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manual for sweet sorghum. by Li Guiying, Gu Weibin, Alastair Hicks and Keith R. Chapman. EcoPort version (revised) by Peter Griffee. Contributor:Keith Chapman QA and TEM Miscellaneous Published item Free form Table of Contents Display Full eArticle

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[EcoPort Picture] Abstract This manual is an output of the FAO Project TCP/CPR/0066 "Development of Sweet S orghum for Grain, Sugar, Feed, Fiber, and Value-Added By-products, in the Arid, Saline-Alkaline Regions". This project was designed to help provide an alternati ve crop for the arid and saline/alkaline areas of northeast and northwest China where traditional summer crops such as maize and cotton are failing through lack of water or excess salinity and alkalinity. The manual was prepared by Li Guiying Dr./Associate Professor, Institute for App lication of Atomic Energy, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Gu W eibin Dr./Associate Professor, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Alastair Hicks Senior Agro-industry Post Harvest Officer FAO/AGST/RAPG Ba ngkok Thailand and Keith R. Chapman Plant Production Officer Industrial Crops FA O/AGPC/RAPG Bangkok Thailand. The English version was prepared following the sug gestion of Mr. Chapman (representing the project's Lead Technical Unit) and this Internet version was revised and expanded by Peter Griffee, Senior Officer, Ind ustrial Crops FAO/AGPC/Rome, Italy. There is a Foreword and Acknowledgement followed by 9 chapters: Ch. 1. Introduction to the Project FAO/TCP/CPR/0066 Part I. Cultural Practices and Breeding: Ch. 2. Biology; Ch. 3. Cultural Practic es; Ch. 4. Genetics and Breeding. Part II Comprehensive Utilization: Ch. 5. Ethanol Production from Stalks; Ch. 6. Sugar Production; Ch. 7. Ensilage; Ch. 8. Agro-ecosystems and Ch. 9. Other Uses . Table of Contents Foreword and Acknowledgements by Li Guiying and Keith Chapman. Ch. 1. Introduction to the Project. Part I. Cultural Practices and Breeding. Ch. 2. Biology. Ch. 3. Cultural Practices. Ch. 4. Genetics and Breeding. Part II Comprehensive Utilization. Ch. 5. Ethanol Production from Stalks. Methods of Ethanol Production; Liquid Fermentation.

Single Concentration Continuous Fermentation; Continuous Fermentation of a F ixed-yeast Fluid-bed System and Distillation. Appendix I: Pelletizing Machine for Yeast Cells Immobilized Carrier Producti on and Appendix II: Sugar Analysis. Ch. 6. Sugar Production. Ch. 7. Ensilage. (1). Ch. 7. Ensilage. (2). Ch. 8. Agro-ecosystems. Ch. 9. Other Uses. Ch. 10. Further reading. Foreword and Acknowledgements by Li Guiying and Keith Chapman. Return To Table of Contents Foreword: Sweet sorghum is a variant of and closely related to other grain sorghum crops. Sweet sorghum mainly differs from grain sorghum ('broom corn') in that its stalk s are taller and juicer and it has a higher sugar content. It reproduces by seed and produces tillers, but it has no rhizomes. It is a perennial grass under tro pical conditions, but it is killed in areas where winter frost occurs. It can be used for many purposes: grain is used as food, juice for producing alc ohol; stalks are used as silage or fodder; the fiber of the stalks is one of the best materials for making high quality paper, etc. It is very important that sw eet sorghum be developed, especially in the reconstruction of rural plantation s ystems in China. In recent years, the energy crisis and environmental pollution have become more and more serious, which has affected our daily life in China. So more and more c ountries have begun to attach great importance to sustainable green energy, such as biomass energy. Sweet sorghum is such an ideal alternative. With the increasing price of gasoline, the Chinese government has put the develo pment of sustainable green energy firmly on its agenda. A large-scale alcohol pl ant producing 800,000 tons per year has been approved for construction in North East China. And in Hunan province, the local government has introduced new regul ations to produce new environment-protecting mixed fuel-ethanol that should be u sed in place of traditional gasoline from January 1, 2001. In Beijing, experimen ts are being done to use alcohol-gasoline as a car fuel. Some car producers are speeding development of new cars that use alcohol or gasoline-alcohol as fuels. However, the higher cost of alcohol production is one of main constraints to the extension of new alcohol-gasoline and this is yet to be solved. Generally, alco hol is produced with corn or dried sliced sweet potato or yam as raw materials. Selection of crops with high yield and low cost is essential to cut the producti on cost of alcohol. It is known that sweet sorghum is a C-4 crop with a very high photosynthetic rat e. There are two sinks (grain and stalk) for biomass and the crop has great prod uction potential. Sweet sorghum is a known high-energy crop. In addition, sweet sorghum is very nutritional, and makes good quality fodder. W ith the national economic development and improvement of living standards, the n eed for milk and/or meat products is increasing. However, with decreased areas o f available land, competition for grain and feed is becoming more and more inten sive. If we use sweet sorghum as an animal feed, more grain (maize in particular ) could be saved and the stress on land and environment would be somewhat allevi ated.

Development of sweet sorghum will play an important role in promoting agricultur al food production, livestock husbandry, energy sources, sugar and papermaking e tc. In order to further develop sweet sorghum in China, the Food and Agriculture Org anization of the United Nations provided funds for the project 'Development of S weet Sorghum for Grain, Sugar, Feed, Fiber, and Value-Added By-products, in the Arid, Saline- Alkaline Regions'. This project was designed to help provide an al ternative drought/salinity tolerant crop for the arid and saline/alkaline areas of Northeast and Northwest China, where traditional summer crops such as maize, cotton etc. are failing through lack of water or excess salinity and alkalinity. Sweet sorghum will form the base for livestock feed especially in Northwest Chi na, where grazing is banned to prevent advancing desertification. During the project, numbers of training courses were held. To help share this kn owledge and experience in China with sweet sorghum, this English version of the Training Manual was prepared at the suggestion of Keith Chapman, FAO/AGPC/RAP In dustrial Crops Officer (the Lead Technical Unit) from FAO in Bangkok. Acknowledgements: The authors sincerely acknowledge the materials produced for this manual by the Brazilian international consultant Dr. Carlos Coelho de Carvalho Neto, the Natio nal Consultants Zheng Qicheng, Zhang Chunshen, Liang Hanping and Wang Junmu. We sincerely acknowledge the funding and technical assistance of FAO and especia lly the support of the FAO Representative and Mr. Sun Yinhong, the key programme officer, FAO Office, Beijing. We also sincerely acknowledge the support and encouragement of the Chinese Acade my of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the Institute for Application of Atomic Ener gy, Beijing and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Beijing. Ch. 1. Introduction to the Project. Background: FAO's hands on involvement with sweet sorghum in China began in 1997 with the co -sponsorship of the First International Sweet Sorghum Conference held at the Bei jing Botanical Garden. Sweet sorghum is basically a sugar crop. In 1997, the per capita use of sugar in the world was 212 kg, while it was only 5.6 kg in China, where 1,2 million t of sugar had to be imported every year. No sugar crop is grown in the 20 provinces along the valleys of Yellow River and Yangtze River; however these areas are ap propriate for growing sweet sorghum. Compared with sugarcane, the main advantages of sweet sorghum are as follows: it s growth period is short, and in areas with a long growing season it can be harv ested twice a year; while the growing season of sugarcane is usually 8-12 months . Sugarcane is propagated from stem cuttings needing 4,500 to 6,000 kg/ha of can e, while sweet sorghum is propagated with seed; 4.5-7.5 kg/ha of seed is enough. The quantity of water needed by sweet sorghum is only 1/3 of that needed by sug arcane. Experiments in Inner Mongolia showed that the net return of sweet sorghu m is twice of that of sugar beet. Aridity and the saline/alkali problems are serious constraints to food productio n in China. Therefore, a crop that not only produces food, feed, fiber and energ y but also adapts to the dry climate and saline-alkali soil is needed. Recent re search and demonstration showed that sweet sorghum is such a crop and it meets t Return To Table of Contents

hese parameters. The agro-ecological and industrial system of sweet sorghum can promote the devel opment of production, livestock farming, and processing industries and produce m any jobs. A great labour surplus exists in rural areas of China, estimated from 0.1 billion to 0.15 billion. The farmers have difficulty finding jobs and there is poverty in the mountainous regions and arid, saline-alkaline areas, especiall y among women in rural areas. Therefore the sustainable development of agricultu re and rural economy in these regions is a prime long-term objective. The arid land, in Huang Huai Hai region and NorthWest China, has serious salinealkali and salinization problems. The total area of saline-alkaline and salinize d land is about 1733 million ha. In badly affected areas, crops germinate with g reat difficulty, grow slowly and this results in poor harvests. Often complete c rop failures occur. These adverse conditions constitute serious obstacles to foo d and forage production and food security in China. To demonstrate and develop sweet sorghum production and make comprehensive use o f it in processing, in the arid and saline-alkaline regions, FAO provided techni cal assistance under the Technical Cooperation Project TCP/CPR/0066. The Institute for Application of Atomic Energy, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences has been engaged in studies on introduction and breeding of new varieti es of sweet sorghum for over 30 years. Several new varieties with high yield and added adaptability to adverse environments have recently been developed. This h as been largely due to the 'champion' of sweet sorghum breeding Prof. Li Dajue. The new Government strategy has opened up an opportunity for these Academies to further develop this work and apply the new technologies. However, there were still specific gaps in the agronomic and processing technolo gies, which the project addressed. Technical and financial support was needed to establish pilot scale testing, and popularization of production and comprehensive utilization of sweet sorghum in arid-and salinized regions. It is for this purpose that assistance from FAO was sought. The families of these regions urgently needed the alternative crop techn ology both in crop production and multi-use. At the end of the FAO-funded project (2001-2003), sweet sorghum was popularized on a large scale with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministr y of Science and Technology of China. The total growing area is expected to reac h 500,000 ha by 2005 to 2010, with the help of the improved knowledge, technolog y, and experience gained from the project on the practical production and utiliz ation of sweet sorghum. Objectives: Overall Objective: To stimulate and develop sweet sorghum production and comprehensive utilization in two arid, saline-alkali regions of China as the first steps towards income ge neration, job creation and poverty alleviation and environmental protection in l ine with stated Government strategies. Specific Objectives: Train technicians in the techniques of growing and managing sweet sorghum as wel l as its processing and livestock feeding.

Train local farmers in two regions with typical arid and saline-alkaline charact eristics, making use of demonstrations of the growing and utilization of improve d, new varieties (or hybrids). Develop a model for production and comprehensive utilization for future extensio n to 3-5 other similar regions in China. Part I. Cultural Practices and Breeding. Part I covers Chapter 2 - Biology: Botanical Characters; (Root system, Stalk, Leaf, Flower hea d and Grain), Biological Characteristics; (Seedling, Elongation, Earring and blo oming and Milking and ripening) and Environmental Requirements; (Soil, Moisture, Temperature, Day length and Radiation). Chapter 3 - Cultural Practices: Preparation of Soil; (Spring sowing and Summer s owing), Fertilizer Application; Sowing; (Seed treatment, Sowing time, Seeding ra tes and Sowing methods), Field Management; (Breaking hard soil, Gap filling, Thi nning, Tillage and Hilling, Topdressing, Watering and drainage, Harvest and Stor age for forage and sugar, Storage methods, Pest control, Diseases - rust and ant hracnose, Insects - aphids and snout moth, Others. Chapter 4 - Genetics and Breeding: Genetics of Some Agronomic Characters of Swee t Sorghum; (Juice, Sugar content, Stalk texture, Plant height, Variation coeffic ients, Yield and sugar content), Sweet Sorghum Breeding; (Breeding objectives, A pproaches, Hybridization, Handling progenies, Pollination techniques, Heterosis, Induced mutations). Ch. 2. Biology. Return To Table of Contents Botanical Characters: It is a single-stemmed grass (a cereal crop) reaching a height of 1-5 m. Sweet s orghum is usually taller than grain sorghum. The Root System: Sweet sorghum has a strong root system and a layer of heavy disilicicate covers the epidermis of the root. As the root grows to maturity it forms an entire sili con column which provide it with enough mechanical density during a drought peri od to prevent the root system from collapsing. It has fibrous, spreading roots and consists of a primary, secondary and support ing roots. The primary root is developed from the seed embryo. It is the only em bryo root produced by the seed during germination. Before the production of seco ndary roots, the primary root is the main organ by which the plant absorbs nutri ents and moisture from the soil. Prop roots may grow from culm nodes. There is a bud at each node from which a tiller may grow. The only temporary root in sorgh um is the single radicle of the germinating seedling. Mature roots of sorghum ar e all adventitious. Those permanent roots have numerous branched lateral roots i nterlacing the soil in all directions. The system may extend to at least 1.5 m a way from the plant, and is most abundant in the top 90 cm, although it may exten d to twice that depth. One of the important factors affecting water use and drought endurance must be t he effectiveness of the root system. While the primary roots of maize and sorghu m are equally extensive, sorghum possesses twice as many secondary roots as maiz e at any one stage of growth. Return To Table of Contents

After the plant produces 3-4 leaves, secondary roots grow out from the base of t he stalk node near the soil surface. During the period from germination to senes cence, secondary roots constantly play the role of supplying moisture and nutrie nts, and become the permanent roots. Development of the root system is affected by the soil and moisture conditions. In porous soils the root system is well dev eloped. In dry climates, the number of secondary roots is less, but they grow de ep in the soil, so can absorb the moisture in the bottom layers of the soil, and convey strong drought-resistant ability. Supporting roots are also called air r oots. Air roots grow out from the first to fourth nodes as the base of the plant . They grow thicker than underground roots and are tougher and more tensile and, after reaching the soil, they may form strong support roots. Plants produce mor e or less supporting roots depending on environmental conditions and varieties. As well as supporting the plant they absorb nutrients and moisture in the soil. Hilling or earthing-up of the plants with soil make the supporting roots fully p erform their function, and strengthen lodging resistance. The stalk: After emergence, a single, erect nodose culm is rapidly produced, however, under certain conditions tillers will grow either from the base of the plant or from internodes. Once mature, the fresh stems are 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter and can con tain 5-15% sugars. Culms, sometimes with spaces in the pith, are 0.6-5 m tall, d epending on variety (mainly), soil fertility, temperature and daylength and grow ing conditions. The stalk of early ripening varieties is shorter than that of la te varieties. In higher latitudes, the daylength is longer and the growing stage is correspondingly prolongued, so the plant is taller. Therefore, when sweet so rghum is introduced to lower latitudes nearer the equator, the plant will become shorter, while plants introduced to the higher latitudes become taller. See Fig. 2.1: Sweet sorghum plants and stalk sections of an individual plant. The stalk has about 10-20 clearly protruding nodes. In general, the internodes a re shorter at the base and longer in the middle. In the upper part internodes gr adually become short but the terminal node spacing (the internodes under the fla g leaf) is longer. The base is always thicker than the top. The thickness of bot h is not uniform, and in some varieties differences are very large. Therefore th e diameter between the two joints at the middle part of the stalk is measured. S ee Table 2.1 & 2. (Characteristics of some sweet sorghum varieties). A leaf is produced from every node. The node has a vertical groove on the side w here the leaf grows. In the groove there is an axillary bud. Certain varieties h ave no vertical groove and no obvious axillary buds. Axillary buds are generally dormant. During the tillering stage the base generally produces 1-5 tillering b uds; in general, they are shredded in time. After the seed has ripened and the s pike has been harvested, the upper part of the stalk will sprout 2-3 new buds. A fter growing out 1-2 leaves, every new bud may flower immediately. After the grain spike has been harvested and the stalk has been cut, the dormant bud of the stubble can also grow into a tillering stalk. With good management t hese tillers can grow into new plants. The growth period of new plants is shorte r as the carbohydrates accumulate quickly since the root system is already well established. The yield of stalk and seed may be considerable. In some regions wh ere the growing period is longer, the crop can be harvested twice. On the outside of the stalk there is thick membranous tissue, which is very hard . On the inside it is filled with pith. Most of the sugar is stored in the pith. The epidermis of the stalk is covered with white waxy powder. When the climate is dry, the waxy layer prevents moisture evaporation from the plant and when the stalk is waterlogged, the white waxy powder can prevent the water from entering

the stalk. Therefore sweet sorghum is not only a drought-resistant crop but als o is resistant to water-logging. The weight the stalk varies widely among variet ies and with plant density, environment, and growing conditions. The proportion of stalk after stripping the leaves is generally in the range 60-80% of weight o f above ground parts and depends on the variety, cultural practices, and especia lly the density of planting. The Brix (total soluble solids) of the juice in the stalk depends on the variety and is affected by the environment and harvest tim e, and varies from 7-24%. Even in the same variety, juices of different plants h ave different Brix levels. (See Table 2.1 & 2.). The main use is lies in the sugar content in the stalk. Therefore, in the select ion of varieties, the sugar content is the main economic character. If the main intention is to use the plant for sugar, the variety selected should have a high sugar content; and the less starch and aconitinic acid that the stalk contains the better. If it is used to make wine or alcohol, the amount of reducing sugar and starch do not matter because all can be use as materials for fermentation, t o produce alcohol. The leaf: Leaves are opposite-decussate and consist of the sheath, blade and tongue or lig ule. The sheath is very long and adheres closely to a major part of the internod e. The blade is broad, strap-like, dentate and the surface is smooth and covered with a waxy powder which plays a role in reducing evaporation. In dry condition s, the leaf blade will roll up into a tube, reducing the exposed area and thus c utting down the loss of moisture. Leaves are 30-135 cm long and 6-13 cm wide. As every node produces one leaf, the number of leaves on a plant is equal to the number of nodes. The leaf number va ries with different varieties and different latitudes. For sweet sorghum cultiva ted in higher latitudes the number of leaves will increase as the daylength is l onger and the vegetative growth is prolonged. Conversely, the number of leaves w ill be reduced in lower latitudes nearer to the equator. The first leaf of the young seedling is the smallest and leaf size increases gra dually to the maximum in the middle of the plant and becomes gradually smaller. The place where the largest leaf is situated is called the "leaf seat". The leaf seat of the largest leaf is usually between leaves 5-13 (from top to bottom). T he leaf seat is closely related to the growing period of the various varieties a nd to yield. The lower the leaf seat, the longer the growing period and the high er the yield. In a well managed crop a leaf area index of between 4 to 6 will occur in one to two months after germination and a total of approximately 22 leaves will be prod uced. The average weight of the fresh leaves of a single plant varies in the ran ge of 150-250g. The leaf has a high content of protein and thus a high forage va lue. The Flower Head: The flowers are grouped in an apical panicle formed by several reddish spikelets . After the panicle has grown out from the flag leaf sheath it begins blooming a t once. The top small spikes bloom first, then, successively, those at the middl e followed by those at the lower part. After blooming and pollination, sweet sorghum enters the grain development stage through the 'milk ripe' stage and 'wax ripe' stage to maturity. The form of the spike varies depending on different varieties. Among the varieties, there are l oose spike forms, side loose spike forms and compact spike forms. There are mult iform spikes, such as 'Mer 72-3' and 'Sart' which show a club form; 'Cowley' sho

ws a spindle form; 'MN 4055' and 'Tracy' show a tube form, etc. The proportion o ccupied by the fresh panicle weight in the total biomass of the whole plant is 5 .60-19.67%. Generally speaking, the variety with a high yield of stalk has lower yield of seed grain. It may be possible to breed varieties with high stalk and grain yields. In 'multi-purpose' varieties of sweet sorghum high levels of sugars are maintain ed even during grain filling with none, or very little, of the carbon in the sug ars being translocated to the grains. Therefore, in these varieties flowering is of commercial importance if the seeds are to be used for beer or flour making. In addition, as seed based propagation is the primary method for planting, flowe ring is essential. See Fig. 2.2: Different kinds of spikes of sweet sorghum. The Grain: The grain is an oblong caryopsis which consists of the seed coat, testa, endospe rm and embryo. The shapes and colours of seeds are very varied and are covered b y glumes that may or may not be removed by threshing. There are round, flat-roun d, oval, ellipse shapes etc. The colours include white, light yellow, pink, brow n, red-brown, dark brown etc. As the testa contains tannin, it tastes a little a cid. Tannin can neutralize alkalinity, so if the seed is sown in alkaline soil, it can locally reduce the disadvantageous effect of alkalinity on its germinatio n. See Fig. 2.3: The different colors and shapes of seeds of sweet sorghum. In general, the seed of sweet sorghum is smaller than that of grain sorghum; the thousand-seed weight is about 21g varying between 16-28g. (25,000 to 61,740/kg for sweet and grain sorghum; 120,000 to 159,000/kg for grass sorghum). Despite t he ability to ratoon, seeds provide the main method of propagation. One or more tonnes of seed per hectare may be produced by sweet sorghum. The thousand-seed weight of sweet sorghum cultivated in the Beijing area is high er than that of the original imported seed showing that sweet sorghum is adaptab le to North China; however, it must ripen before the frosts arrive. Biological Characteristics: Sweet sorghum has well defined growth and development stages. The vegetative gro wth stage comes before differentiation of the young spike. During the node forma tion ('jointing') stage, vegetative and reproductive growth proceed simultaneous ly, and there is a three-fold height increase. The growth and development stage is generally divided into 4; i.e. seedling, elongation, earing and blooming and the milk and ripening stage. The Seedling Stage: The time from germination to the beginning of jointing is the seedling stage. During seed germination there must be sufficient moisture, oxygen and suitable t emperatures. Sweet sorghum sown in spring, when the temperature is lower, genera lly will emerge in 7-10 days. When sown in summer, when the temperature is highe r, it emerges 2-3 days after sowing. After producing 3-5 leaves, the tiller will grow out from the leaf axils. The du ration from emergence of seedling to tillering is about 30 days. Most varieties of sweet sorghum have a higher tillering ability than that of grain sorghum. The highest tillering variety is 'Brandes' where one plant will produce 4-7 tillers

