HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE SORGHUM IN RWANDA

Sorghum native from Africa is domesticatedfrom wild sorghum (S. arundinaceum) northeastern quarter of Africa (A. Demissie, 2004; University of Florida SS-AGR-333,2013) Some authors use Egypt as the origin of sorghum referring to the fresco found on the tomb of Amenembes built at least 2,200 years before the Christian Era represents a form of

sorghum. However, Piedallu looking at the way the fresco represented farming technique used to harvest flax and by also saying that the grain of sorghum has been used commonly as food by the poorer classes. He denied the presence of sorghum or he think that sorghum may have been grown and used in Egypt without having been represented in the tombs of the kings, who used wheatfor bread and linen for clothes. Piedallu’s book traces back sorghum by a carving taken from the palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh (Nineveh, ancient city of Assyria, located on the banks of the River Tigris in what is now Mosul, Turkey ) confirming that Sorghum existed 700 BC (United states department of agriculture Washington, D. C, July 1936)

Sorghum belongs to the grass family Poaceae (or Gramineae), the subfamily Panicatae, the tribe Andropogoneae and the genus Sorghum Moench. Sorghum is classified under five basic races. The race Bicolor sorghum arose from the domestication of Aethiopicum verticilliflorum complex some 3,000 to 5,000 yearsago, from Ethiopian borders extending westthrough Sudan and up to Lake Chad. Bicolorsorghum has spread across much of the oldsorghum growing world including India. It isthe likely progenitor of the kaoliongs of China. The race guinea arose more than 2,000 years ago from bicolor with possible

interaction with the wild race arundinaceumin the high rainfall areas of WestAfrica. The guinea is now the dominantsorghum of West Africa but has spreadalso around Tanzania and Malawi. The racecaudatum also possibly evolved frombicolor. Today, the caudatums are mostabundant from East Nigeria to easternSudan and southward into Uganda. The race durra was selected from early bicolor that had moved into India some 3,000 years ago. With Arab migration the durra moved into Ethiopia around 615 A.D., and is today the dominant race in India, Ethiopia, the NileValley of Sudan and Egypt. Race kafir was probably derived from bicolor but there is also evidence of association with the wild race verticilliflorum. The kafir is found primarily in eastern and southern Africa. Later sorghum found its way into the Americas after 1850 (U.S Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C, July 1936; M Elangovan et al., 2009).

These five races: bicolor, Caudatum, durra, guinea and kafir wereaccepted and recommend by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) Advisory Committee on Sorghum and Millets Germplasm to be classified according to spikelet alone asthe figure shows the difference (ICRSAT’s submission for the 2004CGIAR King Baudouin Award).

East Africa where Rwanda is located is not the origin of Kafir sorghum but also other crops are traced form the region like Wildfinger millet (subsp. Africana), Wadi rice (Oryza punctata) and yam (D. bulbifera and D. minutiflora) are indigenous from East Africa. East Africa also has other crops dating from long time like Pearl millet has a diffuse belt of origin extending from West Sudan to Senegal, other species of edible yams cultivated inEast Africa are introduced and include D. cayenensis (yellow Guinea yam) from West Africa and D. alata (white yam from Asia),

cowpea (Brassica carinata the Ethiopian mustard) originated in Ethiopia, chickpea, pea (Unique subspecies (subsp. Abyssinicum) developed in Ethiopia.) (DrAbebeDemissie, 2004). Rwanda evidenced the presence of cereal cultivated by the users of Ureweceramics in early Iron Age (approximately 500 BC to AD 1900) especially sorghum and pearl millet as shown by palaeo-botanical analysis of Charred seeds found at BPS036, Kabusanze (J. Giblin, 2008).

India is recognized to be the second center of origin of Sorghum with evidence for early cereal cultivation discovered at an archaeological site in western parts of Rojdi (Saurashtra) datingback to about 4500 before present after Africa we saw to be hypothesized to have been the origin and early domestication of Sorghum that have taken place around 500-8000 years ago in North-Eastern Africa or at Egyptian Sudanese border for instance EC Henley , 2011 remind the Nabta Playa archaeological site in the Western Desert, in southern Egypt, dating back to 8000 B.C.E. (ICRSAT’s submission for the 2004 CGIAR King Baudouin Award; M Elangovan et al., 2009; EC Henley, 2011).

