Published on UANews (November 15th, 2011)
Known as the sugarcane of the desert, sweet sorghum could be a sustainable and ecological future biofuel crop for Arizona.
“By stressing the plant we had no negative effect on the amount or quality of the sugar. Significantly reducing the amount of water didn’t reduce the yield. At the campus agricultural center, we irrigate with treated sewage effluent as well, and there’s no negative effects.”
Since sweet sorghum is not intended for human consumption, it can be irrigated with treated wastewater, which saves on both water usage and fertilizers, as it provides many of the nutrients the crop needs.
Tania Eulalia Martinez-Cruz 