. The varieties with high tillering ability can be used for grazing. However, it should be stressed that the excessive tillers must be broken off to avoid the a dverse affects on normal growth of the main stalk. If sweet sorghum is used as raw material for making sugar or wine 1-2 tillers pe r plant are generally left and the others broken off. This allows the stalk to g row thicker and taller. The stalk size is even; the plants ripen together and re sist falling-over. If it is used as forage the plants are left to tiller natural ly and when the plants grow to excessive density some of tillers will become ine ffective. Sweet sorghum grows slowly in the seedling stage, and needs little more water an d fertilizer. When basal manure is applied before sowing, the plant will not be short of nutrients at this stage. However, the completion from weeds can be seri ous and should be controlled. The Elongation Stage: About 47-55 days after seedling emergence the plants enter the jointing/elongati on stage and the leaf surface area expands quickly and the plant rapidly elongat es. The time varies among varieties. For early-ripening varieties such as 'Itali an' it lasts only 30 days; while for a late-ripening variety, such as 'MN 1500' it lasts as long as 74-90 days. The difference between the two varieties is 2-3 fold. The longer the jointing stage lasts, the taller the plant grows and the yi eld of stalk will be higher. During the jointing stage the differentiation of th e young seedling is also proceeding. The differentiation of the spike of early-r ipening varieties starts earlier than that of late-ripening varieties. The elongation stage of sweet sorghum is the key plant growth stage. Good cultiv ation and management during this stage is vital and will directly affect the yie ld of stalk and seed. Earing and Blooming Stage: After booting, it produces the final leaf or the flag leaf. After about a week i t then begins earing, and after 2-5 days it blooms. The flowers open gradually f rom the higher to lower part and from the outside to the inside of the spike. Ea ch flower takes about one hour from opening to closing. Sweet sorghum is an out crossing crop. Therefore, during breeding of improved varieties and seed product ion each variety must be isolated in order to prevent different varieties mixing and subsequent varietal degeneration. Blooming is the time when it needs maximum water. Therefore sufficient water mus t be ensured, especially with varieties which are in full-bloom during hot summe r days. Irrigation should particularly be applied during blooming if needed. The Milk and Ripening Stage: The ripening process can be divided into three: the milk, the wax and the mature -ripe stages. Milk stage: After completing pollination, a part of the nutrients is stored in t he stalk of sweet sorghum and another part is transferred to the seed; therefore , the dry matter content is continuously accumulating in the seed, and the thous and-seed weight is rapidly increasing. At milk stage the embryo in the seed is f ull of endosperm. When the seed is pressed/broken with a fingernail some milky w hite thick liquid will emerge. Wax stage: The moisture in the seed is reduced quickly and the dry matter is red uced, the fresh weight is decreased and the seed hardens. When the seed is press

ed no thick liquid but a waxy paste exudes. Mature stage: The seed becomes dry and hard, the accumulation of dry matter reac hes a maximum and the seed shows the color and quality of the particular variety . From blooming to ripening takes about 30 days and the time varies with the var iety. Environmental Requirements: Soil: Sweet sorghum has a wide adaptability to different soil types. It can be cultiva ted both in sandy loams and in clay soils. However, like most crops, it produces best when cultivated in fertile soils. A major characterstic of new varieties u sed in the FAO project is their tolerance to saline-alkaline soils. The ideal pH range is 5.0-8.5. Moisture: The root system is well developed and penetrates deeply in the soil. The white w axy powder on the surface of stalks and leaves reduce transpiration. Under dry c onditions the leaves will naturally roll up to reduce transpiration and strongly enhance drought resistance. The "stay-green" effect The plant can grow better t han maize in dry conditions. It also has a strong resistance to waterlogging esp ecially in its late growing stage. Although it has drought resistance, it still needs adequate water in order to gr ow and develop as the stalk and leaves contain a lot of water and juice. It norm ally needs more moisture than grain sorghum but breeding is narrowing the gap. See Fig. 2.4: Sweet sorghum grows much better than the maize in arid conditions. Temperature: Sweet sorghum was originally produced in tropical zones where it can be cultivat ed in all seasons, so it needs higher temperatures. In sub-tropical and temperat e zones, it can be only be cultivated once per year. Different varieties of swee t sorghum need different temperatures varying between 20-35oC. The lowest temper ature for germination is 8-10. After blooming it requires a large difference in temperature between day and night, which benefits the accumulation of sugar in t he stalk and nutrients in the seed. From sowing to ripening of seed, different varieties need different accumulated heat unit day degrees days above 10oC. The earliest ripening varieties 'Italian' and 'MN 4055' only need 1500 degree days. The mid-season ripening varieties suc h as 'Rio', 'Wray', and 'Keller' need about 1800 degree days. Late ripening vari eties 'theis', 'M-81E', 'Cowley' need about 2000 degree days. The latest ripenin g variety 'MN 1500' needs 2300-2500 degree days. This factor needs to be taken i nto consideration when introducing breeding material. Daylength: Sweet sorghum is a short-day crop. Different varieties need very different day l engths. Long-days benefit vegetative growth. Short-days benefit reproductive gro wth. Therefore, in low latitude zones, with short days, most varieties of sweet sorghum have lower biomass yields. It is necessary to select the genotype suitab le to the local daylength conditions to achieve good harvests. The harvest time can be also adjusted through selection of various genotypes and appropriate management of the sowing season. These measures must be part of the

production plan for any given locality. In some regions where the growing season of crops is shorter, early-ripening var ieties should be the varieties to be introduced. In some regions in South China where the growing season is longer, some late-ripening varieties insensitive to daylength such as 'Cowley', 'M-81E' and 'Theis' etc. should be selected for intr oduction. Adjustment of sowing time can help in regenerating forage sweet sorghu m in order to prolong the harvest time. This helps to fully utilize the equipmen t and installations in sugar production and alcohol production to raise the econ omic benefit. Radiation: Sweet sorghum is a C4 ess does not saturate ditions combined with tic and translocation igh biomass yields. metabolism tropical grass in which the photosynthesis proc at normal solar radiation levels. High solar radiation con higher growing temperatures (to facilitate the photosynthe processes) and with adequate moisture, will produce very h Return To Table of Contents

Ch. 3. Cultural Practices.

Sweet Sorghum is a crop with wide adaptability and high yield. However, to achie ve this it is essential to develop cultural practices suited to local conditions . Soil Preparation: It can adapt to a wide range of soils. However, it is better that the soil is ri ch in organic matter, of good structure, deep, with good drainage and good water holding capacity. (Note from FAO: The following does not embrace the concept of Conservation Agric ulture (CA), including 'no till' and it is highly recommended that CA practices be considered). Soil Preparation for Spring Sowing: There is sufficient time for soil preparation in winter fallow fields before spr ing sowing. In general, preparation of soil including plowing and harrowing is c arried out once in winter, spring and before sowing. There are 3 aims: First, cu ltivation improves the physical tilth of the soil, making the soil porous, well aerated and permeable. Second, cultivation may increase the soil moisture-storag e, especially in arid regions, by removing weeds and providing surface mulch to remove evaporation loss, especially important in saline-alkaline soils. Third, t hrough winter plowing the roots and stubble remaining in the field are broken up and incorporated and weed and insect pest and plant diseases are reduced. In sa line-alkaline areas, after plowing and evaporation capacity is reduced, the sali nity rise is controlled. In addition, since the permeability is improved, once t he rain is begin, the saline content may be reduced by leaching thus benefiting survival and development of the seedling. The depth ploughed is fixed according to the depth of the soil, but is generally about 20 cm. Cultivation lifts the bottom moisture to the soil layer ploughed. For survival o f the seedling, before sowing, the soil should be appropriately ploughed shallow ly and harrowed finely, in order to give a fine tile and moisture for the emerge nce seedlings. Soil Preparation for Summer Sowing: When sown in summer, the previous spring/winter crop may be wheat, barley or rap

e. The schedule is tight from reaping the previous crop to preparing soil then t o sowing and the preparation must be done in a short period. In this period, the temperature is higher and rainfall is less and the evaporation ratio is higher. If stored soil moisture is inadequate it is important where possible to give on e irrigation after harvest of the previous crop and before final harrowing for s owing. Fertilizer Application: Adequate basal application of fertilizer is one of the important measures for yi eld increase of sweet sorghum. Organic fertilizer is the main basal application used in China and this includes manure, human excrement and urine, miscellaneous indigenous manure, compost made of stalks and green manure etc. Sweet sorghum g rown with basal fertilizer is strong, its leaves are dark green, has more grains in a single spike, and the thousand-grain weight is higher. In general, the bas al fertilizer applied is 60 t/ha. If no application of basal fertilizer is made, the plant is small, and 2-3 leaves of the lower part may become withered and ye llow, the grain number per spike is reduced, and the yield decreased. Organic manure is the main one and chemical is the subsidiary. Basal phosphate a pplied in proper proportions is an effective method for yield increase. It is in advisable to apply nitrogen excessively; though the stalk yield stalk can increa se, the content of sugar is lowered, and the plant can not be used to make cryst allized sugar. The amount of phosphate fertilizer applied is based on the conten t of available phosphorus in the soil. If the content is 5-10 ppm, then, the amo unt of calcium super phosphate applied should be 300-375 kg/ha. If the content i s less than 5 ppm, then, the amount applied should be 450-525 kg/ha. For side dr essings applications the ratio N, P and K fertilizers should be appropriate for the soil content of these elements. It is better to increase P and K fertilizer while N fertilizer could not be more than 375-450 kg/ha. Sowing: Seed Treatment: In order to raise the germination rate and ensure a full stand of plants it is i mportant to treat seeds before sowing: 1) Seed selection: In order to raise the rate of germination and emergence, it i s essential to eliminate the thin, small, injured, moth-eaten and mouldy seeds a nd select bigger and plump seeds. 2) Drying the seeds eliminates the dormant state of the seeds and promotes physi ologically early maturing. Seeds may be dried in the sun naturally or in a venti lated place. Especially sun drying can increase the permeability of the seed epi dermis to water and air, and increase the viability and germination rate. The ge rmination rate can be increased 5-10% with sun drying. The seed after drying in the sun can quickly absorb the moisture in the soil, expand and germinate quickl y, and the seedling will emerge well and usually 1-2 days earlier. 3) Germination test: The result of a germination test is an important basis to f ix the sowing rate. The germination rate tested in a laboratory is generally hig her than that in field. Also, the seedling emergence rate is often lower than th e germination rate in field. Sowing Time: The sowing time of sweet sorghum should be fixed based on the temperature and mo isture of the soil. The lowest temperature for germination of sweet sorghum is 8 -10oC. With lower temperatures seedlings emerge slowly. In general, a temperatur

e of 12oC at 5 cm deep is better for spring sowing. If the temperature of the so il is too low, the seed takes a long time to germinate and seedlings emerge slow ly, and easily become mildewed. If too late, the temperature in the soil is high er; however, the emerging rate is lower because of the serious lack of moisture in the soil. Moreover, if sowing too late, the temperature is high, the seedling s grow fast and the vegetative period is shortened and the plant grows slim and delicate, with lower yield. The soil moisture content is also one of the bases f or fixing the sowing time. The best time for sowing is when the temperature in t he surface soil is over 12oC, and the moisture content is between 18-20%. Summer sowing of sweet sorghum should be carried out immediately after reaping t he previous crop when the soil moisture content is better, especially if the pre viously crop is wheat. Planting Rates: The sowing rate depends on the germination, the quality of soil, soil moisture c ontent, climate and the variety. In general, the sowing rate is more than that o f grain sorghum per unit area. The sowing rate of big seed is more than that of small. The sowing rate in rushed sowings (for the better soil moisture) is more than that of sowing at an ideal time. The quantity of seed sown in spring is mor e than that sown in summer. If the germination rate is over 90%, the sowing quan tity of seed is about 7.5 kg/ha and in these cases, a full stand of seedlings is ensured. If early sowing, and temperature of the soil is lower, or there are in jurious insects in the soil, the rate should be increased. In addition, the sowi ng rate is depending on the use to which the crop is to be put. If the aim silag e the rate should be increased to 12.0-15 kg/ha. Rational close planting is important to fully utilize the soil fertility, moistu re and sunshine, to produce bigger spikes of more plump grains and higher yields . The principle of rational close planting means that in fertile well-watered la nd spacing should be closer than in infertile arid land. In general, the row spa cing is 50-70 cm, and the plant spacing is 15-20 cm (varying with variety). Sowing Methods: Generally, drill, seeders and dibblers are adopted for sowing. In some regions, drill seeding can not be conducted, so broadcast sowing is done. With either dri ll seeding or broadcast sowing, the soil covering the seeds must be pressed tigh t. If the soil moisture content is higher, the covering soil may be pressed late r. If the soil moisture content is lower, it should be pressed immediately after sowing; otherwise the moisture may be reduced with evaporation, thus impairing germination and emergence of seedlings. After summer sowing, the growing period available is short. After reaping wheat, the temperature is usually high and conditions dry, it is very important to rus h-sow. These are the methods used: 1) Inter-cropping. Interplant wheat with sweet sorghum about 15 days before reap ing the wheat, dibble the seeds in the rows along the ridges of wheat, 4-5 seeds hole, at a depth of 3-4 cm, the spacing is about 20 cm. 2) Dibbling in soil with better soil moisture content. If the soil moisture cont ent is better, the seeds should be dibbled in rows and the suitable number of pl ants is 60,000-75,000/ha. 3) Cultivating and transplanting seedlings. Early sowing and transplanting of se edlings can prolong the growing stage, achieve high yield and give a bumper harv est. Transplanting of seedlings can ensure a full stand compared to direct sowin g, and plants can ripen 10-15 days earlier. It is better to begin cultivation of

seedlings 15 days before reaping wheat and transplant the seedlings. The ng age will then be 20-30 days, with 5-6 leaves. If transplanting a large the seedling cultivation should be conducted by stages in order to ensure hose older than 20-30 days are not used as the yield will be reduced. The ngs should be watered 1-2 days before transplanting, promoting new roots, t a high survival rate can be achieved.

seedli area, that t seedli so tha

The bud sheath of white grained sweet sorghum is shorter so its ability to push up the earth is weak. Therefore, as well as good preparation of the soil for moi sture retention, the sowing should not be too deep. If the soil is a clay loam, 3 cm is best, in a sandy loam it should not exceed 5 cm. See Fig.3.1: Land preparation for mechanised sowing of sweet sorghum and Fig.3.2 : Manual sowing of sweet sorghum. If sweet sorghum is used for silage, its regenerated (ratooned) plants can be us ed. Every internode has an axillary bud, especially on the base, where they are densely distributed. After harvest these buds will quickly grow into new plants. To harvest more regenerated plants, the selection of varieties with a short gro wing stage is important; and sowing is carried out early. The field management a fter the first harvest involves application of fertilizer, watering and inter-cu ltivation for eliminating weeds to create good conditions for growth and develop ment of regenerated plants, accelerating axillary buds to grow quickly. Only two axillary buds on each plant should be retained, if more are kept their growth a nd development will be weaker. Many varieties are not hybrids and can be used for many years; but it is outcros sed. Therefore, different varieties cannot be planted together for retaining see ds. 500 meters is needed in order to avoid natural hybrids. One early variety an d one late variety can be planted together if their bloom periods do not corresp ond. If not, every spike should be bagged during the bloom period. Field Management: Field management includes sowing through the growing stage until harvest. The ma jor activities of field management are thinning seedlings, weeding, fertilizing, irrigation etc., in good time in order to ensure the plants grow and develop no rmally. Timely prevention and control of plant diseases and pests are also impor tant for achieving high yield and good quality. Breaking Hardened Soil: It may rain before seedling emergence causing the ground to crust with high sunl ight and stimulating weeds. If so, the field should be harrowed in order to brea k the soil crust, decrease weeds and increase soil temperature and decrease plan t diseases. This harrowing should be carried out next to the rows and not too de ep. Checking and Filling Gaps with Seedlings: 1) Re-sowing. After sowing, there are often gaps in the rows caused by deficienc y of soil moisture, low quality of the seeds or soil pests. Therefore, after eme rgence of seedlings, field checks should be conducted. Where the gaps in seedlin gs are found they should be re-sown. The seeds should be soaked in hot water bef ore re-sowing to accelerating germination. If the soil moisture content is defic ient, it should be watered, re-dibbled and covered with soil after the water ful ly permeates the soil. Accelerating germination is important to make seedlings o f approximately the same size. 2) Replanting. Gaps should be replanted in time and before the seedlings produce

5-6 leaves. Early replanting can increase t on a cloudy day or in the afternoon of a g should be selected from where they grow, If the soil moisture content is deficient, ting in order to ensure survival. Thinning of Seedlings:

survival rate. It is better fine day. The seedlings for strongly and should have no it should be watered before

to replan replantin disease. transplan

In order to avoid gaps and select the best seedlings during final thinning the c rop is often over-sown. The number of seedlings can be several times more than t hat those needed. Crowded plants hamper growth and development of the young; the refore it is important to conduct thinning of the seedlings at the right time. 1) Early thinning. Early thinning will reduce undesirable competition for nutrie nts and moisture. Thinning should be conducted when plants have 2-3 leaves. 2) Final thinning is done at the 4-5 leaf stage. During final thinning a uniform interplant spacing should be kept. Strong seedlings of same size should be reta ined as far as possible. 3) Accelerate and restrain the growth of seedlings. After final thinning the gro wth of seedlings should be accelerated. Application of fertilizer and more water ing should be made to the small and weak plants, accelerating the growth of thes e plants of second and third classes to become strong seedlings as soon as possi ble. The main role of restraining the growth of seedlings is to properly control the growth of the aerial parts, accelerate development of the roots and make th e young plants grow healthily and strongly. Restraining the growth of seedlings is mainly used in spring sowings. After raking the earth, the plants become dwar fed and strong and thus resist lodging. More support roots produced will lead to an increase of yield. Summer sown sweet sorghum grows rapidly with high temperatures. The seedling sta ge is only about 30 days; the whole growth and development period is short, so m anagement should be aimed at promoting strong growth. Inter-tillage and Hilling: Inter-tillage is very important for regulating the moisture and heat in the soil and promoting development. Growth is slow during the young seedling stage, and is endangered by weeds. Inter-tillage eliminates the weeds, reduces the consumpt ion of moisture and nutrients, improves the ventilation and sunlight penetration and controls the spread of diseases and pests. After rain, it is more important to conduct inter-tillage in time, promoting evaporation of the moisture in the soil and raising the soil temperature. Moreover, it can cut off the root hairs, control excessive growth of the stalk and leaves, stimulate the occurrence of a lot of secondary roots; enhance the absorbing capacity of the roots, making the plants grow sturdily with thick and dark green leaves. During the late growing s tage, inter-tillage not only plays the role as hilling to support the plant but also reducing water-logging, controls weeds, and creates a fine soil environment for the succeeding crop. In general, inter-tillage should be conducted 3-5 time s during the whole growing and development stage. Top dressing: To achieve high yields of stalk and sugar, top dressing should be conducted at t he correct time. In general, the basal fertilizer is an organic one of slow-rele ase, which the plant absorbs slowly. Sweet sorghum needs more fertilizer during the booting and heading stages. The fertilizer for top dressing should be quick acting in order to replenish nutrients, especially in young ear stage, which is also the vegetative and reproductive stage.

If there is more fertilizer available, the top dressing can be applied in 3 stag es: 1; after final thinning. The fertilized applies to weak seedlings should be more than that on others, the quick-acting fertilizer is urea at 38-75 kg/ha. 2; before or after jointing, promoting differentiation of the young spike at 150-2 25 kg/ha. 3; in the earring stage at 38-75 kg/ha. If fertilizer is limited, the topdressing can be conducted once with 150-225 kg/ha before or after jointing. T o achieve high yield, it is better to top dress at 150-375 kg/ha. For summer sow n sweet sorghum, rush-planted based on the better soil moisture content, the app lication often can not be done in time, as the growing and development stage is short, therefore topdressing with a quick-acting nitrogenous fertilizer is more important. Watering and Drainage: During the whole growth and development stage, it needs suitable moisture in the soil. Although it has resistance to water logging, if there is excessive moistu re and rainfall, it will hinder respiration of the roots, reducing absorbing cap acity and cause disease especially during the seedling stage. During the late gr owth and development stage, excessive rainfall will cause a reduction in yield. During the seedling stage, it resists drought a little. For restraining the grow th of seedlings for root development, irrigation is not conducted in this stage. However, if the soil moisture content is deficient when sowing is carried out a nd it is a long day period, irrigation is indispensable. Jointing stage is also when the vegetative and reproductive growth begin. During this period, sweet sor ghum needs much more water. If water is not adequate it will affect the differen tiation of young spike, the yield of seed grain, and the internodes will shorten , the plant dwarfs and the stalk yield is reduced. Therefore, after fertilizer a pplication, watering should be done in good time, in order to ensure differentia tion of the stalk and young spike and normal growth and development. The bud and earring period is the peak period when sweet sorghum needs water. During this p eriod, if the climate is dry and water is inadequate, the development of young s pike is affected and leads to abortion of small spikes and the flower and even e ar production may stop. The blooming stage and milk period are critical for wate r. The moisture in soil directly affects the filling, and obviously affects the spike grain weight and thousand grain weight. In this period, if watering can be done, it will increase the yield of grain. In the meantime, it will accelerate transformation of the cane sugar and its accumulation in the stalk. Harvest and Storage Methods: The harvest is different from that of grain sorghum. Both grain and stalk of swe et sorghum are harvested. The best harvest time is chosen according to both the main use aim and the maturity stage. 1) Harvest for forage: The suitable harvest period for forage is decided according to the nutrient valu e and the growth rate in different stages. If it is harvested too early, the sil age will be acid and can not be preserved for a long time due to the high water content in the stalk. On the contrary, although the yield of biomass is higher, the utilization efficiency of nutrient in the stalks is lower. There is hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the stalk and leaves and care is needed to av oid livestock poisoning. The HCN content is related to the variety and growth st age. It is high at the seedling stage and low at seed maturation. The best time to harvest for forage is during the milk ripe to wax-ripe stage. I n some areas the farmer decides the suitable time for harvesting by the color of

seed, and the best time is when one third of seeds develop the final colour. 2) Harvest for sugar production: When it is planted for sugar and alcohol production the aim for harvesting is to gain the maximum sugar products from the stalks. Therefore, the best time for h arvesting will be decided by the sugar yield. At maturity the stalk contains most sugar and this is the stage to harvest for s ugar or alcohol production. According to the tests in various regions, the peak periods of sugar content are different. Stalk sugar content is measured with a h and-held refractometer in order to harvest at the correct time. After harvesting the mature spike the stalk is left in the field to continue growth for about 520 days when the sugar content and purity reach the peak. In this case, the harv est will be a maximum one for both grain and sugar. For 1-3 weeks after harvesti ng the spike the sugar content and brix of the stalk increases. 3) Storage methods: The stalk sugar transforms after harvest so extraction must be done quickly or t here will be sugar loss and difficulty in extraction. The processing is often de layed and stalks need to be stored for a period of time. Storage Storage 00.0 24.0 48.0 changes time 45.2 44.6 44.2 up to 48 hrs % Juice extraction 19.3 14.4 74.2 20.0 14.8 73.2 20.5 14.6 71.0 % Brix % Saccharine % Purity

When it is harvested at the end of summer it cannot be storage for two days beca use of the high temperatures, and the ratio of juice extraction will decrease an d the content of deoxidized sugar will increase, which affects the quality and a mount of sugar produced. If the stalks are left standing in the field for about one month after spike harvest in the cold weather of autumn, most of the sugar i s preserved and sugar production will not affected. In humid circumstances it ro ts easily decreasing the quality of the syrup. Plant Diseases and Pests: As a whole, sweet sorghum is less damaged by disease and pests than many crops. However, different varieties have different resistance levels. Location and grow ing conditions also determine infection levels. Diseases: Sorghum smut: (Sphacelotheca sorghi). See Fig.: Head symptom of smut damaged plant. Sweet sorghum often suffers from smut resulting in no seeds. The plant is short and the spike eventually becomes black. This disease spreads in seed and soil. The general method for control is to rotate the crop over at least 3 years as sp ores can survive for 2-3 years in the soil. Another method is to mix some fungic ide with the seeds because the seed is one of main ways of spread. Diseased plan ts should be removed and burnt. Rust: (Puccinia purpurea).

