Sorghum with Added Human Nutritional Value.

Sorghum is a productive, drought-tolerant grain crop.  In the U.S., it is typically grown in the form of hybrids and used in animal feed.  As a gluten-free cereal, sorghum has potential for addressing the dietary needs of humans as well.   However, farmers targeting production for human health face obstacles including lower yields, poorer yield stability, and higher production costs, compared to feed sorghum.   Texas A&M developed a sorghum hybrid for food use that yields about 65-70 % of feed grain sorghum hybrids, and adds high anthocyanin (antioxidant) concentration to the value of the grain.   Through licensing, the new sorghum is available to consumers in cereals, mixes for pancakes, waffles, brownies, and cookies; and pastas.  There is potential for breeding additional types of sorghum for human nutritional value.