Sorghum Production and Climate Change Adaptation

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a staple cereal crop of global importance, particularly across semi‐arid regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Its inherent tolerance to drought, heat and low‐fertility soils renders it a critical resource for food security under a warming climate. Advances in crop physiology, genetics and agronomy have elucidated mechanisms by which sorghum maintains productivity under water deficit, including deep rooting, stomatal regulation and osmotic adjustment. Breeding efforts have increasingly focused on early‐maturing, Striga‐resistant and stay‐green genotypes that sustain grain yield during terminal drought. Concurrently, improved cropping systems—such as intercropping with legumes, conservation agriculture and site‐specific fertiliser management—enhance resource use efficiency, soil health and resilience to erratic rainfall. Socio‐economic research highlights variation in farmer preferences for traits such as grain quality, plant architecture and input requirements, underscoring the need for participatory approaches to varietal deployment. As climate projections indicate rising temperatures and more frequent extreme events, integrated adaptation strategies that combine genetic improvement, agroecological practices and supportive policy frameworks are essential to safeguard sorghum production and rural livelihoods worldwide.

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Sorghum Production and Climate Change Adaptation publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sorghum production and climate change adaptation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Adaptive capacity: The ability of a system, community or crop to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages and exploit beneficial opportunities.

Drought tolerance: Trait enabling plants to maintain growth and yield under water‐limiting conditions through physiological or morphological adjustments.

Landrace variety: A locally adapted, traditional cultivar maintained by farmers, often with broad genetic diversity but variable yields.

Participatory rural appraisal: A methodological approach that engages local stakeholders in identifying needs, preferences and constraints to guide research and development.

Stay‐green trait: A characteristic of crops that sustain leaf function and chlorophyll content during post‐flowering drought, supporting grain filling.

References

1. A Regional Comparison of Factors Affecting Global Sorghum Production: The Case of North America, Asia and Africa’s Sahel. Sustainability (2019).
2. Sorghum production in Nigeria: opportunities, constraints, and recommendations. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B - Soil & Plant Science (2022).
3. Assessment of sorghum production constraints and farmer preferences for sorghum variety in Uganda: implications for nutritional quality breeding. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B - Soil & Plant Science (2021).