Rust is one of the main leaf diseases. Mauve spots occur on both sides of the le af at the beginning. Protuberances on the surface follow and the spores will fin ally be produced and dispersed to healthy plants. It reduces photosynthesis and affects the synthesis and transportation of products. High plant density, surplu s N and bad drainage are conducive to rust development. Rust-tolerant varieties can be used with a suitable planting density. At the first stage of this disease , 40% Famished and 50% Daisen'an will be effective. See Figs: Rust Damaged leaves of sweet sorghum; (lesions and pustules). Anthracnose Leaf Blight and Stalk Rot: (Colletotrichum graminicola). Sweet sorghum is susceptible to leaf anthracnose during the seedling period and at earring which often occur in the season of high temperature and rain. It can destroy the leaf and sheath and is disseminated by seed. Tolerant varieties such as M-81E should be planted. Rotation often kills the sou rce of this disease in the soil. Seed sterilisation is effective by dipping the seeds in 50% Teijunte for about 12 hours. See Fig.: Anthracnose damaged leaf of sweet sorghum. Pests: Aphids: Aphids are among the major pests of sweet sorghum (the sugarcane/sorghum aphid Melanaphis sacchari and the maize aphid - Rhopalosiphum maidis). The sugarcane aphid is the most common. They suck the juice in the leaves and honeydew becomes scattered over their surface, becomes mouldy and black and hampers photosynthes is until a critical state when the stalk and leaves may wither. If a lot of aphi ds occur before or after earring, ear development will cease and if serious will cause sterile spikes. The occurrence is affected by temperature, rainfall, natural enemies, and occurs intermittently or seriously. In general, during the last 10 days of June and th e first 10 days of July, the mean temperature is high (over 22oC), the climate i s dry with rainfall less than 25 mm. However if the temperature is 24oC and more on an average in each 10 days, and the rainfall is less than 5 mm, then a lot o f aphids will probably occur in the late development period. The pest situation should be frequently monitored. Once found, the leaves should be removed at once. Except for the variety 'M-81E', most varieties are sensitiv e to organophosphorus pesticides. Other chemicals may be needed for control. See Fig.: Aphid damaged leaves of sorghum. The sorghum stem borer: This pest (Sesamia cretica) causes stem damage. Snout moth: The larvae damage the heart leaf. Bromicythrin spray can be used for control. If the larvae have entered the stalk several grains of furethrin can be scattered on the heart leaf. After earring, the snout moth larva may climb on the spike an d damage it. Bromicythrin spray can also be applied on the spike. Armyworms, mole crickets, cutworms etc. sometimes injure sweet sorghum but they are not usually serious. When planted in a new area, sparrows prefer to eat swee

t sorghum seeds, especially if the planting area is small. There is no really ef fective control method. One complex way is to wrap several spikes together after the milk stage. Red grain varieties, with higher tannin content may be more res istant to attack. Ch. 4. Genetics and Breeding. Genetics of Some Characters: It is very important for breeders to understand the genetic inheritance of agron omic characters of sweet sorghum in order to breed new varieties. Research on ge netics and some important characters are described. It was observed by Ashwatham a et al., 1997, that juice extraction percentage, Brix value, non-reducing sugar s, total sugars and inverts enzyme activity, etc differed significantly among ge notypes (Table 4.1) which shows that these attributes could be improved by breed ing. Inheritance of Stalk Sugar Content: Sorghum stalks can be generally divided into two types: dry - which has little j uice in the stem when plant matures and full of sweet juice. Sweet sorghum belon gs to the second. Sorghum with over 8 degrees of sugar Brix in the juice is call ed sweet sorghum. There have been some reports on the inheritance of sugar content of the stalk. N on-sweet is dominant over sweet, which is controlled by 2 'X' and 'x' genes (Ayy angar, 1936). Until now most researches on the inheritance of sugar content in s weet sorghum stalk, including research by Cheng et al., 1986, have been limited to the hybridization between sweet sorghum varieties. Sweet sorghum is character ized by small grain and low grain yield. Many sweet sorghum varieties lately int roduced from foreign countries such as Rio, Wray and Keller, although they have high biomass, their grain yield is only about 1500 kg per hectare, which is not suitable for China. Varieties with both high grain yield and high sugar content in stem juice will be welcome in order not to compete with food production. In s uch case, it is very important to understand the heredity of sugar under hybridi zation between sweet sorghum and grain sorghum involving dry stalk types. The fo llowing results were obtained in Shenyang Agricultural University. (1) Stem sugar content is a quantitative inheritance controlled by minor multipl e genes. In Table 4.2 the variance of F2 in five combinations surpassed that of the paren ts and F1, which indicated that there was wide segregation in the F2 population. The distribution of sugar content of the parents, F1 and F2 was normal (Fig. 4. 1). The sugar distribution in 'Xinliang 7', ranged from 4-9, that in Roma from 1 0-18 and in the F1 from 5.5-11.5. The distribution in F2 was wider than others, from 6 to 18.5 and mainly caused by segregation besides some environmental effec t. Sugar content was controlled by minor multiple genes. Fig. 4.2 shows the sugar d istribution of Roma and its combination with Xinliang 52. Xinliang 52 is a dry t ype without detectable sugar. The wide segregation of F2 of the combination Xinl iang 52/Roma reflected gene recombination, leading to many genotypes. Comparing the variation in Table 4.2, F2 was 10.267, Roma was 2.5415, the variation of F2 was 4 times that of Roma, and the mean sugar in F2 was 12.893 - lower than that of Roma at 14.034. Thus, the genotype controlling sugar of Xinliang 52 can be kn own from the figures and the curve of segregation in the F2. It was the same as that of Xinliang 7 with low sugar. From the above it is obvious that, if only on e parent belonged to sweet sorghum, the sugar degree of the F2 population can be measured. The sugar of the F2 population, with wide continuous variation and no Return To Table of Contents

rmal distribution, showed that sugar content is controlled by minor multiple gen es. (2) The genes controlling low sugar content was partially dominant. The sugar degrees of F1 from 3 combinations in which the parents were juicy type s were lower than the average value of their parents. For the F1 in combination, Xinliang 7/Roma, its average of the sugar degree was lower than both parents by 1.345, in other combination, Jingliang 5/Roma, the sugar degree of F1 was lower than both parents by 1.03, and F1 in the early maturing Hegari/Roma was lower t han both parents by 1.1. Therefore, their average heterosis of F1 was negative, -13.1 %, -11.2 % and 10 % respectively. This proved that genes controlling low s ugar content were partially dominant; the genes controlling high sugar content w ere recessive. (3) The heritability of sugar degree (Brix) in stalks. The broad heritability of sugar degree in three combinations, whose parents were juicy types Xinliang 7/Roma, Jingliang 5/Roma and early maturing Hegari/Roma wa s calculated through variation of their parents, F1 and F2, they were 0.65, 0.79 and 0.81 respectively and the average value was 0.75. The sugar degree of F2 wa s 12.71 and that of F3 was 12.43, the regression coefficient, b=-0.3226, and reg ression formula, a = Y-6X = 16.53. The value was significant for the regression relation, which indicated that the sugar was determined by additive gene effect. The broad heritability of sugar degree in the stem is not high, showing that the character is easily affected by environment. The effect of soil nitrogen content on stem sugar content was observed. For exam ple, for the sweet variety, Roma, which was planted in soil lacking nitrogen, it s sugar degree was over 16 degrees Brix, but in soil with rich nitrogen it was o nly 14 Brix. Because sugar Brix is mainly determined by the additive effect of genes and beca use the trait of high sugar content is recessive, high sugar content of F2 plant s can be steadily inherited. Plants with high sugar can be selected in the early generations of a breeding programme, but the growing condition should be carefu lly controlled. (4) The correlation between sugar Brix in stems and other agronomic characters. Ten plants from each combination, a total of 50 plants, were sampled to measure sugar Brix, plant height, date of blossom and kernel weight. The correlations be tween sugar degree and other characters such as 1000 kernel weight, plant height and blossom date were calculated and the correlation coefficients were -0.472, 0.007 and 0.2749 respectively. Their values indicated that the correlation betwe en sugar Brix degree and 1000-kernel weight was very significant, but that of th e other two were not. All these belonged to the correlation of phenotype because the measurements were made for the phenotypes of F2 plants. It was found that t here was no correlation between stem sugar Brix and plant height or blossom date . Significant negative correlation between sugar degree and 1000-kernel weight w as found, which showed that the plants with high sugar in hybrid offsprings had low kernel weight. This seemed to be the reason why sweet sorghum has small seed s. Research on 57 sweet sorghum varieties from China and abroad showed that only 21% of varieties had their 1000 kernel weight surpassing 20g and only 3.5 % of varieties surpassed 30g. In order to select the plants with both high sugar cont ent and high kernel weight from hybrids a large population is required. Stalk Texture:

Research by Zhongmin, 1979, showed that stalk textures of sweet sorghum could be divided into 4 groups during waxing or maturity stages: porous without juice; p orous and juicy with low sugar content (7 degrees Brix); compact juicy but low s ugar content (10 Brix degree); compact juicy with higher sugar content (>11 degr ees Brix). He also found that characteristic and colour of the leaf main veins h ad a significant relation with stem textures. The correlation coefficiency betwe en wax vein and compact and juicy characters was r=0.9251, significant at the 1% level. The correlation between mid-type main vein and porous and juicy was r=0. 7697, also significant at 1%. Under this relation, selection of plants with a wa xy main vein in the breeding programme has a higher possibility of recovering an ideal variety when breeding for dual use of grain and sugar. At least one paren t must be compact in order to get progeny with a compact stem. Plant height: Tall is dominant over dwarf stalk; i.e. crossing a tall stalk variety with dwarf one will result in a tall hybrid. In addition, strong heterosis for stalk heigh t can be found in the F1 generation (Table 4.3). Variation coefficient of some important characters: Cao Wenbo et al., 1980, working on variation and heritability of factors that bu ild sugar yield found that there are great differences in variation coefficients between different characters. Contents of starch, reducing sugars and sucrose a nd Brix have higher variation than per plant weight, plant height and juice extr action (%) (Table 4.4) which showed that the contents of starch, reducing sugar and sucrose could be easily improved through breeding. Table 4.4 showed that these characters have higher heritability with an average value of 81.55%. Environmental effects on these characters are relatively small. Among these characters, heritability of reducing sugar was highest, which shows that this character is affected by environment, and it can be easily improved b y phenotypic selection. Relationship between grain yield and sugar content of stalk: Broadhead, 1969 and 1972, thought that grain production didn't decrease with the increase of sugar yield. But six years of experiments (Cao Junfeng, 1982), show ed that there was a significantly negative relationship between grain yield and stalk sugar. His research also showed that it is possible to select varieties wi th high grain yield and higher sugar content. Sweet Sorghum Breeding: For developing new varieties it is a prerequisite that the variety should posses s a series of elite characters under the environmental, cultivation, & economic conditions of a given region. The determination of breeding objectives is the fi rst step in breeding programmes, which determines whether or not breeding work w ill be successful. Concrete breeding objectives depend not only on the purpose o f new varieties one plans to breed, but also the region, cropping system etc. in which new varieties will be planted. High yield, good quality, stability, and w ide adaptability are the common requirements for new varieties. For different en d uses in sweet sorghum the breeding objectives should be as follows: For alcohol making: high biomass, wide adaptability, high sugar content, resista nce to major diseases, suitable stalk diameter (about 1.5-2.0 cm, easily crushed ), lodging resistance, high water use efficiency. Different maturities should al so be considered in order extend the milling process. For sugar refining: apart from those characters above, sucrose content should be

high enough to yield a higher percent crystal sugar. For syrup: as for those varieties for alcohol making, and sucrose content should be low and soluble sugars such as glucose and fructose should be high. For fodder: apart from high biomass yield, wide adaptability, disease resistance , lodging resistance, etc. low CN content and regenerative ability should be inc luded. 1). Introduction and breeding by selection: Introduction is one of the common means of plant improvement, with advantages of short time and early gains etc. Introduced varieties could not only be used dir ectly in production, but are also important material for breeding programmes. Mo st of the varieties that are cultivated in commercial production were introduced from abroad; especially the United States, e.g. Rio, M-81E, Keller, BJK19 etc. and almost all new varieties developed in China are derived from these introduce d varieties. Key tips for attention when introducing varieties: - Similarity of eco-environment between original locations of developed varietie s and the target region for these varieties. Introduction is likely to be easier and successful between regions with the same latitude. Usually U.S. cultivars h ave performed well when planted in China. - Use of the changing law of agronomic characters when a variety is planted in a different region. Sweet sorghum is sensitive to sunlight. A cultivar planted in a high latitude may mature earlier than when planted in a lower latitude. So wh en introduction of a cultivar takes place from a high latitude to a low latitude , a later maturing variety is a better choice, and vice versa. For example, Rio is mid maturing and 300 cm tall but when planted in Hainan Island with short sun light, it becomes early maturing, and the height decreases to less than 200 cm. - It may result in great loss if a disease or pest is brought in with an introdu ction from another country. New varieties should be officially introduced to qua rantine to avoid problems. - Experiment before planting a large area. It is high risk to introduce a large amount of seeds at one time without prior testing. - Domestication or selection. A new species or cultivar may not accustom readily to a new environment, but after years of domestication and careful selection it may be survive and grow well. Introductions may be not suitable for direct use in production because of impurity or other factors. In this case, selection of g ood plants among its population may be needed. A new variety Yuantian No 1 deriv ed from a Rio population (See Fig. 4.3 and Fig. 4.4) is an example. 2). Breeding by hybridization (Cross Breeding): Significance of cross breeding: Cross breeding is the most common means of improving crops. The characteristic o f the parents can be combined into the new variety. In nature variation appears after natural pollination which is the foundation of biological evolution. Throu gh cross selection and evaluation, not only new types of lines with the merits o f two parents are produced, but also new lines with characters that don't exist in the two parents can be obtained. Crossing is just one means of promoting gene recombination. Hybrids recovered af

ter crossing are heterozygous, and genes will segregate and recombine. It is nec essary for breeders to select and purify the desired types during segregation an d combination, then do a series of experiments for checking their productivity, quality, resistance to adverse stresses, adaptability, etc before officially rel easing for production. In order to achieve the concrete breeding objective, and make full use of the cr eative characteristics of cross breeding, it is prerequisite to make a detailed breeding plan, which includes breeding objectives, choice of parents, planting a nd crossing plans, and ways of handling the resulting progenies. Choice of parents: Parents should have more elite characters than shortcomings. Desired and undesir ed characters can be complemented. It is better to take a local elite cultivar a s one parent due to its better productivity and adaptability. Parents with diffe rent origin or belonging to different ecotypes can more easily result in a bette r variety due to possible larger genetic diversity. Parents should have high combining ability. Not all varieties with elite charact ers are good breeding parents. Parents with both desired characters and higher c ombining ability have a higher possibility of producing a successful variety. Crossing methods: Which one is to be the female and which one the male?; How to use more parents? etc. are important factors that affect the breeding efficiency. a). Single cross: A single cross is a cross between 2 parents, written as AB or A /B, is used when 2 parents have enough elite characters and their desired and un desired characters can be basically complemented. Attention should be paid to re ciprocal crosses to exploit all differences. b). Multiple cross: A multiple cross involves 3 or more parents, and 2 or more c rosses. Generally a single cross between two parents is made before another cros s with the third parent, and if necessary, more crosses may be needed in a parti cular sequence. There are several of methods used in multiple crosses, such as a 3 way cross, A/ B/C; double cross, A/B//C/B (cross between two single crosses A/B and C/B); a 4 way cross, A/B//C/D, A/B/C/3/D (crosses in sequence) etc. c). Multiple parental pollination: One parent is pollinated with mixed pollen of different parents. This cross is seldom used in sweet sorghum breeding. d). Backcross: A backcross is a cross between a hybrid and one of its parents. T his cross is frequently used in sweet sorghum breeding especially in sterile lin e breeding. Handling of hybrid progenies: (Fig 4.5). a). Pedigree method: The pedigree method is the most common method of handling t he progenies. A plant is selected from the first segregated progeny (F2 for sing le cross, F3 for multiple crosses), and then seeds from each single plant are so wn in one row, which is called as a plant row, or a pedigree. Single plants are selected in the better pedigrees until a pedigree with stable desired characters is found. Then yielding trials begin until officially released. b). Bulk method: Breeding material is sown by combination; the first selection i s not made until more than 80% of plants in the advanced generation are homozygo

us, around F6-F7. The followed generation will be pedigree or plant lines and go od lines are chosen for advanced experiments. c). Derived line method: F2 or F3 derived lines are populations coming from a se lected single plant of F2 or F3. Selection is made in the F2 or F3 generation; d erived F2 or F3 lines are advance generation after generation without selection of single plant, but yield test is done for every line for reference, and lines with obvious shortcomings are culled until important characters don't segregate (F5-F6). The best single plants are then selected in the best lines which are so wn by plant rows. Then the best line is picked out for advance testing until off icial release. d). Single seed descent method: One grain per plant is harvested in the early ge neration of a breeding programme and mixed for the next generation's sowing; sin gle plant selection is not done until advanced generations. Pollination methodology: Selection of typical plants; - Covering spike of both parents with paper bag (Fi g. 4.6); - Emasculation; - Pollination;- Labeling and replacing paper bags with net bags (Fig. 4.6a) to avoid bird damage. 3). Utilization of Heterosis: Heterosis or hybrid vigour is a phenomenon which the hybrid expresses advantage over its parents for some characters or comprehensive characteristics. Utilizati on of heterosis has played an important role in increasing agricultural producti on and food security. a). Breeding and improvement of inbred lines. - Development of inbred lines is t he most important basis of heterosis. Sweet sorghum is an often cross pollinatin g crop whose genetic marker is often not homozygous. It is necessary to self cro ss by covering with paper bags to isolate plants from heterozygous pollen as a p rerequisite to obtaining higher heterosis. b). Use of male sterile lines. - Use in heterosis is a cost effective way becaus e its male flowering organ is small making laborious manual emasculation unneces sary. Some new hybrid varieties of sweet sorghum were developed in China. Fig. 4 .7 shows one in field production developed in the Institute for Application of A tomic Energy, CAAS. See Fig. 4.7a for spike details of the male sterile and rest orer lines and the resulting hybrid. c). Combining ability and its determination. - Combining ability is an important concept in heterosis breeding, and means yield expression of a hybrid derived f rom an inbred line or sterile line and another special line (special combining a bility) or a series of lines or synthetic hybrids (general combining ability). Methods of determination combining ability: Top-cross method: - Select a population with wide genetic basis as a tester to d etermine combination ability of an inbred line; Diallele cross method: - As many crosses as possible are made with inbred lines to be tested then general and sp ecial combining ability are calculated with an established math model and - Mult iple cross method: take a few elite lines as testers, make crosses with a series of inbred lines to be tested. For example, take A, B, C, D as testers, cross wi th 300 lines that are to be tested; resulting in 1200 hybrids. Sow in sequence o r by the space comparison method for yield testing. 4). Induced Mutation Breeding:

Induced mutation breeding is where the initial material is induced with mutagens (such as x ray, gamma ray, neutron, electron beam, proton, space environment, E MS, NaN3, etc.) to generate genetic mutations and then desirable mutants are sel ected from the subsequent progenies. Further lines are then selected as in conve ntional breeding programmes. See Fig. 4.8: An agricultural Standard Cobalt-60 So urce. The use of mutations is a valuable supplementary approach to plant breeding, par ticularly when it is desired to improve one or two easily identifiable traits in an otherwise well adapted breeding line. The main advantages of this approach a re that the basic genotype of the original variety is only slightly altered, and that the time required for breeding the improved variety can be shortened compa red to crossing to achieve the same result. A desired mutation can be recovered in a homozygous stage as early as in the M2 or M3 generation as compared with F6 or F7 in the case of hybridization. Handling & selection of mutation breeding materials: (Characteristics of differe nt generations). M1: - Heterogeneous (different plants will carry different mutations); - Heteroz ygous at mutated loci chimera (meridinal, periclinal or sectorial chimera); - Of ten sterile; - Exhibit non-heritable direct effects of the mutagen, often reduce d in vigor (Fig 4.11-4.14 below) and generally, no selection is done in this gen eration. M2: - Segregates for mutations; - Effects of recessive mutations may be observed , such as chlorophyll mutation; - No direct effects of mutagens and selection us ually begins in the M2 generation or later generation. M3 and M4: - Mutants are gradually purifying. Evaluation can be started. Process of mutation breeding and effects (Shown in the following figures): Fig. 4.9 Process of mutation breeding; Fig. 4.10 Variation of sweet sorghum spik es after proton irradiation; Fig. 4.11-12 Variation in seedlings of sweet sorghu m after proton treatment and Fig. 4.13-14 Seedling variation after Space environ ment (left) or gamma- ray treatment (right). Part II Comprehensive Utilization. Part II covers: Chapter 5: Ethanol Production: Significance of Developing Sweet Sorghum for Alco hol Production; Components in Sweet Sorghum Stalks that can be used to make Alco hol; Harvesting, Transportation and storage of the stalks; Technologies of Ethan ol ("Chinese liquor") Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Solid Fermentation ; Technologies of Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Liquid Ferment ation; Appendix I: Palletizing Machine for Yeast Cells Immobilized Carrier Produ ction and Appendix II: Sugar Analysis. Chapter 6: Sugar Production: The History of Sugar Production from Sweet Sorghum; Varieties for Sugar Production; Processing the Syrup; Some Questions and Discus sion and Concluding Remarks. Chapter 7: Silage from Sweet Sorghum: Silage Practice and its Development; Signi ficance of Developing Silage; Silage Principles; The Factors Affecting the Quali ty of Silage; Characteristics of Good Silage Procedures; Types of Silage; Silage Additives; Equipment Used; Advantage of Sweet Sorghum as Raw Material; Key Poin ts and Other Points. Return To Table of Contents

