Jowar

Among the different kinds of cereal crops in India, jowar occupies a major prominence. Besides being a staple diet for the poorer section of the society, it is also used for animal feed and industrial raw materials. Different parts of the country have the potential to have this important cereal crop grown, which is also a major product of agriculture in many other countries. Since it can grow in semi arid climates, where other crops do not have a chance of growing, this crop has been grown in these areas. Requiring semi arid climatic conditions, the jowar crop has proved to be a good agricultural practice in the country. In comparison to other cereal food items, jowar has a significant value.

The cereal plant of jowar came up in historic times in the present day Ethiopia and east central Africa. It was probably in the first millennium that jowar plants were brought from African countries into India. Jowar or sorghum belongs to the Graminae family and grows to a height of about 4 mts. Seeds are rounded and pointed at the base, the color being brownish, yellow, pink or white.

Importance of jowar as a crop is seen in its usage as animal feed and fodder, grown mostly in arid and semi arid climates of the world as well as in India. It is grown as a coarse grain. Its use in different kinds of commercial purposes is making jowar an important agricultural product in the whole world. It is used primarily as a livestock feed and fodder. Some places also have facilities to produce alcohol from jowar. The entire plant is used as forage, hay or silage. Sorghum has a sweet stock, which can be used as raw material for jaggery, ethanol, paper making and some other industrial purposes. In India, jowar has been included as a commodity in the commodity market. From the point of view of production, it is grown as a Rabi and kharif crop and also in summers.

Jowar Production in India

In India, jowar plant is grown in areas with less than 100 cm rainfall and temperature ranging from 26 deg to 33 deg C. After wheat, the sorghum or jowar is the grain with the highest cultivable land in the country. It is grown as a Rabi crop and in some areas as a kharif crop, from the months of October to February. For cultivation of jowar, the soil requirement in India is usually regur soil, with clayey and alluvium properties. Areas where the consumption of jowar is high, they are grown in many of the agricultural lands. During the growing season, it requires rainfall, while the maturity of the plants is seen mostly during the north easterly winds and temperature is somewhat higher in winter.

As part of the food grain in India, jowar is produced to the extent of about 8% of the total area, while among the cereals, it has the capacity of about 10%. Output in the country is about 4.3% among the cereals in the country. Over the decades, the area under production of jowar and its total output has gone down. Total area of 184 lakh hectares in 1961 has come down to about 92 lakh hectares in 2003.

Majority of the lands under jowar cultivation is in Peninsular India, with the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh taking up about 78% share of land and 81% of the produce. North Western states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh provide some important contribution.

Methods of Growing Jowar

When jowar is to be cultivated, the soil should be made free from weeds. During the first ploughing, the soil should be turned, so that there is loose soil up to a depth of about 20-25 cms. Harrowing should be done 2-3 times and intercrossing ploughing is ideal. Planking is then followed allowing the clods to break and make the field leveled. For optimum produce from the seeds, these should be procured from genuine sources and should be free from insects. To have a good produce, about 12-15 hectares of land should be suitable. Each hectare should be having about 1,50,000 plants. Space between the seed rows should be abo