Sugar Production From Sweet Sorghum as Affected by Planting Date, After‐Ripe Harvesting, and Storage¹

Abstract

‘Rio’ sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) was available for sugar processing at Meridian, Miss., from the latter part of August until freezing temperature occurred, usually in November. Stalks were harvested at weekly intervals after the seeds were ripe from plantings made on April 15, May 15, and June 15. Yield of stalks and sugar were similar for the April 15 and May 15 plantings, but the yields of stalks and sugar were significantly lower for the June 15 planting. Harvesting after the seeds were ripe had no affect on yield of stalks, extraction, or purity. Brix and sucrose decreased significantly when harvested 3 and 4 weeks after ripe, respectively. Stored stalks from each planting and harvesting period showed no significant sucrose inversion after 24 hr and no serious inversion after 48 hr in outdoor storage.

Effect of Planting Date and Density on Insect Pests of Sweet Sorghum Grown for Biofuel in Southern Florida

“…While Almodares et al (1997) reported that sweet sorghum planting date had no effect on brix value or sucrose percentage, all yield parameters at the Jun planting date were less than at the Apr and May planting dates. Similar results were reported by Erickson et al (2011) in Florida, Broadhead (1969) in Mississippi, and Teetor et al (2011) in Arizona. This yield reduction in Florida was likely due to increased disease pressure, exposure to flooding rains as seedlings, photoperiod effects, and decreased insolation during the growth period due to cloud cover in the later plantings.…”

“…In Mississippi, yields of 'Rio' sweet sorghum were lower when planted in June as compared to Apr and May (Broadhead 1969). In California, cultivars matured faster and yielded more at Davis, California than in Salinas, California (Hills et al 1990); however, percent sucrose was greater in Salinas making up for some of the fermentable yield loss.…”

Agronomic aspects of future energy crops in Europe

“…In contrast to hemp, late harvest of sweet sorghum leads to reduced energy yields (reduced brick and sucrose contents) so the best time for harvesting sweet sorghum is immediately aft er the seeds are ripe. 74 As annual crops, hemp and sweet sorghum fi t well into crop rotations where they may serve to control weeds, diseases, and pests. 21,[75][76][77] Moreover, the deep root systems of both crops favor a more complete and deeper use of soil resources improving the overall effi ciency of a cropping system.…”

A flood-free period combined with early planting is required to sustain yield of pre-rice sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolorL. Moench)

“…The following data were recorded at physiological maturity stage (Broadhead, 1969). Days to harvest of control and all flooding treatments were also recorded.…”