Chapter 8: The Agro-ecosystem of Sweet Sorghum: Introduction; System Structure o f the Agro-ecosystem; Results and Cost Benefit Analyses; Analysis of Benefits an d Some Questions and Discussions. Chapter 9: Other Uses. Ch. 5. Ethanol Production from Stalks. Return To Table of Contents Chapter 5 covers: Significance of Developing Sweet Sorghum for Alcohol Productio n; Components in Sweet Sorghum Stalks that can be used to make Alcohol; Harvesti ng, Transportation and storage of the stalks; Technologies of Ethanol ("Chinese liquor") Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Solid Fermentation; Technologie s of Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Liquid Fermentation; Append ix I: Pelletizing Machine for Yeast Cells Immobilized Carrier Production and App endix II: Sugar Analysis. Significance of Developing Sweet Sorghum for Alcohol Production: According to estimations, solid fuel, natural gas oil shale, bituminous sands et c. are used for generating electricity 91012 KWH in the world every year. It was estimated by the United Nations in 1994 that the existing known reserves of petr oleum will be only enough for 75 years since 1994. Experts estimated that the existing known oil reserves of China would be used up in 17 years. Since 1993, China has become a net oil importing country. About 34 0,000 barrels of oil are imported every day on average. But by the year 2005, th is figure is expected to reach 1,400,000 barrels/day. In recent years the energy crisis and air pollution have seriously affected dail y life. The oil price has been raised several times. Development of recyclable g reen energy has attracted great attention from the experts and officials. Use of ethanol as a fuel for cars either alone or mixed with gasoline is an alternativ e and air pollution can be reduced by using alcohol. There are many raw material sources that can be used to produce alcohol, among w hich sweet sorghum is one of the best alternatives for the following reasons: Hi gh biomass yield, High content of fermentable material, Wide adaptability; Resis tance to diseases, pests, drought, saline-alkaline conditions and water logging. Research has shown that 6106 liters/ha of alcohol could be produced, which is mu ch higher than for other crops, e.g. yam 1790 liters/ha, sugarcane 4700liters/ha and maize 1883litres/ha. The rural production structure is under re-regulation; the area under food crops is being diverted to non-food crops due to stagnation of grain prices and yield s, and reduced profitability. Sweet sorghum can potentially reverse this trend d ue to its multi-purpose nature. While maintaining the usual grain productivity, there is value addition to the stalk. Its various economical uses such as produc tion of silage, syrup, and alcohol are being explored. Alcohol production may st imulate an industry that promotes the rural economy, and make use of arid and sa line/alkaline areas for income generation. 5.2 Components in Sweet Sorghum Stalks that can be Used to Make Alcohol: These are: are glucose, fructose, sucrose, and starch. Measurements of these com ponents for 6 varieties by Shenyang Agricultural University are listed in Table 5.1 which shows that the sucrose content is predominant, than glucose, fructose and starch. Sucrose, glucose, and fructose can be fermented directly by saccharomycetes to p

roduce alcohol. Starch can only be fermented after it is dextrinized and saccari fied and turned into fermentable reducing sugar. As shown in Table5.1, the stem juice starch content is very low, and contributes little to alcohol production, but has a good saccharine source for alcohol prod uction. Alcohol production with sweet sorghum stem as a raw material does not re quire complicated technology and expensive equipment. Also the production cycle is short because of procedures involving dextrizing and saccarification is not n eeded. These contribute to a lower alcohol production cost. Although the starch content is low, it cannot be ignored for large scale industr ial production. Steps should be taken to use this limited amount of starch in th e juice to increase alcohol yield. Harvesting, Transportation and storage of the stalks: Ripening Monitoring: It is necessary to determine the period of optimum sugar content for harvesting. The main factors affecting the ripening are: Climate; Soil properties (physical , chemical and microbiological); Cultural practices; and Variety. Methods and criteria to determine the ripening degree are: i) Aspect and age of the plantation - (empirical and not a reliable since the ripening degree is not measured) and ii) Technical methods based on the measurement of stalk sugar cont ent can be carried out in the field using a refractometer or in the laboratory. With the field refractometer: i) Select 15 to 20 stalks/ha by random sampling. i i) Cut and squeeze or bend the mid stalk section to extract juice. iii) Measure the Brix degrees with a hand refractometer. The Brix must be higher than 15o for sweet sorghum. For laboratory analysis the measurement of the sucrose content in the juice is c arried out at the optimum time as indicated by the field refractometer; i) Same sampling technique as used for the field test; ii) Juice extraction is done in t he laboratory using the whole stalk; iii) Laboratory analyses measure the follow ing parameters: Brix (by refractometry), poll degree (by polararimeter) and redu cing sugars. Although testing in the field for total sugar content in the sweet sorghum stem juice is not convenient, it can be estimated by measuring Brix. Research shows t hat significant linear correlation exists between Brix degree measured with a ha nd sugar refractometer and the total sugar. Regression equations can be calculat ed for a specified variety in order to estimate the total sugars. A general regr ession equation of total sugar and Brix degree has been developed for sweet sorg hum by Shenyang Agricultural University, China: y= -10.24 + 1.974x, where y is t otal sugar, x is Brix. With this regression equation, the total sugar content ca n be estimated by measuring only the Brix degree. Changes in Brix of Stalk Juice during Plant Development: It is important to know of Brix change in the stem of sweet sorghum for monitori ng the ripening. Research has shown that the stem juice Brix degree is lower bef ore heading. After that, with the grain forming, the Brix degree linearly increa ses until its maximum at maturity (Table 5.2). Table 5.2 shows that the Brix degree changes and the maximum Brix degree period are not same in the six varieties. The maximum value is highly linked to grain m aturity. Therefore, it is better to harvest sweet sorghum stalks at the grain ma turing stage in which both high sugar content in the stem and good grain yield c

an be obtained. Manual or mechanical harvesting: For manual harvesting cutting should be done as close as possible to the soil al lowing a better utilization of the plant and a better prevention of residual pes ts and diseases build-up in the field after harvest. The stalks are then stacked in the field ready for loading. With mechanical harvesting - The machine cuts and removes the tops; Stalks are s tored in provisional harvest bins or directly in the truck; Stalks are cut in pi eces of 25 to 30 cm or left whole. The advantages of mechanical harvesting are: Lower content of earth in the stalks; Higher productivity (t/ha/day); Reduction in labour costs. The disadvantages are: Less time between harvesting and milling ; Increase in foam production during fermentation; Cannot be used in hilly areas ; Presents an irregular cut due to the soil irregularities and the High investme nt for equipment purchase. Loading, transport, discharge and storage: Manual loading is the most common in China (2 to 4 persons are required to fill a truck) and mechanical is by use of mechanical arms. (NB: for silage the stalks can be mechanically chopped and loaded - see picture - in one operation). Trans port is by animals or trucks, tractors, train or barges. Discharge - uses the fo llowing equipment: Non-rotator cranes (movable or fixed); Rotator cranes; Altern ative or continuous scrapers; Vehicles with self-discharge: Trucks with dumping bucket (top and side) - the load is discharged in an inclined feeder, normally a t the angle of 45 degrees; Trucks with moving buckets (basket-like) - the stalks are tied with chains and Tractors and trailers with nets. Weighing occurs at main gate of the industrial plant and has the following objec tives: Agricultural control; Control of the transport payment; Control of the ra w material payment and Industrial control. It must be sufficient to sustain 24 hours of plant operation since stalks cuttin g occurs only during the day. The following equation can be used to determine th e storage capacity: S = 12 C + A, where: S = storage capacity for the nocturnal period; C = milling capacity and A = 3 C (usually). Technologies of Ethanol ("Chinese liquor") Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Solid Fermentation: Brief introduction: In 1977, white spirit was successfully made from sweet sorghum stalks by means o f solid fermentation in Henan province. Later, through years of experiment, the technology of direct fermentation of chopped sweet sorghum stalks was improved g reatly and this technology has been introduced to many places where white spirit s were produced. Procedure for Producing Chinese Liquor from Sweet Sorghum Stalks: - Stalk preparation: after harvest, leaves, root, and mud are removed. Good stal ks are the prerequisite for producing high quality wine. - Cutting: chop with silage harvester, silage choppers or other machine or tools into 3 cm small lengths. - Incubation: incubate with 8-10% yeast. Chopped stalks: Yeast = 8:1. - Packing the silo: the chopped material is put into a silo after mixed with yea st; then pressed to compact, and the silo covered with plastic film. - Fermentation: fermentation time, 3-4 days.

- Distillation: First remove silage and place in a solid steam distillation pot. Then distill, sending the vapor to a distillation tower for ethanol production. - Blending: Different concentration of distilled alcohol and additives are added to give a particular flavour. Sweet sorghum liquor may be mixed with rice, whea t, sweet potato, maize, and yam etc. liquor, or bottled as a pure product. - Bottling, sterilizing (65oC for 30min) and labeling Technology Issues: - Preparation of stalks: Leaves and roots which contain little sugar should be r emoved before chopping. Otherwise the yield and quality of the products would be affected. - Cutting the stalks: Chopped stalks swell efficiently, which is beneficial for saccarification and liquor release. The enlarged surface area allows more yeast contact and gives a more complete fermentation. It is more convenient for handli ng (filling and emptying silos and stills) and gives higher alcohol production. The stalks should be cut as small as possible because small chopped stalks are n ot sticky, easy to keep separated and don't form clumps that affect air penetrat ion. However it is not easy to cut the stalks small with popular grass cutters. It is better to use cutters that are not too sharp because a blunt cutter can pr ess the stalks during cutting which makes the chopped lengths stay loose and sof t. - Yeast: The quality of yeast is directly related to the quality and yield of th e resultant wine. Fresh yeasts are recommended for use in the fermentation. The essential parameters of the yeast are: Able to work at pH 0.3-0.4; Yeast concent ration 1.0-1.2 108; Spore rate 20-30% and Amount of dead cells, 1-3%. - Use of yeast: Because the main component of sweet sorghum stalks that is subje ct to fermentation is reducing sugar, the yeast dose used should not be too larg e nor too small. When large, it will be wasted, if small it will cause incomplet e fermentation. The common yeast dose is about 4-8% of dried stalk weight. - Addition of fermentation starter: The fermentation starter, (Chinese technolog y), is mildewed grain or other food, used because there is a large amount of mic roorganisms in the starter and they secrete various enzymes (such as diastase), carbohydrates, and proteins which can promote the transformation of starch and p rotein into sugars and amino acids etc. While sugars are the energy source of ye ast, amino acids are important nutrients for yeast. There are many kinds of fermentation starters in China's brewery industry. Gener ally they are classified by the different materials and different methods used t o make the starter, or the microorganism species, additives etc. The main kinds of the fermentation starters are: Wheat starter: Made from mildewed wheat, mainly used in yellow wine making; Small starter: Made from rice powder. Its volume is small, so it is 'small start er'. It is mainly used in yellow wine and 'small starter wine' brewing. Red starter: Is made from cooked rice. Mainly used in 'red wine' brewing. Large starter: A kind of wheat starter with larger volume, which is mainly used in a distilled liquor brewery. Rapid starter or grain skin starter: Made from mildewed grain coats. At present, this starter is the most popular one in wine breweries. Generally, rapid starter and large starter are used in sweet sorghum stalk ferme ntation. Rapid starter: 100kg fresh chopped stalk is inoculated with 1.0 kg rapid starter

(it is available in many breweries) and 10 kg yeast. The main role of the rapid starter is to shorten the fermentation time to 3-4 days. Larger starter: 100kg fresh chopped stalk is mixed with 18-20 kg large starter. The fermentation is 20-25 days, much longer than with rapid starter. - Water addition: Water is an important raw material in alcohol making, especial ly liquor making. The main function of water addition is: i) Dissolving role: Th e yeast is composed of 70-75% of water. Most of nutrients that the yeast needs c an only be used when dissolved in water. ii) Adjusting role: Water has important roles in adjusting acidity, starting temperature, and alcohol content etc. usua lly the quantity of supplemented water should be around 60-70%. - Packing the silo: Fermentation is the process of yeast multiplication in which sugars in the chopped stalks is decomposed to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Heat is released which makes temperature of the fermentation silo rise. When sugars a re near to being decomposed, temperature starts lowering gradually with a disper sal of heat. Wine flavor can then be tasted in the fermented chopped stalks. Whe n no bubbling sound cannot be heard in the fermented chopped stalks, and no swee tness can be tasted, this shows that the fermentation is finished and distillati on can start. - The starting temperature: Generally 16-18oC is suitable. Solid fermentation is low temperature fermentation and the temperature is 30-32oC. When the temperatu re rises to 35-50oC, yeast begins to die and various undesirable bacteria begin multiplying. Fermentation at low temperature is an effective way of keeping yeas ts actively multiplying, strongly tolerating the alcohol, and inhibiting growth of undesired bacteria. If the starting temperature is too high, yeasts will mult iply very rapidly, which makes the temperature rise too fast in the early stage of fermentation. In this case, yeasts stop fermentation too early; fermentation cannot be completed and this results in low alcohol production. - Acidity at the beginning: Acidity (pH) is also directly related to yeast multi plication. The appropriate pH is 4.5-5.0. Acidity can be used to control the mul tiplication of undesirable bacteria. When pH is <4.2, yeasts can multiply normal ly, but the multiplication of undesired bacteria is inhibited. Generally, the ap propriate starting pH is 5.2-5.7. - Fermentation process: In order to ferment an aerobically, it is necessary to m ix the chopped stalks evenly with yeasts, water and other additives before filli ng the fermentation silo and compact the mass to exclude the air. Then the silo is sealed with polythene nelson film and mud. The first day after filling the silo the yeast multiply, which is responsible fo r the gradually rise of the silo temperature. On the second day the temperature may rise to around 25oC. On the third day the temperature can be up to 30-32oC. The acidity increases gradually, and so does the alcohol content. The temperatur e tends to be stable or rise a little. With the linear rise of the acidity, a la rge amount of yeast begins to die. It is time to distill when the temperature be gins to drop and fermentation ceases. The fermentation varies from 3 to 4 days. If the starting temperature is low, fermentation time can be longer and vice-ver sa. - Distillation: Principle: The principle of fermentation is to use the different boiling points of different substance to separate various volatile components ( alcohol, water, and other substances) in the fermented brew. The boiling point o f alcohol is 78oC, which is lower than other components. While distilling, alcoh ol first becomes vapour and then on cooling to turns liquid. At the beginning of distillation, the alcohol concentration is high; later on, t

he concentration become lower. The alcohol solution from distillation is must be re-distilled if the concentration is lower than 45% alcohol (v/v).It may be nec essary to distill several times until the desired concentration is reached. For distillation equipment suited for a small solid state distillery and see Fig . 5.1 and for a simple distillation unit suitable for the household see Fig. 5.2 . - Blending: Raw alcohol solution from distillation in different batches, differe nt seasons, and different silos has different concentrations and different quali ties. Mixing different distilled products is done to give a final product. - Adjusting flavor: After the liquor is adjusted to a certain concentration, ess ence is added in to the solution to give a certain flavour. The essences often u sed are ethyl acetate, ethyl hexameter, ethyl lactate, etc. - Bottling, sterilizing and labeling: This is the last step. Sterilization at 65 o C for 30 minutes is commonly done. Bottling should be carried out in clean hy gienic conditions into clean sterilized bottles. The label carries important inf ormation about the product. Methods of Ethanol Production; Liquid Fermentation. nts Return To Table of Conte

There are two methods for producing ethanol from sweet sorghum as a raw material - i) solid fermentation of stalks and - ii) liquid fermentation of extracted st alk juice followed by distillation. i) - Solid fermentation: Advantage: Equipment needed is simple. Disadvantages: V olumes that need to be treated and area occupied are very large; Fermentation ti me needed is longer, 4-5 days for a fermentation cycle; Ethanol production rate is lower than that of liquid fermentation and not suitable for large industrial production. (Dealt with in previous chapter under "Technologies of Ethanol ("Chi nese liquor") Production from Sweet Sorghum Stalks by Solid Fermentation". ii) - Liquid fermentation of stalk juice suitable for a large industrial alcohol plant: Advantages: Short fermentation, 6-24 hours per cycle; A large amount of raw material can be processed in a shorter time and a small area is occupied. Di sadvantage: Higher investment cost. Liquid Fermentation: The main steps of ethanol production from sweet sorghum juice include milling or juice extraction and fermentation and distillation. Milling or juice extraction: To extract juice from the stem, mechanical squeezing technology has to be used. Either three-roller squeezer unit juice-extracting system or grinder juice- extr acting instrumentation system may be employed. With the three-roller milling system the juice extraction rate can reaches over 97%. The equipment is the product of light industry mechanical factories. When t he technology is designed, the production capacity of required equipments must b e calculated according to the juice yield per day. Three-roller mills come in di fferent sizes and capacities rated in tons/hr. Sugarcane mills (large or small) are suitable for sweet sorghum milling to produce juice. The grinder juice-extracting instrumentation system may be suited to factories w here daily production capacity is less than 7 tons of raw materials. In contrast

to the three-roller squeezer unit system, grinder juice-extracting instrumentat ion system utilizes grinder, screw permeating press and screw drying press, whic h are the products of light industry mechanical factories, to replace three-roll er squeezer unit. This system is simple in structure, economical in investment a nd easy to operate. However some problems, such as low juice extraction rate (92 -94%), strength of screw drying press, wear and tear of drum and problems with l eaves make this technology less appealing. Three-roller Milling Unit Juice-extracting System: This system is commonly used in cane sugar factories. The technical process is s hown in Fig. 5.3. The juice extraction technology for a single three-roller sque ezer is shown in Fig. 5.4). With a single three-roller mill, the juice extraction rate is 50%, and the consu mption of electric energy per ton of stem is 10.8 kilowatt. Calculation of Requirements for Milling Capacity and Auxiliary Equipment: a. Milling Capacity. It is a very seasonal work to making alcohol from the juice of sweet sorghum. If appropriate varieties are planted in proper proportions, t he cutting could last for about 60 days. In order to guarantee that the juice is extracted from harvested stems and fermented in time, the calculation on the mi lling capacity should be done before its purchase or production. If N is the growing area in ha, P is stem yield/ha in tons, and T the days of ju ice fermentation, the capacity of the selected squeezer A, in tons per day, can be calculated by the equation: [EcoPort Picture] b. Flow (Q1) of the juice pump is calculated by the equation: [EcoPort Picture] Where e is the maximum juice extraction rate (about 50-70% for single three-roll er squeezer), d is the specific gravity of juice (to be regarded as 1 ton per cu bic meter) c. The working capacity of a bent sieve is calculated by the equation: [EcoPort Picture] d. The volume of juice storage tank (or pool) is calculated by V1=2Q1, where V1 is the volume of juice storage; Q1 is flow of juice pump (m3/hr). Fermentation: i) Juice purification. The objective: To purify the juice through the removal of the impurities dissolved or suspended in the juice, making it clear and transpa rent. This operation is carried out in two steps: removal of the rough solids an d clarification, which promotes the coagulation of the colloids. ii) Removal of the rough solids: The objective: to remove the rough solids (baga sse components and small pieces of stalks). Bagasse quality is important as it h as further uses; see good quality and poor quality bagasse. The process uses sie ves as the main equipment and presents the following characteristics: Location o f the sieves is close to the mills; Removed solids may be sent back to the mills to extract the remaining juice;

The most common sieves are: - Fixed sieve - normally consists of a perforated su rface made of bronze or stainless steel; - Rotary sieve - consists of a rotary c ylinder containing an internal perforated surface, which removes the solids from the juice. It can be cleaned more easily than the fixed sieve and it is commonl y used in the industrial plants. iii) Clarification - Simple Clarification (Production of Crystal Sugar): Impurities are precipitate d as a result of the addition of calcium hydroxide and heating to 100-105oC. Whe n required, phosphates, betonies, polyelectrolytes and other chemical compounds are added. pH of the juice: 4.8 to 5.8 (before addition of the calcium hydroxide ); pH after addition of the calcium hydroxide: 7.5 to 8.0; pH control (indicator paper, NaOH titration or Industrial potentiometers); Industrial potentiometers are more modern and efficient. They are used in the last clarification tank. The clarification process can be batch or continuous: Batch - normally, a batter y formed by three tanks is used (one tank - filling, second tank - operation, th ird tank - discharge). - Continuous - normally only one tank is used. - Sulpha-Clarification: The process is based in the use of sulphur dioxide (SO2) as acidifying substance, followed by neutralization with calcium hydroxide. Fir st step - addition of SO2 in a column (sulphating column) until pH is 3.8-4.3; S econd step: Addition of Ca(OH) 2 (neutralization tanks) until pH 7.0 to 7.2; Insoluble CaSO3 is formed and it precipitates, dragging with it the colloidal im purities; SO2 acts as a juice purifier due to: Precipitation of some colloidal s ubstances; Decolorizing action; Preservative action (inhibits the microorganisms growing); Negative effect of the SO2 - hydrolysis of the sucrose, producing glucose and fr uctose (this reaction is negative for sugar producing units); The quantity of SO2 required is 200-700 g/t of stalk: Auxiliary Products: Phosphoric acid - produces calcium phosphate, that has flocc ulent characteristics and drags down the impurities; Betonies - (aluminum or sil icate) that absorbs the colloidal impurities; Polyelectrolytes - they increase t he efficiency of the clarification operation (removal of electrically charged pa rticles); Magnesium oxide - acts as a substitute for the Ca(OH) 2, reducing the encrustations in the equipment; Heating - accelerates the clarification operatio n; Characteristics of the solid waste (cake): Moisture - 65-80 %; Sugar content - 0 .5 to 1.5 % (equivalent to 0.1 to 0.4 % of the sugar content in the stalks. Fermentation: Ethanol is industrially produced by a process that is called alcoholic fermentat ion where sugars such as sucrose, glucose, fructose and others are converted int o ethanol by yeasts. A general scheme of the ethanol-producing metabolism is presented in Fig. 5.5 Main industrial raw materials - sugar cane (juice or molasses), unknown type: [[ starch]g] (maize, sorghum, rice and others) and cellulose (wood and cellulose re sidues or sweet sorghum juice); The chemical compositions of the juice and molasses from sugar cane and sweet so

rghum are presented in the Table 5.3. Juice preparation: The following factors must be considered during juice preparation: Sugar concent ration; Total acidity and pH; Addition of nutrients and Anti-microbial agents. - Sugar concentration: The sugar concentration must be compatible with: - The ra w material (molasses or juice); - The yeast variety; - The fermentation process and - Brix degree 14 28. - Total acidity and pH: - Optimum pH - 4.5 to 5.5; - Total acidity 2 to 3 g/l (e xpressed in terms of sulphuric acid). This level of acidity facilitates the yeas t growth and inhibits the growing of contaminants. - Nutrients: - The main objective is to help the yeast growth and maintenance as well as the fermentation reactions; - Nitrogen (ammoniacal) is very important s ince it helps the yeast growth. Amine nitrogen increases the contents of the und esired superior alcohols; - Other nutrients - phosphorus, salts (cobalt, mangane se and magnesium), vitamins and antiseptic agents. - Antiseptic agents: - Are used since broth sterilization is not economically vi able; - They inhibit the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms with neglig ible negative impact the yeast activity; - Main antiseptics and anti-microbial a gents are sulphuric acid, quaternary ammonium salts; phosphurnates, chlorexidina , dithiocarbamates, phenolics (polihalogenates), penicillin, virginiamicine and others such as potassium and sodium metabisulphites. Broth preparation from molasses: The dissolved solids content are 88o (approx.) and the steps are dilution, pH ad justment, addition of nutrients and antiseptics. - Dilution - water. The water quantity is determined using the Cobenze Cross. Ex ample: A broth with a Brix degree of 22 is needed by diluting molasses with 88 B rix as raw material. Which volumes of water and molasses are required assuming a Brix degree equal to zero for the water? By this cross, 66 kg of water added to 22 kg of molasses makes a broth of 22o Br ix. To determine the volumes, we must consider the densities of the raw material s. Molasses (88 degrees Brix) has a density of 1.468. To calculate volume (V) V= Mass (M)/density (D). - Discontinuous dilution process: Equipment - three metallic cylindrical tanks ( carbon steel), with conic bottom, and mechanical agitators; Operational sequence : water addition with subsequent addition of the molasses; One tank - feeding of the fermentation vessel; One tank - molasses dilution; One tank - filling opera tion. - Continuous process: Disadvantage - is more difficult to control the sugar conc entration; Equipment - one metallic and cylindrical tank (carbon steel), with co nic bottom, and mechanical agitator; Operational sequence: water and molasses ar e added simultaneously. - pH adjustment: Chemical agent - sulphuric acid, which is added to yeast treatm ent tanks; - Addition of nutrients: Phosphorus - normally added as phosphate (0.5 to 2 ppm) ; Nitrogen - normally added as ammonium sulphate or urea (2.5-10 ppm); Nutrients can be added in the treatment culture tank or directly to the fermented.

