Suchergebnisse

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has been studied as an additional source of raw material for production or partial replacement of foods due to its high fiber concentration. Its consumption is associated with the prevention of some diseases and nutritional benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the partial replacement of wheat flour by sweet sorghum flour in bread formulations in order to characterize the nutritional and physical profile of the flour. Four bread formulations were prepared and evaluated for sensory and textural profile. The composition of sweet sorghum flour showed high fiber content and relative protein value, and moisture showed average value, in accordance with limits established by legislation. The addition of 3% sweet sorghum flour to bread was shown to be technically feasible, with great acceptance by consumers, being a nutritious and tasty option.

Introduction According to the soil survey by Szabolcs, (1971) and Várallyay et al. (1979, 1980) the salt affected soils cover about 1 million hectares in Hungary. Salt affected soils (SAS) with structural B-horizon (meadow solonetz soils) represent the most widely spread group of SAS in Hungary. About 40-50 percent of these soils have been reclaimed and used as arable land until now. Bio-energy might offer an alternative land use of the territories covered by soils with different problems. The European Union aims at replacing 20% of the fossil energy in the transport sector by 2020 with renewable fuels (EC Green Paper, 2000). The territories with good soils are very limited and bio-energy production can reduce the territories for food production, that is why it is very important to investigate the production possibilities of energy crops on marginal soils. Sorghum seems to be a promising energy crop on SAS, because it can tolerate some salt content in the soil, and there were positive experiences with producing the different sorghum hybrids on heavy clay soils, and salt affected soils (Bocskai, 1968; Halász, 1968). In the Karcag Research Institute sorghum was introduced as an alcohol source by Kapocsi et al. (1984), Blaskó et al (2006).

Bioenergy and biofuels are very important in today's energy policy. These kinds of energy resources have several advantages against fossil fuels. Environmental protection is a cardinal point of widespreading these technologies but the economic considerations are important as well. In order to improve the rate of the renewable energy in the energy consumption, the European Union settled down a program which determines a minimum ratio of renewable energy in the energy consumption for each member country of the EU. To fulfil the requirements bioenergy and biofuels should be produced. This production procedure needs adequate stocks which are commonly agricultural products.One of the promising stocks is sorghum. This plant fits for bioethanol production due to its juice content being rich in sugar. In this study six sweet sorghum hybrids, two sudangrass hybrids and a sudangrass variety have been evaluated to determine their theorical ethanol production capacity.On the score of the results of the year 2009 it can be set that sudangrasses have a lower theorical ethanol capacity than sweet sorghums have. In the case of sweet sorghums 1860.29–2615.47 l ha-1 ethanol yields had been calculated, while the sudangrasses had only 622.96–801.03 l ha-1. After that throughout three years (2011–2013) the sweet sorghum hybrids have been evaluated in order to determine the fluctuations of the ethanol production capacity caused by the impact of the years. As a result 2425.44–4043.6 l ha-1 theorical ethanol capacities have been calculated, which means that sweet sorghums can be an adequate stock to produce bioethanol.

Culturing of sweet sorghum is being considered as an excellent option for ethanol production, from an agronomical and industrial point of view. At present, information regarding the best soil water tension for beginning sweet sorghum irrigation is not available; hence, this study aimed to determine the adequate soil water tension under field conditions for beginning irrigation of four cultivars of sorghum. Two experiments were conducted at Nova Porteirinha, MG, in a randomized block design with sub-subdivided plots having four replications. Each experiment comprised six treatments of soil water tension (plots)-20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 kPa-for resuming sweet sorghum irrigation, and four sweet sorghum cultivars (subplots)-BRS 508, BRS 509, BRS 511, and CMSXS647. After planting, the soil water level in the plots was elevated to field capacity (10 kPa), and then the treatments were applied. During treatment application, irrigation was resumed when the soil water tension reached the limit established in order to elevate the soil water tension to 10 kPa. The amount of water replaced during each irrigation was determined by generating a soil water retention curve for the experimental area. The following parameters were evaluated: green mass production, juice volume, soluble solids (Brix), and tons of Brix per hectare (TBH). The different soil water tensions and cultivars, agricultural year, and interaction between tension and year significantly affected (p ? 0.05) the characteristics evaluated, according to the F test. The agronomical characteristics of the evaluated cultivars showed linear relationship with water supply in the soil. According to TBH, irrigation of sweet sorghum needs to be performed when the soil tension reaches 20 kPa. The TBH values did not differ significantly among the four cultivars at the 5% significance level according to Tukey test.

