This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Research by INRAE and AgroParisTech suggests that global warming could have an overall positive effect on sorghum yields in Europe. Sorghum is a promising alternative to maize in livestock feed.
Additionally, the crop requires less water and can tolerate higher temperatures. The researchers carried out simulations that used past climate data and future climate scenarios with the broader goal of developing new strategies for European agriculture. Their results were published in Earth's Future.
Corn is the main cereal crop used in livestock feed, but its yields reached a relative all-time low in the EU this year. The time has come to rethink the use of this water-intensive crop. Sorghum is generally seen as a promising alternative to corn, given its tolerance of high temperatures and low water availability.
The crop is frequently grown in arid areas, and most of its global production occurs in African countries (47%) and the United States (17%). In Europe, climate change is leading to much hotter conditions and water scarcity. Thus, the researchers behind this new study wanted to explore the potential for sorghum production on this continent, where the crop remains rare.
At present, sorghum is grown on just 0.1% of European cropland. Furthermore, neither the use of sorghum in livestock feed nor the crop's relationship with climate change has been examined in Europe as a whole. The researchers found that, within Europe, climate change should have a positive overall impact on sorghum yields.
However, there may be some regional variation, namely increased yields in northern Europe and slightly decreased yields in southern Europe. Depending on the specific climate change scenario, overall mean sorghum production should climb from 3 tonnes/ha under current climatic conditions to 3.4–3.8 tonnes/ha under future climate conditions (i.e., by 2050–2100). Geographical areas with high and stable sorghum production are predicted to expand—increasing from 22% of European cropland under current climatic conditions to 29%–34% by the end of the century.
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