Addition of antiseptics: Sulfuric acid - up to 5 g/l of ethanol; Antibiotics (pe nicillin, virginiamicin and others) - 1-5 ppm; Antiseptics (quaternary ammonium, carbonate, propionate & others)-5-40 ppm. Broth culture preparation from juice: Steps - dilution and enrichment; Broth must be clean; Brix - 18-24 degrees; Dilu tion - water, added during the milling to increase the imbibitions rate or in th e diluter; Dilution control - saccharimeter (manual or automatic); Addition of n utrients and anti-microbial agents - procedures are similar to those used to pre pare broth from molasses. For fermentation the yeast cell concentration is 108 cells/ml or 10-14% and the yeast growing is from industrial (baking powder) or selected yeast strains. Baking powder: (industrial yeast): Easier to obtain the desired yeast concentrat ion. Preparation: - 20 kg of yeast added to 1 cubic meter of broth (Brix of about 6o), using the y east preparation and treatment culture tank; - Addition of 1 m3 of broth (Brix of 6o), when the initial Brix falls to half; - Repetition of the procedure until the complete filling of the tank; - Diluted broth (Brix of 6o) accelerates the yeast growing, since yeast respirat ion is favored; - Temperature is 30-32oC; Disadvantages of the baking powder (industrial yeast): Lower resistance to highe r ethanol concentrations; Lower resistance to high temperatures. Selected Yeast: Fermentation attains a higher degree of purity and efficiency. I t is more regular and faster. Preparation is more expensive and complex as it re quires sterilized broth. The yeast growing occurs initially in the laboratory an d is completed in the industrial plant. Laboratory growth method: - Sterilized broth enriched with nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and pH equa l to 4.5; - Aseptic inoculation; - Controlled temperature (30-32oC); Growth steps: 1) - transfer of 100 ml of sterilized broth, Brix in the range from 3-5o, to a 5 00-ml Erlenmeyer. Broth pH is previously adjusted to 4.5 using sulphuric acid; 2) - inoculation and growing during 24 h; 3) - transfer of the 500-ml Erlenmeyer content to a 2-liter Erlenmeyer containin g 500 ml of sterilized broth at 6-8o Brix; 4) - transfer to a 6-liter bottle containing 2.5 liters of sterilized broth at 9 -11o Brix; 5) - transfer to a bottle of 35 to 40 liters containing 12.5 liters of non steri lized broth at 9-11o Brix; 6) - transfer to a 200-liter metallic vessel containing 35 liters of non sterili zed broth at 9-11o Brix; 7) - addition of 35 liters more as soon as the Brix falls to the half. Division of the total volume (app. 70 liters) in two 200-liter metallic vessels; 8) - repetition of the seventh step until to reach the volume required for the t ransference to the industrial plant (approx. 1,000-2,000 liters). Industrial growth: 1) - the yeast prepared in the laboratory (a total volume of broth plus yeast va rying from 1,000 liters to 2,000 liters) is transferred to the yeast-growing tan k. Five to ten cubic meters of fresh broth is added (Brix 9-11o) to this tank;

2) - double the original volume of broth as soon as the Brix falls to half. This procedure is repeated until the complete filling of the tank; 3) - transference to the fermented and addition of fresh broth. The broth additi on must be slow at the beginning to avoid a sudden increase in the Brix degree o f the fermentation medium. Flow increasing is proportional to the decrease in th e Brix degree. The Brix degree of the added broth must be the approximately doub le of the Brix degree in the fermentation medium. Steps in the alcoholic fermentation (batch process): There are three main steps: Preliminary; Principal and Complementary; Preliminary fermentation: It begins when the broth is mixed with the yeast and h as the following characteristics: Strong yeast growth; Low production of ethanol ; Low increase of temperature; Must be a short period, so it requires: Adequate initial concentration of yeast; Fast growing yeast and A broth adequately prepar ed (nutrients and pH). Principal fermentation: It begins with the appearance of CO2 and has the followi ng characteristics: Ethanol and CO2 production; Fast increase of the temperature ; Production of foam; Decrease of the broth density and Increase in the acidity. Complementary fermentation: It begins when the CO2 production decreases and has the following characteristics: Completes the fermentation process; Decrease in p roduction of CO2 and the turbulence of the fermentation medium; Decreasing tempe rature and Increasing acidity; Yeast recovery and distillation must begin soon after completion of the fermenta tion to avoid contamination and to avoid. Fermentation Processes: The main fermentation processes are: - i) Process without yeast recovery; - ii) Cutting diluting process; - iii) Decanting process and - iv) Melle-Boinot. The main characteristics of each process are: i) Process without yeast recovery (batch process): Yeast is not separated from t he brew and is sent to the distillation equipment; Each fermentation batch requi res a new quantity of yeast (app. 20% of the volume of the fermentation tank); P ure yeast strain or baking powder can be used for each batch; Use of pure yeast strains requires sterilized environment (special fomenters); Presents higher deg ree of purity in the fermentation; Main disadvantages are: Higher cost; Lower industrial yield due to the higher su gar consumption to produce yeast; Longer fermentation and Higher consumption of nutrients and steam. ii) Cutting diluting Process (batch process): This process is used for the start -up of the fermentation unit as a procedure to fill all the fermentation vessels ; Yeast from a previous batch is used in a new batch; Yeast is not separated fro m the broth. Approximately 50 % of the volume of the previous batch is used in t he new batch; The main steps are: 1) - yeast (baking powder or pure strain prepared in the laboratory) is transfer red to the empty fermentation vessel; 2) - addition of the fresh broth; 3) - half of the fermentation volume is transferred to another vessel as soon as the Brix falls to the half of the initial value;

4) - the volumes of the two vessels are completed with fresh broth; Steps 3 and 4 are repeated until all fermentation vessels are filled. iii) Decanting process: This process is mainly used to produce alcoholic beverag e (cachucha) in plants without yeast separation equipment (centrifuges or sedime ntation vessels). The main steps are: 1) and 2) - as above in ii); 3) - after completion of the fermentation, when there is no more production of C O2, the yeast is left to settle in the base of the vessels and the wine is pumpe d to the distillation equipment; 4) - fresh broth is added to the decanted yeast and a new fermentation batch beg ins. iv) Melle-Boinot (batch or continuous process): Use of centrifuges for yeast rec overy; Yeast treatment with sulphuric acid at pH 2.5 to 3.0 for approximately 4 hours after yeast recovery. The main objectives of the yeast treatment are: Yeast recovery and activation; R eduction of the population of contaminants (microorganisms) due to the action of the sulphuric acid as well as of the yeast separation process (centrifuge or se dimentation vessel); The main steps are: 1) and 2) - as above in ii); 3) - after completion of the fermentation the yeast is separated from the wine i n the centrifuges or sedimentation vessel; 4) - yeast is transferred to the treatment tank where water (volume 1:1) and sul phuric acid are added to reach the pH value of 2.5-3.0. The treatment time is fo ur hours, approximately, and higher levels of contamination require lower pH; 5) - yeast is transferred to the fermentation vat after completion the yeast tre atment and fresh broth is added to start a new batch; The main advantages of the process are: High yield; Faster fermentation; Large i ndustrial utilization (almost all Brazilian industrial plants use this process) and It can be a batch or a continuous process. Single Concentration Continuous Fermentation; Continuous Fermentation of a Fixed -yeast Fluid-bed System and Distillation. Return To Table of Contents Single Concentration Continuous Fermentation: a). Methodology. Since the sweet sorghum stem juice flows easily, microorganism continuous fermen tation may be used. Compared with intermittent fermentation, continuous fermenta tion is faster, giving a higher utilization ratio of the equipment, more labour and material resources are saved, and production costs are lowered. The process is shown in Fig. 5.6. The key operation procedures are: - The gradually cultured distiller's yeast is poured into tank No.1. - Juice that has been heated and sterilized (pH 4.5-5) is lead into the tank in the proportion of 1 to 10 until it is full. - When the temperature is 30oC, lead aseptic gas into the tank intermittently to culture the yeast for 18-24 hours. - After the yeast has reproduced, open the valves of the cooling tank. Let juice of sweet sorghum flow into the tank through the upper inlet of tank No.1.

- Nutrient is provided for the saccharomycete to promote it to reproduce in a la rge quantity. - Juice is continuously added into tank No. 2 while being filled into tank 1 tan k. - Aseptic gas is added intermittently into No. 1 and No.2 tanks to accelerate th e reproduction of yeast. The flow indexes are 2-2.5m3/hr for per ton of juice an d 10 minutes of airflow once every one-hour. - Juice is added into tank No.3 tank while being filled into No. 1 tank, passes serially through other tanks, and flows out from tank 10. This procedure takes about 24 hours and above 80% of sugar juice can be fermente d to alcohol and CO2. b. Technological conditions of tank. The experimental technological conditions o f some tanks are listed in Table 5.4. c. Fermentation tank structure. (See Fig 5.7). Continuous Fermentation of a Fixed-yeast Fluidized-bed System: This technology is the most advanced biological technique today. Compared with b atch fermentation and /or single concentration continuous fermentation, this fer mentation technology possesses the advantages of speed, short fermentation cycle , high yield, few instruments, and potential for automation. The production capa city is 10 to 20 times higher than that of batch fermentation. The surface area of the fixed-yeast and juice carrier is large, which increases the reaction rate and shortens the fermentation cycle to 4-5 hours. Because fixe d-yeast reproduces unceasingly in the carrier, the life span is prolonged and th e discharge of organisms is reduced, as is environmental pollution. The biologic al reactor is a dumbbell-shaped 3-unit vertical vessel that occupies a small are a, so the capital construction cost is greatly decreased. Technological process: The technological process of making alcohol by means of a fixed-yeast fluidizedbed biological reactor is shown in Fig. 5.8. The system includes a CO2 circulati on unit, juice flowing and filling unit, brew removing unit, cooling and warming system, measuring instruments, and a particle-producing system etc. a). Procedure description: The fixed-yeast particles must firstly be produced with a pelletizing machine. A nd before operation the fixed-yeast cells must reproduce. The prepared fixed-yea st particles are filled into the first unit of the reactor. Then diluted juice ( Brix 5) of sweet sorghum is pumped into the reactor until it is full. At the sam e time, aseptic air is fed in continuously to allow fixed-yeast cells to reprodu ce. This process lasts about 50 hours. When cells have reproduced from 106-108 c ells/ml, and the spore rate rises from 5-10 to 15-30% fermentation begins. When normal operations begin, the CO2 circulation system and juice flowing and f illing system start simultaneously. CO2 in the gasbag is blown into the constant pressure gas storage tank by the No.1 gas compressor. Then, CO2 is led into the gas chamber at the lower end of the biological reactor. Passing through the gas -dispersing tank, it eventually enters the reactor making fixed-yeast particles react inside the third reactor unit. At the same time, sweet sorghum juice insid e the high tank, under the action of pressure, injects into the reactor from two tangentially mounted spouts in the first unit of the reactor and circulates aro und the axis. Simultaneous action by the upward CO2 forces the juice spirally up . The solid-liquid-gas three-phase flowing layer (shown in Fig. 5.9) is formed i

n the reactor which releases the CO2 gas adhering to the surface of fixed-yeast particles. As CO2 gas is in constant contact with the fermentation liquid, a vigorous react ion state is achieved and the reaction rate is greatly increased. Since juice en ters from the tangential spouts in the first unit of the reactor, it takes about 5 hours for juice to pass through all of the 3 units and complete the reaction. More than 90% of sugar is converted into alcohol and CO2. Eventually the fermen tation brew enters the brew storage chamber, and then flows into a solid-liquid separator through the outlet. After broken remains of yeast particles have been removed, the fermentation brew is introduced to the brew storage tank to be dist illed. CO2 coming out of the third unit is pumped into a storage bag for use in the nex t cycle, through the brew storage chamber, foam collector, gas-liquid separator, and cooling and purifying tank by the compressor. b). Technical data of fermentation technology: During continuous fermentation, constant reaction must be maintained, sweet sorg hum juice needs to be added evenly, and the temperature and pH inside the reacto r should keep stable. The above-mentioned indices are all monitored by meters. T he parameters for maintaining continuous fermentation are obtained through a num ber of tests and are listed in Table 5.5 for reference. c). Structural diagrams of some equipment: Fig. 5.10 - Unit structure of the reactor; Fig. 5.11 - Gas chamber structure; Fi g. 5.12 - Brew storage chamber; Fig. 5.13 - Structure of foam collector; Fig. 5. 14 - Structure diagram of gas-liquid separator; Fig. 5.15 - Structure of cooling and purifying tank and Fig. 5.16 - Solid-liquid separator. Fermentation problems: Problems will occur when care is not taken during the whole process of ethanol p roduction. The main negative effects in the fermentation are due to the presence of undesired microorganisms since they carry out the so called secondary ferment ations. If these occur, sugar and ethanol are consumed to produce other substance s, reducing the efficiency and yield. The fermentation environment also becomes unfavorable for yeast activity, further reducing the efficiency and yield. The m ain sources of contamination in the fermentation process are: - Raw material of poor quality (old plants, improper storage, long storage after harvesting and contamination). See pictures of good quality and poor quality ju ice for fermentation. - Bad conditions of sanitation during the whole process (milling, juice cleaning , fermentation and yeast treatment). The sanitation must be continuously monitor ed through adequate cleaning of the whole equipment as well as through the use o f sterilizing agents such as steam, antiseptics and antibiotics. - High temperature of fermentation (higher than 35oC). The main secondary fermentation processes are: a) Acetic fermentation - caused by the bacteria of the genus Acetobacter, which consume ethanol and produce acetic acid, under anaerobic conditions. The main ch aracteristics of the acetic fermentation are: - Strong increase in the acidity; - Appearance of the typical odor of vinegar and also of a fly belonging to the g enus Drosophila; Favorable acetic fermentation conditions are:

- Temperature - 15-34oC; - Ethanol concentration - up to 12 % (w/w); b) Lactic fermentation - caused by microorganisms of the genus Lactobacillus and Streptomyces that produce lactic acid under anaerobic conditions. The main char acteristics of the lactic fermentation are: - Strong increase in the acidity; - Identification through reductions in the production of CO2 and foam; Favorable fermentation conditions are: - pH - close to 7.0; Temperature - 30-45oC; Sugar concentration - up to 20 %; c) Butyric acid fermentation - caused by microorganisms of the genus Clostridium that produce organic acids such as butyric, acetic and formic under anaerobic c onditions. The main characteristics of the butyric fermentation are: - Strong increase in the acidity; - Identification through the increase in the acidity and also through the appear ance of a musty smell (rancidness); Favorable conditions are: - pH - close to 7.0; - Temperature - 30-35oC; d) Production of dextrin - caused by the microorganism Leuconostoc mesenteroides , which produces the polymer dextrin from the glucose. The main characteristics are: - It can appear more easily when long-stored raw materials are used or the molas ses is not properly conserved; - It can be identified by the appearance of small gelatinous drops in the surfac e of the fermentation medium as well as by the increase in the viscosity; - Favorable conditions are: pH, neutral or alkaline; Temperature, 30-35oC; Undesired fermentation can be controlled by: - Adequate sanitary preparation of the fermentation broth; - Use of adequate quantity of good quality yeast; Keeping good conditions of san itation and hygiene; - Adequate monitoring of the fermentation process. Distillation: Distillation follows after juice has been fermented in order to produce alcohol. The distillation column can be chosen according to conventional technology. Fig . 5.17 shows the process of alcohol distillation. Two columns for distillation are adopted in this technology. The rough distillat ion column is 74,6 cm high, comprised of 25 planks. The rectifying column is div ided into two sections to lower the height of the distillation workshop. Each of the two sections is 100 cm and has 40 planks. A round-shaped cover structure fo r the planks is suitable for distilling the three kinds of fermentation material s. Alcohol travels from the rough distillation column (1) to the rectifying colu mn (3) in the steam phase. The recycling liquid from the rectifying column 2 is pumped back into the rectifying column 3. Appendix I: Pelletizing Machine for Yeast Cells Immobilized Carrier Production a nd Appendix II: Sugar Analysis. Return To Table of Contents Appendix I: Pelletizing Machine for Producing Yeast Cells' Immobilized Carrier. Compared to traditional fermentation technology, the technology of the immobile

cells carrier has the characteristics of: - Faster working speed, - Higher produ ctivity and efficiency, - Shorter reaction cycle, - Simpler equipment requiremen t and - Continuous and automatic production can be carried out easily. The produ ction capacity using this technology could be 10-20 times higher than traditiona l fermentation technology. It has been one of the most important improvements an d is the developing trend in the ethanol production industry today. For rapid and continuous fermentation, the key restriction is the production cap acity of gelatinous particles of immobilized yeast cells. In Japan production of gelatinous particles of immobilized yeast cells are carried out using vibration technology. The solution of yeast cells and the carrier are broken into tiny dr ops. The yeast cells are embedded in calcium ketene. The diameter of the spray n ozzle for this technology is 1.1 mm, and its maximum productivity is 24 l/h. A new patented technology for yeast cells immobilized in a carrier was developed by Shenyang Agricultural University cooperating with Shenyang Forestry and Soil Research Institute. The productivity is 150 1/h, 6.25 times higher than the vib ration spray nozzle method. The equipment consists of a mixer, centrifuge, and t rough for immobilizing cells and a collector of gelatinous particles. The centri fuge is composed of an electromagnetic governing electric motor, hopper, transmi ssion, and centrifuge tray as shown in Fig. 5.18. Basic principle: The basic principle is to use centrifugal force to break up a m ixed solution of yeast cells with a colloid of ketene as carrier into tiny drops . The drops then fall into a calcium liquid in the trough, and become then immob ilized. The yeast cells are embedded in the carrier of gelatinous particles. Des ign of and calculations on the equipment can be seen at: http://www.fao.org/docr ep/T4470E/t4470e06.htm Appendix II: Sugar analysis. It is very important to master the correct method of analyzing sugar content in the juice that is being subjected to fermentation in the alcohol plant. There ar e two methods, i.e. physical and chemical. Physical methods: 1. Refractometry (Refractometer Brix degree); Measurement of the light refractiv e index. The index measures the change in the light velocity in two different environment s (liquid and environment), according to the equation: Refraction Index = sen i/ sen r. It is affected by the following parameters: Temperature; Length of the light wav e; Quantity of dissolved solids in the medium. Refractive Index (n) of the water (Air as standard, sodium light source at 20oC) ? n = 1.33299. The values of the refractive index for different concentrations of sucrose in aq ueous solutions are: Sucrose concentration (%w/w)/Refraction index - 0/1.33299; 5/1.34027; 10/1.34783; 15/1.35567; 20/1.36384. Equipment: Refractometers - the equipment measures the refractive index and pres ents the results as Brix degrees. Types of refractometers: Abb; Bausch and Lomb ( Sodium Light); Manual; Immersion; Automatic etc. 2. Aerometric Brix: The measurement of the specific gravity of an aqueous soluti on of sugar.

Equipment: Brix hydrometer. The results are presented in Brix degrees, which exp ress the percentage, weight by weight, of sucrose dissolved in a pure aqueous so lution. In industrial operations, the solutions are not usually pure and, as a consequen ce, the Brix degree measured is higher than the real value of the sugar concentr ation, as the dissolved impurities also contributes for the Brix Degree and elev ate the Brix readings obtained: Specific gravity/Brix degree - 1.00000/0; 1.01965/5; 1.03988/10; 1.06104/15; 1.0 8287/20; 1.10551/25. 3. Polarizer: Measurement of the ability of some substances (including sugars) t o rotate the plane of the polarized light (light that vibrates in only one plane ). The deviation of the light plane increase with the increase in concentration of the dissolved sugar. Dextrorotatory substances sucrose, glucose and others rotate right; Levorotatory substances laevulose and others rotate left. Specific rotating power is the capacity of a substance to rotate the plane of th e polarized light. It is expressed in angle degrees and refers to the pure subst ance. It varies according to the wavelength, the temperature, the column size an d the light source. Equipment: polarimeter or saccharimeter. Main components: light source, polarizi ng crystal (modified Nicol's prism), tube (standard size, contains the sugar sol ution), temperature compensation system, analyzer (another Nicol's prism), teles cope and scale. The results are presented in the scales Ventzke or Bates-Jackson (International Scale, where a solution of 26 g of sucrose per 100 ml of water, at 20oC, gives a rotation angle (alpha) equal to 99.90o). Double Polarization Double Polarization is used to compensate for the effect of other optically acti ve substances in a solution. As an example, production of glucose through sucros e hydrolysis (using acid or inverts) changes the optical characteristics of the solution and is used to measure the quantity of glucose produced. The hydrolysis methods commonly used are the Jackson-Gillis Clerget method which uses HCl and the Clerget method which uses inverts; 4. Liquid chromatography. The separation of the dissolved substances in a column filled with a molecular sieve. Usually, columns are filled with amine silica-ge l, and an acetonitrile/water (70/30) solution is used for elution. Sugars fractions are measured using the absorption of the ultra-violet light or the changes in the refraction index. A standard solution of known sugar concentr ation is also passed through the column and the two curves are compared. Chemical methods: These methods are based in the capacity of the sugars to reduce copper in alkali ne solution. The main steps of the chemical methods are: - Preparation of the solutions; - Copper sedimentation by heating, as copper oxide (Cu+); - Determination of the quantity of precipitated copper (by gravimetric or volume tric analysis, at completion of the reduction); - Calculation of the quantity of reducing sugars (using tables or formulas).

