experience short-term gains from the changing climate, while the southern parts are expected to experience largely negative effects. Sorghum grows reliably well in marginalized areas. The crop also has a high nutrient density, which has various positive health effects. Broomcorn sorghum is most widely grown in Europe. The production of grain sorghum and high-biomass sorghum is also increasing. Many research projects on sorghum have been undertaken globally and in Europe to improve its adaptation to temperate environments. The collaborative sorghum conversion program that started in the 1980s between the Tropical Agriculture Research Station (TARS), USDA, ARS, S&E and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) converted tall photoperiod-sensitive sorghum from tropical regions to dwarf photoperiod-insensitive sorghum. This allowed for desirable characteristics from tropical lines to be transferred to locally adapted sorghum varieties through conventional and modern breeding methods. Many achievements have been made in improving cold tolerance, heat tolerance, drought tolerance, perennial breeding, and nutritional enhancement. This review provides a brief history of sorghum cultivation in Europe, sorghum production and productivity status, sorghum utilization and importance, existing/existed collaborations between Europe and the rest of the continent on sorghum improvement, sorghum germplasm collection, and the extent of genetic diversity among sorghum germplasm utilized. This review provides a thesis of field and screen-house evaluations and “omic” studies conducted on four sorghum varieties (broom-corn, grain, sweet/high biomass, and forage sorghum) against some of the important temperate sorghum production constraints. The body of research included in this review serves as a baseline for further research focused on enhancing sorghum adaptability to European environments.