Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume 13 | Issue 1
Sorghum’s Potential in Marginal Environments: Importance, Distribution, Diversity, Stress Tolerance, and Bio-enhancement with AMF and Silicon
Catherine W. Muui
DOI:10.30954/2347-9655.01.2026.12
Abstract :
Climate change and declining soil health continue to impact crop productivity possing threat to food security, health, and financial security of households in arid and semi-arid areas. The purpose of this review was to explore the potential of sorghum as an alternative food and industrial crop in areas prone to drought, depleted soil fertility, salinity, and waterlogging. Moreover, discuss distribution and genetic diversity for its potential utilization in breeding programmes for tolerant cultivars and in expanding production areas. Furthermore, understand sustainable interventions to enhance its tolerance to drought and low soil fertility. Sorghum is a source of macro and micro nutrients, health-beneficial compounds, and is used as food, feed, and in the manufacturing of industrial products. Hence, a potential crop in marginalised regions prone to drought, salinity, waterlogging, and poor soils can help curb hunger, malnutrition, health-related challenges, and poverty. Sorghum has a broad genetic diversity widely cultivated under diverse agro-ecological conditions and rich in nutrients, hence a potential alternative crop where other cereal crops fail. The crop has high use efficiency of soil nutrients, sunlight, and moisture in water-limited conditions. Additionally, the ability to survive under low soil inputs reduces the cost of production, soil acidification, and pollution caused by excessive fertilizer application. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and silicon alleviate drought and salinity stress, hence suitable interventions to enhance yields and yield components of sorghum to address food insecurity and ensure the suitability of the environment in ASAL.
Highlights
- Sorghum is a rich source of macro and micro nutrients, and health-beneficial compounds.
- The crop has broad genetic diversity, widely adapted to diverse agroecological conditions.
- Advanced mechanisms and high use efficiency of soil nutrients, sunlight, and moisture enable the sorghum crop to survive under adverse conditions and limited resources.
- The ability of sorghum to survive under low inputs could reduce the cost of production, soil acidification, and pollution.
- Use of AMF and silicon is a suitable intervention to enhance yields and yield components of sorghum to sustain food security, health, and environment in arid and semi-arid regions.
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