Gravimetric methods: (rarely used) Steps: f Preparation of the solutions; Copper sedimentation as copper oxide (Cu+), using heat; Filtration of the copper oxide; Determination of the quantity of precipitated copper, by gravimetric methods o Meissl-Hiller or Munson-Walker

Volumetric methods: - -Lane-Eynons Method: Advantages: more accuracy and speed; Disadvantages: requir es standardization of the solutions and attention to the turning point of titrat ion. Reagents: - Fehlings solution A (copper sulphate); - Fehlings solution B (Rochelle salt, sodium and potassium titrate plus sodium h ydroxide); - Ethylene blue at 1% (indictor); - Diatomaceous earth. Technique: - Take approximately 200 ml of the sugar solution in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask a nd add 0.5 grams of potassium oxalate (to remove the calcium); - Let mixture settle for 5 minutes; - Add 5 grams of diatomaceous earth agitate and filter using filter paper. Disca rd the initial fractions, which present turbidity; - Fill the burette using the clean sugar solution; - Add 5 ml of the Fehlings A and Fehlings B solutions to an Erlenmeyer flask; - Add 20 ml of distilled water to the Erlenmeyer; - Add 8 ml of the sugar solution to the Erlenmeyer; - Heat the mixture until boiling and keep boiling for 2 minutes; - Add 5 drops of the ethylene blue solution and complete the titration in at the most 1 minute, keeping the solution boiling. The titration end point is indicat ed by the change in the color of the solution; - Record the volume (ml) of sugar solution consumed in the burette and search in the proper table the correspondent sugar concentration. - -Nelsons Method: Advantage: gives higher accuracy than the Lane-Eynons Method as it has no turning point to interpret; Disadvantage: it is slower than the LaneEynons Method. Reagents: - Solution A (sodium carbonate, potassium and ammonium titrate, sodium bicarbona te and sodium sulfate); - Solution B (copper sulphate); - Solution C (ammonium molybdate, sulfuric acid and sodium arsenate). Technique: - Add 1 ml of the sugar solution to a Folin-Wu test tube; - Add 1 ml of distilled water to another Folin-Wu tube (blanket tube); - Add 1 ml of a standard sugar solution to other Folin-Wu tube (standard tube). The concentration of the standard sugar solution must be in the range from 100 t o 140 micrograms per milliliter; - Add 25 ml of the solution A to the 1 ml of the solution B and mix well; - Add 1 ml of the above mixture (solution A plus solution B) to all the Folin-Wu tubes; - Heat the Folin-Wu tubes in a heating bath (temperature equal to 100oC) for 20 minutes. Cool the tubes;

- Add 1 ml of the solution C to the cooled Folin-Wu tubes; - Mix well until foam is gone; - Complete the volume of the Folin-Wu tubes (25 ml each) using distilled water a nd mix well; - Read the light absorbance in a spectrophotometer (wavelength equal to 540 nano meters), using the blanket tube to calibrate the spectrophotometer. Enzymatic methods: Based on monitoring of the enzymatic oxidation of glucose by the enzyme glucose oxidase (GO). This reaction can be monitored through the chan ges in the polarity of the sugar solution with a polarimeter or through the form ation of hydrogen peroxide. This chemical reacts with the 4-aminophenazone and w ith the 2, 4-dichlorine phenol, producing a dying agent (anti-peril-chlorine- qu inoimine), according to the following reaction: Glucose + O2 + H2O to glycolic acid + H2O2. The glucose analyzer measures the electric current formed during the hydrogen redu ction, according to the reaction presented below: H2O2 to 2 H+ + O2 + 2 e-. Ch. 6. Sugar Production. History: Sorghum is a very old crop and has a long cultivation history. The study on its use for sugar production began in the 19th century but it was difficult to extra ct because of low stem content and there were no special techniques for sugar re fining from sorghum. With the development of new varieties and industrial techno logy some difficulties in sugar extraction and refining from were resolved which is promoting the cultivation of sweet sorghum as a sugar crop. The United States had advanced the technology on research and utilization of swe et sorghum. The first variety "Chinese Amber" was introduced to France, then to America from Shanghai, China, in 1851. It extended throughout the country and wa s used for making sugar syrup in 1859. In 1880, the syrup production reached a p eak of 113.50 million liters decreasing to 91.74 million in 1890 (fig. 6.1) and progressively thereafter. A new variety, which had the superior characteristics of high sugar content and disease tolerance was bred in 1964, accelerating the study on techniques of suga r production. In 1969 Smith invented a simple method to remove the starch and ac onite acid from the juice and produced crystal sugar successfully. In Louisiana, USA, a pilot plant producing 2000 T of sugar per day from sweet sorghum was set -up in 1982 and the result was satisfactory. Other countries, such as Mexico, Ru ssia, Italy, Australia and Brazil, all attached importance to research and proce ssing of sweet sorghum. The Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) intr oduced two varieties of sweet sorghum (Rio and Rome) from America due to the ser ious lack of sugar in China in the 1970's. They have high biomass and sugar cont ent, so they were expanded to different provinces and the total planting area re ached more than 20000 ha. However, because the problem of how to prolong the pro cessing period was not resolved and there were no good processing techniques, th e planted area decreased. By the end of seventies and beginning of eighties, som e trials on sugar refining with traditional methods were done but satisfactory r esults were not achieved. Then some research on breeding and processing techniqu es was set out to improve the stability and benefit of sugar production. From th is work it was concluded that sweet sorghum would be an important sugar crop in the near future. Return To Table of Contents

Varieties for sugar production: Although many varieties can be used for sugar or syrup products, the sugar conte nt and composition of sugars are different. Sweet sorghum can be divided into tw o categories according to the proportion of saccharine and reducing sugars in th e juice. One group is crystal sugar sorghum, including 'Keller', 'Rio', 'Cowley' etc., whose juice is composed of saccharine and suitable for crystal sugar prod uction. The other kind is syrup sorghum, including 'Theis', 'Tracy' and 'M-81E', which are suitable for syrup production. If syrup sorghum is used for crystal s ugar product, it is difficult to crystallize because the lower content of crysta l sugar in the juice. Similarly, crystal sorghum can't be used for syrup product because it is easy for the syrup to crystallize. Thus, it is critical to choose a good variety of sweet sorghum for sugar production. Some varieties suitable f or sugar production are: 'Dale' is a mid-season variety developed at the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station ( SCFS), Meridian, Mississippi. Seeds are small, reddish brown, and germinate well . Dale is resistant to lodging, leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot (Colletotrich um graminicola). Stalks are medium-sized and erect and they make excellent-quali ty syrup. 'M8IE' is a late-maturing variety, a few days later than Dale, and produced at t he SCFS. It is similar to Dale in height and lodging resistance. It is resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot, but it is susceptible to maize dwarf mos aic virus. The yield of syrup is generally superior to Dale. The syrup has a mil d sorghum flavor, amber color, and excellent quality. It appears to be more susc eptible to a light frost than other varieties. 'Brandes' was released in 1968 from the SCFS. It is a late-maturing variety with an excellent root system and stiff stalks that usually remain erect. It is resi stant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot. It has good syrup quality, but it i s more susceptible to drought than some varieties. The seed are small and white and have good germination. 'Theis', also developed at the SCFS, was released in 1974. It has late maturity similar to Brandes and Wiley. It may grow to 4-5 m but it has good lodging resis tance. It produces large, brown seed. Syrup quality is usually excellent. It is highly resistant to leaf anthracnose and red stalk rot, has moderate resistance to downy mildew, and is tolerant to maize dwarf mosaic virus. 'Sugar Drip' is an early mid-season variety of unknown origin. It tends to lodge and is very susceptible to many diseases. Seed are medium-sized and brown. It i s one of the earliest maturing varieties for the South USA and China, and so it is useful for early syrup production. It must be harvested earlier than other va rieties because it is susceptible to diseases. 'Georgia Blue Ribbon', a variety of uncertain origin, lodges badly and is suscep tible to major sweet sorghum diseases. Stalks are shorter and juicier than those of Tracy. Syrup quality is excellent. The seed are medium-sized and brown. It m atures about the same time as Tracy. 'Honey' was grown by the USDA before 1900; it is also called Honey Drip and Texa s Seeded Ribbon. The stalks grow 2-3 m and tend to lodge badly. It yields well a nd makes excellent-quality syrup, but it is susceptible to most major sorghum di seases. It is a few days later than Tracy in maturity. 'Tracy' is a mid-season variety developed by the USDA and released in 1953. It g rows 3-4 m tall under optimum conditions, and it has intermediate tillering abil ity. The stalks are erect and juicy. The syrup quality can be excellent, but und

er some conditions the juice may contain too much starch for proper boiling. Tra cy is susceptible to anthracnose, red rot, leaf spot, and rust. Stalk yield is h igh but the syrup yield per ton of stalks is low. Syrup processing: Harvest: Harvesting at optimum maturity is the first step in obtaining high quality sorgh um syrup because changes in the composition of the juice and soundness of the st alks influence the quantity and quality. The sugar content of most varieties usu ally continues to increase as maturity approaches, thus, the best harvest time w ill be just before plants are mature. It is better to decide on harvesting by sa mpling the stalk sugar content. There are two methods to cut off the seed head: cut early when standing in the f ield or remove after stalk harvest. Although early removal helps to increase the sugar level and reduce the chances of lodging before harvest, it needs a lot of labour. When limited, it is best to remove the seed head after stalk harvest. I n future, it may be possible to improve the sugar content by mechanical, chemica l and male-infertile methods. Since many new branches will form on the top of the plant and will produce seed after the first head has been removed, the proper stage to behead is critical fo r the sugar content. Some research indicates that the best time is at the milk s tage of the seed development. Sugar level will decrease when beheaded after the milk stage and be lower at harvest in those plants not beheaded earlier. The hea d should be cut between the 2 top nodes. The best stage for harvesting most varieties is when most seeds reach the softto hard-dough stage of maturity. So it is easy to determine how mature the plant is by looking at the seed head. The maturity of sweet sorghum usually differs f rom one year to another depending on the variety and on climatic conditions. Whe n difficult to determine the right time for harvesting from seed maturity, it ca n be determined by measuring the amount of sugar in the juice with a Brix hydrom eter or a sugar refractometer. If harvested too mature, the juice starch content increases and the gelling and crystallization of the syrup are more likely to o ccur, and for most varieties will produce a poorer quality of syrup. Sugar content (Brix) of stalks with and without head removal: Upper stem; middle ; lower; average. Cut - 18.5; 17.5; 16.9; 17.6. Not cut - 16.8; 15.5; 15.4; 15.9 . The stalks may be harvested by hand or cut with a mower or binder and picked up, or mechanically cut and squeezed in the field. The seed head and peduncle must be removed before squeezing the juice as they contain less sugar than the rest o f the stalk. Seed heads may be stored in a cool, dry location if to be used as s eed for the next crop. Excellent syrup can be made without stripping off the leaves, which is labour in tensive. When not removed, it is better to crush the stalks after the leaves are dry. Leaf stripping should be done with a narrow paddle, a cane stripper, or th e knife used to cut the stalks while standing. To prevent the syrup crystallizing and make cooking easier and faster, a 3-5 day delay for milling will contribute some water loss and natural conversion of suc rose. Regardless of maturity, stalks must be harvested before freezing temperatu res which ruin the juice for syrup making. Juice extraction:

Due to the similar characteristics between sugarcane and sweet sorghum, extracti on is by squeezing through roller mills. The percentage of juice extracted is an important factor in mill operation. The extraction rate depends upon the mill adjustment, the moisture content of the st alk and the feed rate. In general, stalks of most varieties contain more than 70 % water and 10-15% fiber. With a three-roller mill, the average weight of extrac ted juice should be 50-60% of the stalk weight. If the extraction ratio is 50% o r lower mill the stalks a second time. For maximum extraction, the rollers must be adjusted to a suitably small spacing . If the bagasse contains visible juice and is not broken at the joints as it co mes from the mill, the extraction ratio is low. If the spacing is too narrow the extraction will be inefficient, if too wide the extraction will be low. Under n ormal conditions, an efficient mill should be able to apply from 50-100 tons pre ssure on the stalks giving 50-55 kg of juice from 100 kg of clean stalks. Filtering and settling the juice: After extraction there will be some dirt, cane, and debris in the green juice, t hese affect evaporation and sugar quality. It is important to filter out these e xtraneous materials with a juice-settling tank and mesh screen. The juice should be transported from the mill to the juice-settling tanks throug h a pipe or hose. It is then filtered through a fine mesh screen, muslin, or fin e nylon cloth to filter debris as it enters the tank. To ensure the continuous e xtraction of stalks, it is better to use 3-4 settling tanks, each big enough to hold the juice from 2-3 hours of milling. There are two different tanks - heated and unheated. The outlet on the settling tank should be at least 25 mm above the bottom so the settled material is not dr awn into the distiller, and a separate opening in the bottom of the tank will be needed to clean out the tank after draining. Since heat applied directly to the bottom of the tank causes problems in settling, the steam-heated coils should b e placed around the side of the preheat tank instead of underneath. The juice should be settled for a minimum of 2 hours before evaporation, and not more than 3-4 hours because it is quick to ferment and spoil without refrigerat ion or without heating. In the heated tanks, the juice is heated to a point just below boiling and held for about 2 hours. If the juice is held overnight, the t emperature should not be allowed to go below 70oC; this allows the skimmings to rise to the top and the settlings to precipitate. Removal of skimmings and insolubles from the juice in the settling tank is a vit al and indispensable step to make high-quality, light-colored syrup. If skimming s are boiled into syrup they are almost impossible to remove later in the proces s. Juice evaporation and concentration: The quality of the syrup will be influenced by the equipment and process used in manufacturing and by the skill of the syrup maker. There are two different meth ods for evaporating the juice; batch (kettles) or continuous-flow. Juice evapora tors are made of galvanized iron, black iron, stainless steel, or copper. Evapor ators made from galvanized iron are discouraged because the acidic juice leaches the zinc out of the galvanized metal. Although there are no known health hazard s, the use of iron is discouraged because high iron levels leaching into the syr up make it darker. Those made of stainless steel or copper are used today. Howev er, stainless steel evaporators need a uniform heat source for even heat distrib

ution and the ideal heat source is steam. Continuous evaporators produce a quick concentration of the juice to syrup, and will facilitate efficient skimming with proper operation. Continuous-type evapor ators have many advantages namely: - The design allows for rapid evaporation, which is essential in making light-co loured syrup; it increases the rate of boiling and foaming and affords a better opportunity for thorough skimming; heat is applied to the bottom of the evaporat or, giving an upward motion to the coagulated material, which makes skimming eas ier. - Certain proteins and other non sugar substances will begin to coagulate and ri se to the surface of the juice when heat is applied. The best practice is to rem ove this material as quickly as possible because success in making syrup depends first on the thoroughness with which the juice is skimmed before it begins to b oil rapidly. Even if careful skimming is done at the beginning of evaporation, c ontinuous evaporators make it advisable to continue the skimming until the juice has been evaporated to the density of finished syrup. - In practice, the difficulty of concentrating the syrup to uniform density is h ow to judge fairly accurately the density of syrup while it is still boiling. Ma ny operators are able to judge by their experience, others by dipping a skimmer into the boiling syrup, holding it up, and noting how the cooling syrup "flakes off." However, it is inevitable to be inconsistent with the subjective method in continuous evaporators. The use of a syrup-maker's thermometer can easily elimi nate the uncertainties of guessing the density. Syrup finishing: When syrup of heavy density is desired, the finished temperature is always about 9oC higher than the boiling point of water. The syrup density has a relationshi p with the finished boiling temperature, which permits the determination of the density by simply observing the temperature during boiling. The temperature must be controlled along the pan's length in order to evaporate the juice uniformly. Before the skimming is completely removed, boiling of the j uice should start at about one quarter of the length of the pan from the juice e nd and remain at a constant temperature. During the process of evaporation no pa rt of the pan should be dry for more than an instant. Otherwise, the syrup's qua lity may be impaired, and the pan can be damaged. Cooling the finished syrup is critical for obtaining light colored syrup after evaporation. The syrup must be cooked to about 60-70oC as quickly as possible because the faster the syrup cool s, the less the colour will develop. In some cases, the temperature of syrup is decreased by passing it quickly through a pipeline that is in an enclosed cool-w ater tank, to maintain the syrup's lighter color. If an enzyme is used to preven t crystallization, the temperature cannot be above 65oC in order to keep it acti vated. The finished syrup is thoroughly sterilized by boiling. If canned above 65oC in clean containers, it will not spoil or ferment. At the same time, the container must be airtight to prevent fermentation or surface mould growth. Sometimes, semi syrup (light syrup) is an attractive alternative since juice can not be held for long periods without spoiling. The sugar concentration, the temp erature at which it is held and the sanitation of the system decide the time tha t it can be safely held. The more density the syrup, the longer it can be stored . Questions and discussion:

Gelling: Starch in the juice seriously affects the consistency of making high quality syr up from sweet sorghum juice which is different from sugarcane juice. The starch in the raw juice of sweet sorghum may cause gelling when levels are high. The st arch content depends on the growing season and the variety grown. Over-mature so rghum usually has high amounts of starch in the juice. Harvesting at the proper stage reduces starch and settling the juice for over 2 hours is an effective method to the excessive starch. Enzymes are almost always used to remove the starch and prevent gelling, and there are 3 methods: a). Heat the juice, cool it, and then add the enzyme. The raw juice is heated to about 95oC for a few minutes, and then cooled to 80oC or less, and about 30 ml of the amylase enzyme is added /450 l of juice. Finally, the enzyme is thoroughl y mixed with the juice and allowed to settle for an hour or more for the enzyme to convert the starch to sugar. b). Add 30 ml of a high-temperature amylase enzyme per 450 L of the raw juice di rectly, then heat the juice slowly during evaporation. The juice must be heated slowly enough to allow the enzymes to convert the starch to sugar before the enz yme becomes inactive. c). The best method is to remove the starch gradually. Juice is evaporated to a semi syrup and cooled to 80oC in a large container, then the high-temperature en zyme is added and juice is allowed to stand for 1 hour or more to convert the st arch to sugar. Sanitation: Sorghum syrup should be processed under good sanitary conditions suitable for fo od production. The building should be covered and screened to keep out flies, bi rds, and animals. The floor should be concrete and graded to assist drainage. A pressurized water source for cleaning and hand washing should be available. Workers must wear clean clothing and hair cover and use good manufacturing pract ices during all operations. All surfaces coming into contact with the juice or f inished syrup should be washed frequently after production. They should be clean ed with 15% sodium hypochlorite solution and allowed to air dry. In order to pre vent spoilage fill jars with hot syrup and seal them immediately. For all operat ions during sugar production, food grade products must be used, including the gr ease used on the mill. How to prolong production: This is a vital problem in sugar production from sweet sorghum. Compared to suga rcane, sweet sorghum is difficult to store, which is an unfavourable attribute i n the scale of its sugar production. As a result, to plant a large area of sweet sorghum for sugar production, good planning is required to prolong the processi ng period. Planting different varieties of sweet sorghum or at different times: Different varieties can be harvested at different times due to their different m aturity periods. The difference between the growing period ranges from 10-40 day s, so the harvest period can be spread over one month by choosing varieties that mature at different dates. Sometimes there are only one or two varieties suitable for planting in certain a

rea, so it is essential to plant at different times in order to prolong the harv est time. To harvest ahead of time, seed may be sown in a greenhouse then transp lanted, or sown in the field covered with plastic. If the climate is not the lim iting factor for maturity of and land is not limiting, seed is sown at different times. Storage methods: Storage methods will decide the time of use of the stalks. In order to prolong t he machining periods, suitable methods may be taken to store both the stalks and the raw juice. It is effective to behead first and keep stalks standing in the field for about 10 days. After that, harvest the stalks, strip off the leaves, a nd stack them up. When the stalks are stacked, close attention must be paid to t he stack size and stack aeration. Storing stalks in the field is often not enough to prolong processing. Thus, at the same time, it will be essential to store the raw juice too. After the juices extracted, it is evaporated to a high brix degree so the juice can be stored fo r a long time without spoilage. Differences between sweet sorghum and sugarcane juices: There are many differences. Compared to sugarcane, some characteristics of sweet sorghum juice affect the process of sugar production and the quality of sugar. Some differences are discussed below: Low sugar purity: The purity of sugar is the sucrose ratio to total sugar. In sweet sorghum juice there is sucrose, glucose, starch and other materials, and the sucrose content i s about 50-80%, which is lower than sugarcane. In addition, the purity of sugar depends on the variety of sweet sorghum, the planting condition, the harvest per iod and storage time. Generally speaking, white sugar is difficult to produce when the purity of sugar is below 60% sucrose. More clarifier must be used to improve the purity of suga r in the juice. High level of deoxidized sugar: Deoxidized sugar has no adverse effect on the extraction of sucrose. On the cont rary, it lowers the solubility of sucrose in the water, and contributes to its c rystallization. However, deoxidized sugar will change and produce organic acid, which will decrease the purity of sugar and increase the sugar in molasses. In a ddition, some other substances will deepen the color of juice and improve the st ickiness of juice, which increases the difficulty of crystallization. There is high content of deoxidized sugar in sweet sorghum juice. This is an imp ortant problem in sugar production. Deoxidized sugar cannot be removed like sucr ose. Aconitinic acid: Aconitinic acid is the most important organic acid in the juice of sweet sorghum , and its calcium and magnesium salts produce deposits on the surface of the eva porator because of their low solubility in the dense sugar syrup. In the process of juice clarification, one part of aconitinic acid can be removed, while other s remain in the juice. CaCl2 and MgCl2 are used to remove the aconitinic acid. I f white sugar of high quality cannot be produced from sweet sorghum, the process of clarification should be strengthened to remove as much aconitinic acid as po

ssible. Starch: A high content of starch in the juice has an unfavorable effect on the sugar ref ining of sweet sorghum. The starch will change when it is heated to about 67oC, and increase the juice viscosity, which affects the clarifying process, the qual ity of sugar product and increases the cost of production. According to foreign studies, an enzyme should be used to accelerate the amylolysis process, or the p rocess of conversion of starch to sucrose will take a long time. Concluding remarks: White sugar production from sweet sorghum is not as easy as from sugarcane. Howe ver, sugar syrup (molasses) is a popular product made from sweet sorghum, especi ally in USA. It is important to remember that the correct varieties of sweet sorghum must be chosen for sugar production. Ch. 7. Ensilage. (1). Return To Table of Contents

