Sustainable production of sweet sorghum for biofuel production through conservation agriculture in South Africa

The increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in the world has significantly contributed to climate change, prompting an active search for renewable and sustainable biofuels. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a leading biofuel feedstock that is produced with minimum inputs and does well even in semi-arid areas with soils of low fertility. However, a sustainable production system for sweet sorghum is not yet established in South Africa. Lately, conservation agriculture (CA) has gained research focus because of its benefits as a sustainable crop production system. Therefore, CA may offset the negative impacts of intensive agronomic practices during biofuel crop production. This paper reviewed CA as a possible sustainable crop production system for sweet sorghum as a biofuel feedstock. CA enhanced soil quality, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and increased yield of sorghum and related cereals. It was concluded that CA has potential to enhance sweet sorghum production as a biofuel feedstock under semi-arid conditions in South Africa. Therefore, local field experiments on sweet sorghum production under CA are desirable in South Africa.