Sorghum is the world’s fifth largest most important cereal grain dating 3000 years ago, after wheat, maize, rice and barley. Worldannual sorghum production is over 60 million tones, of which Africa produces about 20 million tones. Among the 20 million of tons Rwanda contribution in 2001 was 0.8 percent (AJ R N Taylor 2003). Sorghum is an annual C4 crop characterized by its high photosynthetic efficiency and with considerable variability in growth characteristics. Crops with a four-carbon (C4) photosynthetic pathways produce 30% more dry matter (DM) per unitof water than three-carbon (C3) crops and are more adapted to semiarid production regions. Normally sorghum is a staple crop with the ability to counterbalance production situations cultivated for subsistence as it is drought resistant and can withstand periods of water-logging. Under its diverse uses grain,

alcohol, forage for livestock feeding, biofuel can contribute to rural household food security (DrAbebeDemissie,2004).

Habyarimana et al. (2004) reported that lower plant density results in higher leaf weight per plant, higher grain weight per panicle and higher tillering ability. The seed rate varies from 3kg/ha in very dry areas to 10-15 kg/ha under irrigation. For drier or less fertile conditions, wider spacing and lower plant populations are usually optimal. For favorable conditions, row spacing of 45-60 cm and plant-to-plant spacing of 12-20 cm, giving populations of about120 000 plants per ha, are normal. In terms of water requirement sorghum can tolerate environment with 250mm of rainfall which maize cannot tolerate, as sorghum is plant of hot, semi-arid tropical, it can also perform well with more than 900mm annually while in Rwanda the rainfall range in 800-1600mm (F. TWAGIRAMUNGU, 2006). Sorghum is suited for heavy clay soil (vertisols commonly found In tropics) and can work perfectly in light sandy soil, Rwandan soil range from Vertisoils, peat soil, ferro soil and histosoils (F. TWAGIRAMUNGU, 2006), sorghum torelate a wide range of temperature, except temperature below 12-15°C duringthe floweringperiod, the Rwandan temperature normally range from between 16°C and 20°C but 15 sometimes is observed near Congo Nile ridge and 30°C in East and altitude ranging between 900 m at Bugarama plain and 4.507 m at Karisimbi volcano, sorghum growsin altitudes up to 2500m in the tropics.

Even if seed are sown directly to a furrow following plough, broadcasting and harrowing seed into the soil is common in Rwanda. The density of plant is reduced during weeding phase. Sorghums have an extensive root system that can penetrate 1.5 to 2.5 meters into the soil and extend one meter away from the stem.The large amount of root material contributes to the build-up of soil organic carbon after removal of the aerial parts of the plant, and can alleviate concerns about depletion of soil organic

matter resulting from the removal of stover. It grows to a heightof 50 cm to 6 m. The leaves look very much like those of maize and the number vary from 14 to 18, growing on alternate sides of the stem. Inflorescence commonly referred to as panicle varies from compact to open type. The plant is predominantly self-pollinated although crosspollination up to 25% is reported depending on the extent of openness of the panicle. The plant is propagated through sexual seed. The production in countries where sorghum is for food can reach to 0.7 tons per ha as it is produced in tradition way, subsistence and small-scale compared to the countries where sorghum is produced for animal feed, here the production is mechanized, high input and large-scale with a higher yield (ICRSAT’s submission for the 2004 CGIAR King Baudouin Award). Sorghum requires less fertilizer than corn to achieve high yield, can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions,from heavy clay soils to light sand, with pH ranging from 5.0 to 8.5. Sorghums become dormant in the absence of adequate water butdo not wilt readily and are more efficient than corn in utilizingphosphorus and potassium. These characteristics make sorghum suitable for cultivation as a crop in optimal conditions and on marginal lands. (Carla E. Shoemaker and David I. Bransby, chapter9) Sorghum comes into its own in areas where the annual rainfall is in the range 500-700 mm per year but it can withstand periods of high temperature (J R N Taylor 2003).

there are hundreds of distinct varieties, and in India and China almost as many more. nowadays is cultivated mainly for two purposes the first on is for grain dating 3000 years ago, and forforage dating last hundred years ago (SS-AGR-333). In addition tothe previous uses sorghum is used in sirup, and industrial (such as the manufacture of brooms, wallboard, etc.)

This document is SS-AGR-333, one of a series of the Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date July 2010. Reviewed February 2013. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

10 Reasons to Eat Sorghum Grain

1. Sorghum grain tastes good!

2. Sorghum grain is always whole grain whether popped as a snack, milled into flour or cooked whole as a cereal or pilaf.