Ensilage practice and its development: Ensilage is the process of preserving green food for domestic animals in an undr ied condition in a silo, i.e. a pit, an above ground construction, or stack, fro m which air has been mainly excluded. The nutritious characteristic of green jui cy fodder is retained as far as possible. It is a simple economic method of exte nding fodder sources and also an effective practice that guarantees all year sup plies. The fodder, which is the result of the process, is called silage. Although the practices similar to ensilage have been done since ancient times, s pecial attention was first given by a French agriculturist, Auguste Goffart, who in 1877 published a work (Manuel de la Culture et de Premiere ensilage de Mas et Autres Forages Verts) detailing the experiences of many years in preserving gre en crops in silos. After various experiments had been previously made in the Uni ted States in the way of preserving green crops in pits, Goffart's experience at tracted considerable attention. The conditions of American dairy farming proved eminently suitable for the ensiling of green maize fodder and the success of the method was soon indisputably demonstrated among the New England farmers. The fa vourable results obtained in America led to much discussion and to the introduct ion of the system into the United Kingdom, where, with different conditions, suc cess has been qualified. Now ensilage has become one of the important practices in developing domestic animal husbandry globally. Ensilage has been practiced in China since early in the Yuan dynasty. In the 20t h century it progressed very quickly, and its technologies greatly improved. Met hods of ensilage became diversified and more scientific, such as ensilage additi ves, half-dried ensilage etc. More plant sources were used. Equipment is develop ing toward large-scale, sealed, towers with volumes up to 400-600 m3. Planted ar eas of silage crops and quantities of ensilaged fodder are expanding rapidly. After the introduction of sweet sorghum varieties in early 1970s, Tianjin and Be ijing State Farm Administrations succeeded in ensiling it. Since then sweet sorg hum silage has been popular with large animal farms in the two cities as it has high yield and nutritious value, resistance to disease, pests, drought, water-lo gging and saline-alkali soils. Planting and ensilage techniques have been extend ed too many cities and provinces in China under the support of the government. T he FAO/TCP/CPR 0066 project has been promoting the development of sweet sorghum as forage for especially targeted arid area in northwest China's Shaanxi province

and saline/alkaline areas in north China's Shandong province. Significance of developing ensilage: Silage can retain most of the nutritious components of the original green juicy crop. Preserving raw green forage has a significant advantage over making hay in the feeding of domestic animals. Silage has become the main feed source of dome stic animals, especially cattle, and is an important source of vitamins, mineral s, and proteins for domestic animals in spring and winter. It is the main feedstuff for developing grain-saving domestic animal husbandry p ractices. Ensiling green forage can save grain because silage can substitute for grain feeding and is comparable with fresh green forage and hay for increasing significantly reproductive rate and milk of domestic animals as well as promotin g the growth and development of young animals. Now silage has become an indispen sable basic feed in the milk and beef industries of China. Under sealed conditions, silage can be stored for as long as over 10 years while retaining its quality. In north China's very long and cold winters green forage i s not available. Ensilaged green forage is the ideal means of supplying juicy fe ed. In Beijing some large animal farms have been practicing using silage all the year round. During the ensiling process, lactic acid, acetate, succinic acid, and alcohol ar e produced through fermentation making the silage smell mellow and attractive to animals. Ensiling green forage is only affected to a small extent by weather. In the over cast and rainy seasons, it is difficult to make hay from green plants. But the t ime taken from harvesting to storage of silage is much shorter than in making ha y, so the influence of the weather is much reduced. A larger area is needed for making hay than ensiling forage. Generally, a one cu bic meter silo can hold 450-700kg of silage. Furthermore, during storage the sil age is little affected by the weather, and there is no danger of fire as with ha y. Some pest eggs, pathogenic bacteria, and weed seeds are destroyed by the ensi lage process. Principle of ensiling: The principle of ensiling is that the green fodder is cut off from the air and f ermented under anaerobic conditions through multiplication of anaerobic Lactobac illus species, which consume water-soluble carbohydrates in the green forage as the main energy source. During this fermentation lactic acid is produced which m akes the concentration of hydrogen ions go up to around 100 ?mol/liter (pH 4.0). At this high concentration of hydrogen ion the activities of clostridium and mo uld bacteria are inhibited. Over time, all microbial growth is inhibited. In thi s way, green fodder retains its most of the nutritious components and can be sto red for a long time. There are two main phases; aerobic and anaerobic which last 2-3 weeks. Aerobic phase; The first phase occurs in the presence of oxygen, which is present in the forage when placed in the silo. The oxygen is consumed by the living cells of the gree n plant material through the process of respiration. Under aerobic conditions, p lant enzymes and aerobic microorganisms consume oxygen and push up the plant wat er-soluble carbohydrates (sugars), producing carbon dioxide, water, and heat.

The time varies depending with ensiling conditions. It could last for a few hour s or several days. It is good silage making practice to limit this phase as much as possible since water-soluble carbohydrates are being consumed and other nutr ients are being destroyed. The heat generated by an extended aerobic phase can r aise the temperature of the ensiling forage material sufficiently to cause damag e. Good silage making practices reduce the amount of time that aerobic microorga nisms and oxidizing plant enzymes are able to function. This is accomplished by chopping the silage into shorter lengths, packing it thoroughly and sealing the silo to exclude air. Anaerobic phase: This begins when the available oxygen is used up through plant respiration and a erobic bacteria cease to function. Anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that grow in the absence of oxygen) then begin to multiply rapidly using water-soluble carbohydr ates in the fodder as energy source and the fermentation process begins. A small amount protein is broken down to ammonia or amino acids. Ideally the microorgan isms, which grow most rapidly, will be predominately lactobacilli species, which produce lactic acid from the fermented plant material. The lactic acid produced will lower the pH of the silage. Fermentation completely ceases after 3-4 weeks when the pH becomes so low that all microbial growth is inhibited. Then the con centration of lactic acid is about 4-10 % of the dry weight of the ensiled fodde r. In stable conditions, when the concentration of hydrogen ion is higher than 6 3.09 ?mol/liter (pH lower than 4.2), the silage is then able to be stored for ye ars if the silo is kept unopened. Factors affecting silage quality: Chemical components of the green forage used in ensiling, especially water-solub le carbohydrate (WSC); Buffering capacity of the forage; Moisture content of the forage; The extent that the air in the silo is excluded; The type of bacteria t hat predominate in the ensiling fodder and Speed of fermentation. WSC: If the green forage to be ensiled is rich in sugars or starch, there will b e a large amount of lactic acid in the resultant silage, which is the outcome of quick fermentation by Lactobacillus species and these inhibit fermentation by o ther undesired bacteria in a short time. The WSC is affected by many factors, so me of which are: Growing conditions: Plants contain much greater amounts of water-soluble carbohy drate (WSC) when growing conditions have been cool with plenty of sunshine. Heav y rainfall during growth can reduce WSC content significantly. Drought: Drought will reduce the WSC content of the forage. Growth stage: The WSC content of sweet sorghum stalk increases as the plants mat ure, and reaches a peak when the grain is in the milk stage. Management conditions: There is a decrease of WSC during wilting. If wilting tak es longer than normal, this reduction in sugars can have a very detrimental effe ct on the ensiling process. Daily variation: Total WSC content appears to increase in the morning, and start s to decrease in the afternoon. Fertilization: High rates of nitrogen fertilizer can influence the nitrate conce ntrations in forage. High nitrate levels, which are undesirable in the ensiling process, are generally associated with lower levels of WSC. Some of the nitrates in forage are ultimately degraded to ammonia, which tends to undesirably raise the pH of the silage.

Buffering capacity of forage: This has an influence on the ease with which the f orage can be ensiled. It can be defined as the degree to which forage material r esists changes in pH. Forage with a high buffering capacity will be highly resis tant to a reduction in pH, which is necessary for good preservation. Therefore, more acid must be produced to reduce the pH to desired levels. This is undesirab le in silage because more WSC must be used to produce the additional acid. Where the buffering capacity is high, it has been estimated that twice the amount of WSC is required to give good fermentation, compared with forages with a low buff ering capacity. The organic acids (malic, succinic, malonic and glyceric acid) in forages are ma inly responsible for buffering capacity. In the ensiling process these organic a cids are degraded by bacteria and are replaced by acids with stronger buffering properties. These replacement acids cause the buffering capacity of the forage t o increase two to fourfold. Plant proteins also increase the buffering capacity. Sweet sorghum is rich in sugar in the stalks, so its buffering capacity may be h igh. But the exact capacity is yet to be studied in detail for the range of vari eties of growing and the ensiling conditions prevailing in China. Moisture content: The lower the moisture content in the crop, the higher will be the pH at which anaerobic stability is reached. Organic acids are lost in the w ilting process and this reduces the buffering capacity of the plants, which impr oves the ensiling process. This factor is one of the reasons why field wilting i s beneficial with crops that have low WSC contents and high buffering capacities . Another aspect, which makes wilting beneficial for ensiling, is that lactic acid bacteria are more tolerant to lower moisture concentrations than are the undesi rable clostridia organisms. Very wet forage (over 70% water) is undesirable sinc e Clostridium growth may not be inhibited even when the pH drops to 4. Also with wet forages, the nutritional value and voluntary intakes of the silage produced are often low. Wilting is usually restricted to perennial grasses and legume cr ops. Cereals usually have moisture levels suitable for rapid ensiling. The extent to which the air in the silo is excluded: The extent to which the air is excluded from the silo will determine the silage quality. There are several reasons for this: - Plant respiration results in the loss of nutrients, which would otherwise be a vailable for the anaerobic bacteria to use for lactic acid production. - Temperature in the ensiling forage will increase when oxygen is present. This is generally undesirable since high temperatures lead to heat damage of the sila ge. - Air in the silo delays the breakdown of the plant cells and the release of pla nt juices. This in turn delays the onset of rapid fermentation since the nutrien ts in the juices are not immediately available to the microorganisms. - Exposure to excessive oxygen during silo filling encourages growth of fungi, w hich causes greater instability and susceptibility to aerobic deterioration when silage is being fed. All of these factors tend to delay the development of the lactic acid producing bacteria, encourage the proliferation of undesirable Clostridium bacteria, and p romotes protein breakdown. Types of bacteria which predominate: The most desirable fermentation will occur where lactic acid producing bacteria

predominate. Although it is frequently assumed that fresh forage is adequately s upplied, the numbers may be low under some circumstances. Many of the silage ino culants on the market are formulated to increase the numbers of these bacteria. But in China, silage inoculants are not available. If more air is left in the silo, or sugars are deficient, lactic acid fermentati on cannot proceed well, and may even be interrupted, so that detrimental bacteri a may multiply leading to butyric acid formation. Also, protein will be broken d own to non-protein nitrogen with a lower nutritional value. Lactic acid is the main product of the ensiling process and the pH varies with t he lactic acid content. So the pH becomes a key indicator involved in the qualit y of silage and storage time. Generally raw plant materials in which sugar conte nt is up to 6% could be ensilaged to make high quality silage. If the sugar cont ent is lower than 2% it will be difficult to get good silage. The higher the sug ar content, the more quickly the anaerobic bacteria grow and produce lactic acid . Speed of fermentation: Since the primary aim of storing forages as silage is to preserve the material w ith a minimum of nutrient loss, it is desirable to limit the nutrient consuming activity of aerobic micro-organisms and to inhibit the breakdown of protein by C lostridium micro-organisms under anaerobic conditions. Characteristics of good ensiling procedures: Exclusion of air: It is extremely important that air is excluded to optimize fermentation. All of these factors tend to delay the development of the lactic acid producing bacteri a, encourage the proliferation of undesirable Clostridium bacteria, and promote protein breakdown. The actual amount of atmospheric oxygen that is initially trapped in the forage is very small. Measurements have shown that if sealing is adequate, 99.5% of the oxygen can be used up in 30 minutes by respiring plant tissues. This amount of combustion causes very little temperature rise (less than 3oC). However, conside rable air can enter the forage if the silage is not covered with plastic or seal ed in some other manner. Slow silo filling, forage that is not chopped finely en ough, and inadequate packing are other causes of excessive air in silage. Low temperature: When microbial growth occurs in silage, there is a temperature rise. The greater the growth rates of microorganisms, the higher the temperature. The rate of aci dification is greater when silage temperatures are higher and the onset of ferme ntation is earlier. As a result, people have incorrectly concluded that hot sila ge is good silage. Higher temperatures promote the growth of undesirable Clostri dia, which result in increased butyric acid and ammonia formation, which is detr imental to quality. Temperatures ranging from 15-25oC have been shown to allow g rowth of the more important lactic acid producing bacteria while inhibiting the undesirable Clostridia species. Silage temperatures should not exceed 30oC. High temperatures will cause heat damage in silage. When the temperature of the silage exceeds 40oC in the presence of oxygen, a chemical reaction between plant WSC and protein occurs. This reaction produces brown products that give heat-da maged silage with a tobacco or caramelized odour. The protein that is bound in t his 'browning reaction' is largely indigestible to the rumen microorganisms of t he animal. The higher the temperature in the silage the greater the reduction in

protein digestibility. Fresh forage protein has a true digestibility of approxi mately 90%, regardless of the forage source. Excessive heating can reduce this d igestibility to 30% or less. It should be noted that the longer the time that th e high temperature persists, the greater would be the damage to the forage. Rapid acidification: Since it is the pH of the silage that stops the fermentation pH is of great impo rtance. It is the rate of acidification rather than the ultimate pH achieved tha t is of the greatest importance, since rapid acidification reduces the risk of e arly growth of Clostridia. In direct cut, high moisture situations, ensiling pro cedures should be such that rapid acidification is achieved. However, with high dry matter crops and if sterility has been used, the rapid decrease in pH is not so important. Ch. 7. Ensilage. (2). Types of ensilage: For sweet sorghum, as well as maize, there are 3 types of ensilage:- entire plan t ensilage including ear - stem ensilage and fruit ensilage Stem ensilage is the most popular practice for preserving green sweet sorghum. G enerally, when ensiling the stem, the pieces should be cut short i.e. 1-1.5 cm. In ensiling, supplementation of water is needed if the water content in the plan t is lower than 40-45% so that the silo will seal better. Around 48-55% of water is more desirable when the silo can't be sealed. The stalk of sweet sorghum gener ally stays green, with water content when ensiling in the later autumn. Additives: Main function of additives: Application of additives in ensiling can help retain the nutrition, increase fee d value, and keep aerobic stability of the silage after it is removed from the s ilo. Other functions are as follows: - Nutrition supplement - To supplement carbohydrate used in fermentation - Application of acids to lower acidity - Inhibit the multiplication of the detrimental bacteria and mould bacteria - Decease the oxygen content - Decrease the moisture content - Fix soluble nutrient so as to avoid loss The categories of the additives: Urea: addition of urea in the ensiling process would increase the content of cru de protein of the resultant silage, and also improve feed flavor and storage abi lity. The use of urea is: 0.45% on dry basis, distributed evenly while filling t he silo. 0.8 kg CaSO4 is added to make the final ratio of nitrogen to sulphur le ss than 15: 1. Acid-like materials: Phosphoric acid: suitable for high-moisture ensiling, but a shortcoming is that it gives bad feed flavor. Organic acid: Propionic acid, Acetic acid, Lactic acid, Citric acid, Formic acid etc, which effects are much better than inorganic acids. Usage: 1% on dry weigh t basis Fermentation enhancer: this includes bacteria, yeast and enzyme products. The sh Return To Table of Contents

ortcoming is their unstable nature. Preservatives: including antibiotic, salt, disinfectants and etc. may occasional ly be used. Ensiling equipment: Machinery: ensilaging combine harvester, forage cutter, tractor, etc. Silage containers: Requirements for ensiling container: Can be sealed to prevent air entrance; The walls should be straight and smooth; and of adequate depth and slanting and stro ng; Be in a well-drained site with a low water table, so that it doesn't enter the silo. Each time before ensiling, the silo should be cleaned, repaired, and ster ilized completely. An example of a silo design is given in Figure 7.2. The base and wall are built with bricks covered with cement. The thickness of the wall should be not less th an 12 cm. The opening of the silo should be 20 cm above the ground and is design ed for one silo per 10 sheep. Total volume is 11.4m3 and net volume is 10 m3. Types of silos: Shape; round, square, ditch, and silage tower. Position: half ab ove ground; underground (Figures 7.3 & 7.4); above ground and plastic sheets: su itable for a household that needs a small quantity of silage. Half-above ground: This silo is the most common one having a large volume, suita ble for a large cattle farm and is easy to fill. It is little affected by outsid e temperatures, which is good for fermentation of desired bacteria and high qual ity silage. Above ground: This is suitable where the water table is high. The height is dete rmined by construction abilities. When a forage cutter with an automatic loading facility is available, the height can be as high as 7-10 m. For the convenience of filling and taking out the silage, the silo (or tower) sh ould be constructed near to and facing the animal shed with some windows each 11.5 meters from the ground. The walls must be strong and sealed enough to preven t air entrance. Underground style: The whole silo or silage trench is located underground. The d epth is less than 3 m and at least 0.5 m above the water table. It is suitable f or cattle farms where the water table is low and soil texture is heavy and compa ct. Silo volume: This is determined by the scale of the cattle or sheep farm. Genera lly, it is designed to meet the total consumption of the cattle population per d ay. The circumference is determined so that 7-9 cm of the silage is consumed per day. Advantage over other crops: - Sweet sorghum is a C-4 pathway crop with high biomass yield and high resistanc e to drought, diseases, pests and water logging. Stalk yield is 45-75Mt/ha and g rain yield ranges 1.5-3.25 Mt/ha. - It is rich in sugar in the stalks - 8-22% (fresh weight), which is an importan t prerequisite and guarantee for successful ensiling. - It has a high nutritious value for domestic animals. For the sweet sorghum var

iety Rio, the content of crude protein is slightly lower than maize, other compo nents except for non-nitrogen extracts similar, but the non-nitrogen extract is 2.57% higher and the sugar content is higher than maize: Table 7.1. Comparison of components (%) 1'. Crop Moisture Protein Fiber S.sorghum 78.87 6.0554 28.5657 Maize 72.41 6.3998 29.0531 0.5456 between sweet sorghum `Rio' and maize `Jinduo Fat Ash N-free extract 0.5466 6.0445 60.5312 4.4011 57.9568

- Water content in sweet sorghum stalks and leaves is changed insignificantly du ring the whole development. As the grain becomes mature, the water content in th e stalk can still be up to 66.8%, and up to 41.4% in the leaves, which is conduc ive to long storage of ensilage. - Sweet sorghum silage has good feed flavour and high digestibility and animals like to eat it. It is an elite preserved feed for domestic animals. - Sweet sorghum is highly effective in producing good weight gain. - Comparing dried sweet sorghum and other silages, it makes beef cattle gain 3% more per day, and the feedstuff utilization rate increases up to 10%. If feeding milk cows, the milk yield can increase by 5%. Key ensilage points: Harvest time - by hand or by machine: It is important to harvest when highest yield can be acquired and to get high qu ality silage. For sweet sorghum, it is suitable for harvest at the milk to waxin g stage, when the sugar content is the highest. Appropriate harvesting stage of some crops for silage: Maize (whole plant) - wax ing to yellow mature, may be as early as milk stage if frost comes; maize (witho ut ears) - as early as possible after ears are harvested when more than half the leaves are green; sweet sorghum (stalk only) - waxing stage or as early as milk stage when frost comes and legumes - early flowering stage. Mechanical pretreatment: The plants are cut into 1-1.5 cm segments before ensilage, which helps compact t he ensilage in the silo and helps removal. Chopping, cutting, and bruising all can help make good silage, due to cell break age, which favors bacterial growth and facilitates adequate packing for air excl usion. Anaerobic conditions can be established quickly in cut forage and thus te mperature rise may be limited to 25% of that observed in forages, which have not been chopped (e.g., round bale silage). More lactic acid is formed and less dry matter losses occur when forage is chopped. The pH of the silage and its ammoni a content that result from protein degradation are reduced, and lactic acid conc entrations are increased with progressively shorter lengths. Where the length of cut has been reduced, increased voluntary consumption by cattle and sheep has b een observed. Appropriate moisture: This is the most important means of controlling the ensiling process. Wilting in the field is a practical way to obtain the appropriate moisture for ensiling. A desirable moisture level is 65%, but slightly higher moistures may be desirable

when long lengths are used, when packing is minimal, or when the silage is not well sealed. Less moisture (40-50%) is required in some oxygen limiting silos. T he recommended moisture content of forage stored in different types of structure s are: Horizontal - 60-70%; concrete tower - 60-65%; - oxygen limiting - 40-50% and plastic sheets - 60-65%. When moisture contents are greater than 65% seepage and loss of nutrients will o ccur in tower silos that are more than 10 m high. Such high moisture levels will also encourage growth of undesirable Clostridia organisms. At moisture levels lower than 60%, excessive heating is likely to occur unless a n oxygen-limiting silo is used. When the moisture content is over 65%, sliced gr een plants can be mixed with some drier forage. Methods of determining moisture content: Lab analysis: Take a sample of 1 kg chopped stem; dry to constant weight with he ating cabinet or micro-oven; calculate the moisture by: Moisture content (%) = [ Fresh sample weight- Dried sample weight]/Fresh sample weight 100 Empirical hand estimation: The moisture content can be estimated by hand squeezi ng - Clench the chopped stem tightly, and then open the fist; when the balled ch opped stalk doesn't break up but has a little seeped liquid, the moisture content is about 70-75%; when it breaks up slowly with some seeped liquid, the water con tent is around 60-70% and when it breaks cut up quickly after opening the fist, the moisture is less than 60%. Rapid filling, packing and sealing: Once the filling begins, it is better to fill the silo in a short time before se aling. The longer the time it takes to fill the silo, the greater the exposure t o air. Generally it is recommended that the silo be filled within 2 days. Before filling begins, it is better to put some longer chopped forage plant or green p lant with less moisture content or even dried hay at the bottom of the silo to a bsorb the juice that seeps from the chopped green forage. The chopped silage should be well distributed and pressed. If it is not well dis tributed and pressed more air will be retained in the silo, which will be not be neficial for fermentation. Sealing silos is beneficial to exclude air. Generally, the sealing benefits only the surface layer of the silage, but if the silage is not well packed, it is be neficial for the entire silage mass. The silage making process can become anaero bic within 5 hours when the silage is sealed immediately after filling, whereas it can take up to 90 hours to become anaerobic when sealing is delayed for 48 ho urs. Management: After sealing, a drainage ditch is dug 1 m around the silo so as not let rain in. Afterwards, regular examinations should be made and if a crack is found in the cover, some earth is put on it or it is sealed in another way. Reference standard for sensual evaluation of silage quality: A good grade - yell ow-green, slight acid flavour, fragrant, soft and a little moist. Medium grade yellow brown to dark green, mild or no acid flavour, fragrant, soft and drier o r wetter. Poor grade - black or brown, strong acid flavour, odorous, dry and fla key or clumped. Opening the silo: A second aerobic phase begins after the silo is opened and the silage is exposed to air. Aerobic microorganisms that have remained dormant in the absence of oxygen start to grow, which causes a rise in temperature of the s

