Sweet sorghum developed for alcohol production

A new sweet sorghum variety that can be used for the production of alcohol (ethanol) has been developed.

Named ICV 93046, it was bred by the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Currently headed by former Agriculture Acting Secretary William D. Dar, ICRISAT is one of the 16 Future Harvest Centers of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Production of the variety in the Philippines will be promoted by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agriculture Research (DA-BAR), BAR Director Dr. William C. Medrano announced.

For some time now, the Philippines and ICRISAT have been collaborating in the promotion of technologies that open the possibility of sharing with the Philippine agricultural system, cutting edge technologies and other international commodities related to dry land agriculture.

ICRISAT reported that ICV 930465 has great potential in the production of ethanol.

The sugar content in the juice extracted from sweet sorghum varies from 16 to 23 percent Brix (a measure for sugar content in liquids).

The ethanol produced from sweet sorghum can be used to blend with petrol and diesel to product "gasohol."

During the pilot study, ICRISAT scientists found that sweet sorghum is the best alternative raw material to supplement the use of sugarcane in ethanol production. – RAF