Sweet sorghum a promising bioenergy crop-phenotyping reference set for sugar content

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal in the world. Grows, mainly in semi-arid tropics and subtropics, with an annual production of 56.5 million tons from 41.5 million ha in 99 countries (http://faostat.fao.org/). The genus Sorghum belongs to family Poaceae subfamily Panicoideae and tribe Andropogoneae. Soaring prices of fossil-fuels and resulting environmental pollution has increased worldwide interest in biofuels as an alternative source of energy. Through its pro-poor BioPower Initiative, ICRISAT has identified sorghum as a promising bioenergy crop. Sorghum yields eight times more energy in the form of bioethanol than is consumed for its production, thus empowering dryland farmers to fight against climate change. Sweet sorghum is similar to grain sorghum but with a sugar-rich stalk. Stalk juice is used to produce bioethanol, and the residue is nutritious and good for livestock feed