Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is one of the most important cereals worldwide with great genetic diversity. Like most small grains it has good adaptation to drought prone and marginal areas were other cereals are not productive. Globally, sorghum has been underutilized compared to other cereal staple crops however, there is growing interest in sorghum and its related products due to its unique nutritional traits, crop physiology and phenology. Given the genetic variability of sorghum there is great scope to use the crop to produce an array of commodities in the food, feed, industrial and bioenergy sector. This review paper presents sorghum genetic diversity and with special reference to bio-based and value added products such as gluten free, high protein, aromatic, syrup, popping, weaning, pet food, baked products and alcohol free malt beverages that can be explored in Africa to popularize it and improve livelihoods.

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is an underutilized small grain, nutrient-rich cereal crop cultivated in the arid and semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. However, several barriers exist that preclude the full exploitation of the crop such as low yield, inadequate processing technologies, lack of extension support and limited productive varieties. Furthermore, anti-nutritional factors in the grain such as polyphenols reduce digestibility, palatability and bio-availability of other nutrients. Reduction or elimination of these anti-nutritional factors through pre-treatments like boiling, cooking, roasting, soaking improves the nutritional quality of the grain. Underutilized pearl millet genetic resources and processing has the potential to contribute towards sustainable agriculture particularly in drought prone and marginal areas of Africa. This review focuses on nutritional value, pearl millet cultivation and utilization challenges, processing and value addition interventions to improve crop adoption and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Germination, early emergence and stand establishment of crops are major yield determining factors in semi-arid and arid rainfed areas. Farmers in marginal and low input areas tend to have poor germination due to poor and shallow soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of priming regimes on seed germination of field crops. A study was conducted at Lupane State University, Biotechnology Laboratory in 2019. Treatments included seed priming techniques, namely hydropriming, halopriming (2% NaCl solution) osmopriming (10% PEG 6000), and solid matrix priming (18% volume/weight sand); and timing at 6, 12, 24 hours for maize and 2, 4, 6 hours for cowpea, sorghum and millet. Solid matrix priming, followed by hydropriming significantly (P<0.05) improved germination parameters (germination percentage, daily germination, peak value and germination speed) of all crops. Halopriming and osmopriming were similar in their ineffectiveness, and resulted in the least germination parameter values. Six hour solid matrix priming in 18% v/w sand was the most effective method among most crops; suggesting that solid matrix priming is an effective and possibly low cost technology, with potential to improve germination of field crops. Key words: Seed hydration, semi-arid, solid matrix priming

No abstract