ilage. Normally there is also some appearance of mould at this time. Silage may start to undergo aerobic deterioration within a few hours of exposure to air, bu t may also be stable for as long as a few days. Very high moisture silages with a high buffering capacity are most susceptible to aerobic deterioration because they are most likely to be contaminated by fungi. Also susceptible to aerobic de terioration is silage in which fermentation has been limited with additives. Sil ages that are more resistant to aerobic deterioration at feeding are those in wh ich the length of exposure to oxygen has been kept to a minimum by rapid filling and packing during the silage making progress. Other Points: - Young green plants of sweet sorghum are not fit to feed animals because they c ontain some detrimental components. However, it is unnecessary to worry about fe ed poisoning after ensiling, because these are destroyed during the process. - It is encouraged to ensile sweet sorghum mixed with maize. In this way, maize stalks are utilized instead of burning them in the field and polluting the air. Meanwhile, nutrients of the two crops supplement each other, which is beneficial for cattle growth and development. Ch. 8. Agro-ecosystems. Return To Table of Contents Introduction: Sweet sorghum has a very high biomass yield. The Institute of Botany, Chinese Ac ademy of Sciences, showed that the stalk and fresh biomass yields for the cultiv ars `M-81E' and `Thies' are 89.5 & 94.8 and 128 & 125 t/ha respectively. An experiment c arried out in Germany showed that the highest fresh biomass was 160 t/ha. Two world petroleum crises clearly show that it is an undeniably finite resource . At present, it is impossible that any individual technology can be used to mee t the demand for energy in the world. Therefore, many countries are seeking new energy resources, and many people want green renewable energy. Among the biomass energy crops, sweet sorghum is the most important species. It has been cultivat ed as an energy plant in many countries. Experiments in the former Yugoslavia sh ow that the biomass yield from irrigated fields can be used to make 8000 l/ha of alcohol. In India, experiments in making alcohol with sugarcane show that alcoh ol output is 4,000-5,000 l/ha/year, while that from sweet sorghum is 5700-6500 l /ha/year. In the USA, the alcohol output from sweet sorghum is 6,106 l/ha/year w hile the alcohol output from sugarcane, which was called the most effective tran sformer of solar-energy, is only 4,680 l/ha/year. In Japan, the experiments with the carbohydrate daily synthesized by several crops and transformed into alcoho l, showed that alcohol output of sweet sorghum is 48 l/ha/day, while that of mai ze, wheat and grain sorghum is only 15 l/ha/day, 3 l/ha/day and 9 l//ha/day resp ectively. Sweet sorghum produces grain, sugar and syrup, wine, alcohol and monosodium glut amate. The fibre can be used to make pulp or paper. Since it has good drought, w ater logging and salinity resistance it has wide adaptability. It is well receiv ed by farmers, and can be rapidly popularized in many provinces, cities and auto nomous regions in China, producing economic and social benefits. Therefore, it i s possible to build up an agro-ecosystem in which sweet sorghum is used as the k ey focus. In order to accelerate its integrated utilization, studies on the sust ainable agro-ecological system were done with support by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2000. The structure is demonstrated in figure 8.1. In this agro-ecosystem, black mushr ooms or others may be inter-planted in the furrow between rows. The sweet sorghu m seed can be used as food or forage; the leaves can be used to feed cows or fis

h. The chopped stem can be used for making wine or ethanol fuel, fodder and sila ge. The residue after brewing wine or extracting juice for alcohol can be used a s fodder for cows. The cow manure and crop residues can be used for making bioga s. The biogas can be used for cooking or burnt in greenhouses or plastic sheds t o increase illumination and heat, and at the same time the CO2 released can enha nce the growth and development of vegetables or ornamentals in greenhouses. The biogas generator residues can be used as fertilizer. Thus, a sustainable sweet sorghum agro-ecological system is formed for encouragi ng the development of energy, agriculture, stock breeding and fisheries in the c ountryside. The system has high economic benefits, and in arid and saline alkali areas it allows production of animals and food where other crops have failed. Agro-ecosystem structure: Cultivars:

The choice is critical for the successful operation of this agro-ecosystem becau se it is the base product. The varieties chosen must have high biomass and adapt ability, which can convert more solar energy and improve the system's stability. T he cultivars introduced, selected or bred by our Institute of Botany, such as `Wra y', `M-81E', `BJ-190', `BJ-281' etc., can be cultivated used. The total biomass of these vari ties is about 75-120 t/ha at average plant density. They are 3.5-4.5 meters tall, so it is important to arrange the crop by spacing so as to improve CO2 availability in the field. Several rows comprise a high-den sity bed and space between beds is larger than average. On the other hand, in la ter growth periods, tall stalks can produce a shade environment near the ground, and this is suitable for mushrooms. We plant mushrooms between two groups of sw eet sorghum. This is called `stereoscopic cultivation', and this cultivation method makes best use of the resources and the environment. The plant and inter-row spa cing of 7015 cm (95,235 plant per ha), every four rows in each bed is suitable. T he space between every two rows is used to grow black or other edible mushrooms. Mushroom varieties: The variety of mushroom should be chosen according to different conditions. Howe ver, as it is always difficult to control the humidity in the field; one should cultivate varieties adaptable to drier conditions. These varieties should be eas y to cultivate under shade. In our case, the variety of mushroom is `888' newly bred by Chaoyang Institute of Ed ible Fungi, Liaoning Province. The bagasse is mixed with sawdust, corncob powder and small quantity of soybean meal; then the pH of the mixture is adjusted to 6 .5 with lime. The mixture is put in sterilized polypropylene plastic bags of 3317 cm and the bags are put in a suitable temperature for culturing fungi. At the b eginning of August the bags are split and put into the space between every 2 row s. Every 2 rows a 30 cm passageway is left for access. The technology can be cha nged according to the variety of mushroom chosen. Wine/alcohol production: Two different methods are used to make wine from the stalks; solid and liquid fe rmentation. The first is easy to operate with simple equipment. However, it is d ifficult to control the temperature and pH for fermentation, and needs more labo ur and time and is often used in small-scale wine making. On the contrary, the l iquid fermentation is suitable for large scale or industrial wine production. Fi rstly solid fermentation is used to produce wine from sweet sorghum in our resea rch of this ecosystem. When sweet sorghum is mature and the sugar content is hig h, it is cut at or below ground level and stacked on to the trailer/truck, then

transported to the fermentation plant. The seed heads and leaves are removed and stacked separately. The stacked stripp ed stalks are placed near the crusher/mill and washed to remove dirt. The stalk is cut into pieces by a silage cutter, and then put into cellar for brewing 4 da ys after mixing with the proper quantity of yeast powder. The last step is to di still the mash with steam distillation equipment to produce alcohol. (Later sect ions of this manual provide greater details.) It is vital to choose a good yeast to produce a high quality and quantity of win e. The fermentation temperature and pH is critical for the activity of the yeast and the resulting wine. The average output is 1kg of alcohol of 56 degrees from about 12-18 kg of stalks. If the wine is distilled further one gets purer alcoh ol. The equipment and technology for alcohol production are detailed in another part of this manual. A small size alcohol still made by Revenoor Corporation of U.S.A. was used to di still the wine into alcohol. Livestock Shed: As winter is cold in northern China, the livestock are kept indoors. A livestock solar panel was built into a solar greenhouse to promote livestock growth. For convenient management, the livestock shed was built in the first room near the d oor in the glasshouse. At the same time, the expiration of livestock can improve the CO2 content in the greenhouse, which contributes to enhancing rapid growth of vegetables inside. Biogas plant: To ensure that the biogas plant generates biogas normally in winter it is built under the livestock shed. The size of the plant is built based on the size of th e solar greenhouse. With a one-mu (666.7m2) solar greenhouse, the biogas plant i s 10m3. The livestock are raised in the area on top of the plant. Experimental greenhouse: Two similar solar greenhouses (666.7m2) nd biogas for testing and the other was vegetable cultivated was cucumber. The as the waste and liquid retained after s were put in, and the distance between on added lasted 6 hours every day. were built. One incorporated livestock a a control standard solar greenhouse. The base fertilizer applied was organic such generating biogas. In the control 5 lamp every two lamps was 20 m; the illuminati

The determining factors on the growth of vegetable are the illumination, tempera ture, CO2 concentration and relative humidity. In the glasshouse, three represen tative sites were selected to carry out the observation at 08:00, 12:00 and 16:0 0 every day. Result and cost benefit analyses: Breeding new varieties:

During the 70's and 80's, China introduced a large numbers of excellent early and la te varieties and germplasm of sweet sorghum from Southern and Northern America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. Through evaluation and characterization a la rge number of superior varieties with high yield, high content of sugar, wide ad aptability and for other products, such as `Wray', `Cowley', `M-81E', etc. were screened. In the 90's bred some new varieties were bred such as `BJ-190', `BJ-281', `BJ-238', `BJ-248' et ither in the regional experiments in China or in international trials. The exper

iments in 3.4 ha in Yutian County, Hebei Province, in 1997, produced an average stalk yield of 74.8 t/ha and 4.86 t/ha of grain. For `BJ-190', the average yield of stalk was 75 t/ha, grain 4.6 t/ha and leaves 19.3 t/ha (table 8.1), over 3 years . Interplanting of edible mushrooms: As sweet sorghum is tall (4-5m), the shade density is quite high, and thus the t emperature is low, and the humidity is high. This environmental condition benefi ts the growth of edible fungi. The method of interplanting black mushrooms in th e field of sweet sorghum is as follows: Each bed grows 4 rows of sweet sorghum, the spacing between rows is 70 cm; betwe en every two furrows, a space of 1.4 m width is maintained for cultivating the e dible fungi; and 30 cm at the center is retained as pathway for management At bo th sides of the pathway there are 3 rows of fungus bags. The stalk bagasse, sawd ust and crushed corncob are used as the culture medium. The compost is put in ba gs, then sterilized and inoculated. The bags are split and put in the field to g row. After harvesting the first crop, in 7-10 days, second crop can be harvested . Each ha field can contain 79,335 bags, each bag produces 30 g of dried black f ungi, that is, 2385 kg/ha (one ha of field contains 15,000 bags). The highest yi eld is 6,000-7,500 kg/ha). If the price is 40 Yuan/kg, then, the output value is 95,190 Yuan/ha. After deducting the costs of 0.40 Yuan/bag, the net profit is 6 2,450 Yuan/ha (about US$7,800/ha). Feeding fish with leaves: The leaves of contain 3-5% sugar, and the content of protein is high. It is an e xcellent fodder for fish. Either the whole leaves or chopped/torn leaves are fed to grass carp. 31.5 kg of original fodder produced 1 kg of grass carp, while fo r sweet sorghum; 24.3 kg could produce 1 kg of grass carp. 18.8 t of leaves/ha o f sweet sorghum if used to feed grass carp, can produce 780 kg of grass carp/yea r. Wine from the stalk: The simple method is solid fermentation. The wine can be seasoned into potash wi ne or distilled into alcohol. Solid fermentation technology and its equipment used in this study are simple an d convenient to operate in making wine. This technology can be used for large-sc ale factory or small-scale household production. After harvesting the mature gra in the stalk is crushed before mixing with yeast and some wine residues then fer mented for 4-5 days. Then the mash and wine is steam distilled. The wine can be aged and blended into potash wine or further distilled to produce purer alcohol. The wine made from sweet sorghum is pure. The content of methanol is lower than that of any wine made from grain. The output rate of white spirit of 60% alcohol is about 6-10%. The output of white spirit is 4671-5574 kg/ha. The total yield including the alcohol made from grain can reach 6449 - 7352 kg/ha. (Table 8.2). Alcohol from white spirit: A small-scale alcohol still from Revenoor Corporation, USA, was used. 5 litres o f white spirit containing 60% alcohol made from stalks was further distilled. Th e temperature was controlled at 200oC, to produce 95% alcohol. The output of 95% alcohol is 2.93 litres and the recovery rate is 58.6%. Distiller's grain for cattle:

The distiller's grain contains cellulose, fat, albumen and large quantity of amino acids and is a fine fodder for feeding cattle. It is the common fodder used for feeding milking cows and gives 9.50 kg/day of m ilk. The distiller's grain is used for feeding beef cows and produces 9.75 kg/day, increasing output 0.25 kg, at a cost of 0.5 Yuan. Biogas solar greenhouse: In this system, a solar greenhouse provides the environmental conditions for nts and biogas generation. Cow dung is the material used to feed the plants. cannot only give an innocuous treatment of cow dung but also activates a lot enzymes needed by crops. The biogas is used for lighting and to increase the umination, and to apply CO2 and heat. pla It of ill

A biogas plant is placed under the livestock shed built into the solar greenhous e. Another common solar greenhouse (control) was used for comparison. The vegeta bles grown in the both glasshouses were cucumbers. The biogas solar greenhouse had 5 biogas lamps, burning for 6 hrs/day. The ferti lizer applied was organic fertilizer sediment and liquid after generating biogas . The results of the experiment showed that: the illumination increased by 0.2-1 .1104 Lx; the temperature increased by 2.1-4.0oC; the relative humidity decreased by 4-15%; the CO2 content increased by 109-129 ppm. (Tables 8.3 to 8.7). Over 3 years the content of organic matter in the soil increased by 0.004-0.180% (tabl e 8.8). The biogas solar glasshouse can increase net income to 56,205 Yuan/ha (a pprox. US$7,000). Benefit analysis: For the stereoscopic planting model, the variety `BJ-190' was planted continuously i n an area of 10.7 ha for three years. The average seed yield was 4602 kg/ha and stalk 75 t/ha. Through solid fermentation, the stalk and grain were used to make white spirit containing 55.3% alcohol and the output of white wine was 6449-735 2 kg/ha. 3.00 Yuan/kg for products gives 19370-22056 Yuan/ha (approx. US$7,000). With inter-planting edible fungi with a cropping cycle of 2-3 months, the net i ncome is about 63,450 Yuan/ha (approx. US$8,000). With the stereoscopic model, t he net income is about 120,000 Yuan/ha (US$14,000). At a price of 0.1 Yuan/kg th en the 75,000 kg/ha of distiller's grain remaining after making wine with sweet so rghum can be converted into 7,500 Yuan/ha (US$9,140). If the leaves are used to feed fish, such as grass carp, the leaf yield - 18,795 kg/ha can produce 773 kg of grass carp. At 7 Yuan/kg, the value is 5411 Yuan/ha (approx. US$700). The cow dung and the remains of the crop can be used to generate biogas. This can be us ed for cooking, illumination or burnt in solar plastic-sheet hothouses for incre asing illumination, promoting growth of flowers, vegetables or other plants. The biogas residues can return to the field. In comparison with common solar hothou ses, biogas solar plastic sheet hothouses can increase income to 56,190 Yuan/ha. Thus the total income amounts about 151,898-211,157 Yuan/ha, or 10-20 times the income from common crops. This farming system is a new one with high cost input and high profit output as well as high quality and high economic benefit. Also, the structure of this soil is improved and fertility strengthened. In this case , agriculture, livestock farming, fishery and renewable energy resources can be developed at the same time, bringing economic, ecological and social benefits. The technology adopted is very practical and readily implemented. Two-year exper iments, well conducted, produced outstanding benefits. In view of the characteri stics of sweet sorghum such as drought resistance, waterlogging resistance and s aline-alkali tolerance, this system can be extended to areas where the accumulat ed temperature heat units amount to 2,900-4,100 degree days per year in vast are as of northwest China. The system will bring sustainable development of agricult

ure, solving the problem of forage deficiency and increasing the local farmers' in comes. Some questions and discussions: Energy and material flow: In this agro-ecosystem sweet sorghum is the core and the energy source of other parts. The amount of biomass and the growth status limit the size of other syste m parts to be supported by its energy and material flow. The solar energy and nu trient and water which sweet sorghum absorbs from soil are the main energy input s of the ecosystem. After assimilation by sweet sorghum, the energy is apportion ed to different parts such as seeds, stalks, roots and leaves. As each is used f or different purposes, the energy flows goes in different directions. One part i s used to produce outputs such as wine, milk, alcohol, biogas and other parts go back to the soil and the environment. Some pivotal technology and steps: The variety of sweet sorghum and cultivation; The output of sweet sorghum is vital for the smooth operation of this ecosystem. On the one hand, different varieties should be chosen for different areas and c limate because they have different characteristic and yield. On the other hand, suitable and standard technology is needed to cultivate it according to the outp ut. In order to ensure that the amount of the sweet sorghum is optimal, areas sh ould be chosen according to the varietal capabilities, desired use and environme nt. Mushroom selection: The edible fungi used were black mushrooms, (Auricularia polytricha), the oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus and the lentinus mushroom (Lentinula edodes). The experiments showed plain mushroom has the best resistance to infection of other fungi and best adaptability to environment, and has quick emergence and high yie ld; black fungus follows. However the black fungus price is higher and is conven iently preserved for a long time after drying. The two kinds of edible fungi are suitable to interplanting while the lantanas mushroom is not suitable because i t needs more precise growing conditions. In Beijing, the humidity is lower in September, affecting the growth of the firs t and second crops of fungi. If a 200 cm spacing is retained between rows, and i ron frames are used with slope on one side for planting fungi and if covered wit h silver-gray or black plastic sheet the space is increased and the humidity and illumination are controlled. The per unit area field of fungi and the economic benefit increase twofold compared to fungi planted at ground level. The quaternary greenhouse: This kind of greenhouse is suitable for the north of China. It is quaternary becau se it has the functions of the planting, livestock, biogas plant, and the kitche n at the same time. Every part can contribute to each other, which improves the efficiency of the energy and costs. The quaternary greenhouse is an important pa rt of this ecosystem, and it makes complex steps for the utilization of sweet so rghum easy to operate and improves the feasibility of the ecosystem. Ecosystem productivity and stability: Any ecosystem has 4 basic characteristics; productivity, stability, durability a nd equilibrium. Productivity is the increment of value added product in time. Wh

en productivity changes little due to the stability of the climate and other fac tors, the ecosystem stability is high. Durability is the capability of maintaini ng high productivity although despite some major disturbances. Equilibrium is ho w the energy and product are divided in different parts and steps. These 4 chara cteristics of an ecosystem are interdependable. During the operation of this ecosystem, the land resource is used as the base, t he solar energy as the motive power, sweet sorghum as the tap and biogas as the link. It depends on bio-energy technology to make the plant and animal cultivati on, greenhouse and biogas digester combine into one system, which forms an energ y-ecology-circulatory and integrated utilization system. This system could be ex pected to reach an integrated optimum effectiveness in development of an economy , environment protection, energy utilization and subsequent economic benefits. The system is a unique innovation for the future. It can be used in any area sui table for growing sweet sorghum. Ch. 9. Other Uses. Return To Table of Contents

Sweet sorghum can be used to make plywood, red pigment, vinegar, yellow wine (ri ce wine), charcoal pellets etc. The following will introduce technologies of sor ghum red pigment extraction and yellow wine making. Red pigment: It is chemically a derivative of flavone-like compounds, which are natural pigme nts with no toxicity or special flavor. Usually it is red powder or a lumpy soli d or can be processed into liquid or paste as required. It can be dissolved in w ater, its acidic liquid form shows a slight brown colour, its neutral liquid is brown and its alkali liquid deep brown. It can be used widely for colouring in t he processing of meat, fish, soybean products, cakes, drinks, sugar, medical cap sules, etc. It is mainly composed of two molecules: (a) 5, 4'-dihydroxy -7-0-soflavone glycosi de and (b) 5, 4'- dihydroxy-6, 8- diomethoxy-7-0- soflavone galactoside. The ratio of the two molecules is a:b = 2:1. Their molecular formula and molecular weight s respectively are C21H20O10 /432.37 and C23H24O12/492.42. (See figure 9.1). Pigment extraction from grain husks: Crush grain husks into a powder, put the powder into extraction vats, immerse in alcohol for 2 hours then filter with gauze. A clear liquid is obtained. This is concentrated until the solid component is about 40%. Alcohol is then added to e xtract protein, pectin, etc. and then filtered to get a clearer liquid. The liqu id is then clarified by reflux condensation until the solid content is about 50% . The solid component is then desiccated with an air pump until complete dry. It is then filtered with an 80-mesh screen. The production rate is about 5% of gra in husk. Yellow wine production: Yellow wine, with very long production history in China (more than 5000 years) i s very popular. Now it is called liquid bread because of its high nutrition valu e. Based on 13 years of experience in development of the northern-type yellow wine, the technology for producing it from sweet sorghum and its healthy series of pr oducts were developed in the Gansu Academy of Sciences. More than 100 varieties of yellow wine can be made according to different natura

l resources in different regions. These products are healthy with a low alcohol content (0.5-18%), an attractive colour of light to brown yellow with a high nut rient value. At present, potable alcohol is added in the later stage of yellow wine productio n from millet in order to increase alcohol content. But some problems are found after adding alcohol, i.e. a decreased nutrient value and poor taste. So sweet s orghum wine was tried in the place of alcohol. In this way the nutrient value an d taste were improved. If millet is mixed with the sweet sorghum stalk cut befor e fermentation a better flavor and higher nutrient value is achieved. See Figure 9.2. Nutrient value of sweet sorghum yellow wine: Analysis made with a Hitachi 835-50 amino acid auto analyzer on components of sw eet sorghum yellow wine is shown in table 9.1 which shows that all 8 essential a mino acids are present. The total amino acid content is the highest among all ki nds of wines, 10 times for beer and 3-5 for grape wine. Physical, chemical, and hygiene parameters: See table 9.2. Tips: Water is the most important factor that affects the wine quality. Water used in the process should be clean and softened in order to produce high quality wine. Ch. 10. Further reading. Return To Table of Contents

Li Dajue & Liao Fusun, 1992. "Sweet Sorghum and its Utilization". Li Dajue, 1997. "Abstracts on Sweet Sorghum". (See Cover). Li Dajue, 1997. " Proceedings of the First International Sweet Sorghum Conferenc e. (See Cover).

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