A Study on Forage Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.) Production in Perspectives of White Revolution in Punjab, Pakistan: Issues and Future Options

摘要

Forage sorghum is considered to be the most heat and drought resistant summer forage with a fairly high green forage yield. Forage sorghum is more economical to grow as compared to forage maize with fairly high economic returns. The total area under forages in 2012 in Punjab was 1.82 million hectares with green forage production of 38.8 million tons. The land area of Punjab under forage sorghum in 2012 was 0.588 million hectares with production of 7.984 million tons. The average production of forage sorghum (13 t ha 1) in Punjab province of Pakistan is much less as compared to potential of 50-70 t ha 1. Seed with low yield potential, suboptimal plant population, drought, weeds infestation, suboptimal and unbalanced use of fertilizers, insect pest attack and marketing problems are major constraints in forage sorghum production in Punjab. A comprehensive breeding program to develop high yielding forage sorghum varieties and an extensive extension program to bring modern production technology into the knowledge of farmers at their door steps is the need of hour for sustainable milk and meat production to cater the needs of ever increasing population. The emerging dooming water scenario and phenomenon of global warming has necessitated the introduction of forage sorghum in irrigated tracks of Punjab and to develop modern production technology for rainfed areas. Forage sorghum intercropped with forage legumes has the potential to provide abundant and nutritious forage to dairy animals. Sorghum preserved as hay or silage may be fed to animals during forage scarcity periods to maintain milk production and for this provincial agriculture department as well as livestock department should strive to make farmers aware of fodder preservation technology to pave the way for a glorious white revolution in Punjab through milk production according to known genetic potential of large and small ruminants.