3. Sorghum grain is high in potassium (350 mg/100 g) and low insodium (6 mg/100 g) therefore promoting healthy blood pressure.

4. Sorghum grain is gluten‐free enabling those with celiac disease to consume a healthy whole grain product.

5. Sorghum grain is rich in health promoting phytochemicals: phenolic acids, sterols, policosanols, and anthocyanins.

6. Sorghum grain and sorghum flour are rich in minerals: magnesium, copper, manganese, iron and zinc.

7. Sorghum grain and sorghum flour are rich in vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B‐6 and pantothenate.

8. Sorghum grain is rich in macronutrients: containing 11% protein, 75% carbohydrate and 3% total fat.

9. Sorghum grain grown in the U.S. is free of condensed tannins that may interfere with mineral absorption.

10. Sorghum grain and sorghum flour are excellent sources of fiber with 6.3 g and 6.6 g per 100 g respectively.

Around the world, many types and colors of sorghum are used toproduce various types of traditional foods and beverages. Unfermented bread, such as chapatti and roti are common in India, while tortillas are made from sorghum in Central America and Mexico. Fermented breads such as kisra and dosa are found in Africa, Sudan, and India, while injera is popularin Ethiopia. Stiff porridges called ugali, tuwo, karo, and mato are found throughout Africa, India and Central America, while thin porridges such as ogi, koko, and akasa can be foundin Nigeria and Ghana. Couscous from sorghum can be found throughout West Africa, and boiled whole or pearled sorghums are consumed in Africa, India, and Haiti. Snack foods containing sorghum are widely produced and are found in the

markets of Japan. Many types of alcoholic beverages and sour/opaque beers can be found in markets worldwide.

EC Henley, PhD, RD, LD: Sorghum, January 2011

Traditional foods made from sorghum include unfermented and fermented breads, porridges, couscous, boiled rice resembling foods, snacks, as well as alcoholic beverages. Sorghum blended

with wheat flour is used in the last two decades to produce bakedproducts including yeast leavened pan, hearth and flat breads, cakes, muffins, cookies, biscuits and flour tortillas(Badi et al.1990). Malt drinks and malt cocoa-based weaning food and baby food industries are popular in Nigeria. Hard endosperm sorghum isused extensively in South East Asia for noodles and related products (Murty and Kumar 1995). Sorghum grain is one of the major ingredients in swine, poultry and cattle feed in the western hemisphere, China and Australia (BramelCox et al. 1995), however, demand for grain sorghum in poultry feed depends largelyon the price of maize. Sorghum is also grown for forage and is commonly grown in northern India and fed to animals as a green chop, silage or hay. Sweet sorghum is used to a limited extent inproducing sorghum syrup and jaggery in India and of late it is gaining importance in the ethanol production.

ICRSAT’s submission for the 2004 CGIAR King Baudouin Award: Sorghum a crop of substance

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the most important cereal crops in the semi-arid tropics (SAT). The crop was domesticated and diversified in Africa before moving to other parts of the world and continues to play an important food security role in Africa. Since sorghum originated in Africa, it is uniquely adapted to Africa’s climate,being both drought resistant and able to withstand periods of water-logging.

Catherine W. Muui, Reuben M. Muasya and Duncan T. Kirubi: Participatory identification and evaluation of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) landraces from lower eastern Kenya. August, 2013.

REFERENCE

United states department of agriculture Washington, D. C. : identification, history, and distribution of common sorghum varieties, Technical Bulletin No. 506, July 1936.

John Giblin: New Work on the Later Archaeology of Rwanda 2006 to 2007: A Preliminary Fieldwork Report, 2008.

DrAbebeDemissie,EAPGRENCoordinator: Regional strategy for the ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources in: Eastern Africa, 2004

Carla E. Shoemaker and David I. Bransby, The Role of Sorghum as aBioenergy Feedstock chapter 9

M Elangovan, Prabhakar, Vilas A Tonapi and D Chandra Sekhara Reddy: Collection and Characterization of Indian Sorghum Landraces National Research Centre for Sorghum (NRCS), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030, Andhra Pradesh 2009

J R N Taylor 2003, overview: importance of sorghum in Africa, Department of Food Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.

Dr. Fabien TWAGIRAMUNGU: Environmentalprofile Of Rwanda, 2006