Rural communities in the North West Province of South Africa are among the poorest in the world with an average income of less than ZAR 8.75 (EU 0.875) per day. The South African government has committed itself to upliftment of these communities through job creation and joining of the first and second economies of the country. The Thusanang community project concept was initiated to stimulate job creation and skills development in our local communities through biofuels production. Water is scares in the North West Province with less than 200 mm of rain annually. Crops that do not threaten food security and require little water for energy production is thus favored for use as ethanol feedstock in this area. Sugar beet had been used as a source for sugar production for some time, but its development as a large scale agricultural crop in South Africa has been limited by the large production of sugarcane in tropical areas. Recent trials on tropical sugar beet production in the Eastern Cape and North Western regions of South Africa has shown promise for large scale production of tropical sugar beet for ethanol production. Sweetstem sorghum has attracted the attention of the biofuels world because of the potential of producing both food and ethanol in a single crop. The picture is not that simple though, since the plants usually contain large amounts of fermentable sugar during the flowering period, when the grains for food have not yet been formed, and then the sugar content steadily declines towards the time for harvesting of the grain. A trade­off thus needs to be found between food and energy production. The influence of various process parameters such as pH, initial sugar concentration, yeast concentration and nutrient addition on the ethanol yield obtained from sweet stem sorghum juice and tropical sugar beet juice was studied and the results is reported in this paper. The initial Brix index of the tropical sugar beet used was 21.8 wt% and 40.1wt% for the tropical sugar beet juice and the sweetstem sorghum juice respectively. All juice was fermented without prior filtering or sterilization. The highest initial sugar content was observed for the USA1 sweetstem sorghum cultivar harvested at 3 months (only energy production) and for the Hunni green sweetstem sorghum cultivar harvested at 6 months (food and energy production)

Sweet sorghum processing and production in the Philippines still at its infancy stage in the country. It was introduced in Ilocos Norte by Dr. Heraldo H. Layoen, Vice President of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in 2005. The crop has been found to be highly efficient in producing fuel in other countries like Indonesia, Tanzania, and USA. Other products that can be produced from the sweet sorghum crop are molasses, animal feeds, fertilizer, flour, syrup, vinegar, juice, liquor, and sugar. BAPAMIN Enterprise, (BAPAMIN) is the sole enterprise which has engaged in sweet sorghum production and marketing of products made from the crop in the country. BAPAMIN was established in 2009 as the marketing arm of the BAPAMIN Farmer?s Cooperative (BFC), a group of farmers into planting and growing of sweet sorghum in Batac, Ilocos Norte. Both the enterprise and cooperative ids headed by Engr. Antonio Arcangel. BAPAMIN and his wife, Doris who are co-managing the company. It was observed that the enterprise was encountering difficulty in taking off even it has existing for seven years already. Thus, this research was conducted to draw up a strategic plan that would help make BIPAMIN Enterprise a viable social enterprise. The specific objectives of the research are to: 1) Present and discuss a noteworthy business issue faced by BAPAMIN Enterprise, which has company wide implications. 2) Evaluate the BAPAMIN sweet sorghum business model in terms of its various business functions. 3) Analyze the opportunities, threats and the critical strategic and operational issue(s) facing the venture 4) recommend a strategic plan and operational options for BAPAMIN Enterprise to become viable. Primary and secondary data were used to gather information. Interviews were conducted with Engr. And Ms. Arcangel as well as key informants from BAPAMIN Enterprise. Technical and socio-economic experts from MMSU and government agencies like the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD)-DOST DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research were also interviewed. Secondary data on sweet sorghum were gathered from various publications as well as internet sources. The collected data were analyzed using Business Model Canvas, Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies Self-Rating Analysis, Internal Factor Evaluation, Porters Five Forces Model, Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Analysis, and the Qualitative Strategic Planning (QSPM) Matrix. It was learned through the Business Model Canvas that there were eight (8) participants in BAPAMIN?s business model: the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) for funding the research and some equipment the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for research and development Bapamin Farmers? Cooperative (BFC) for the production of raw materials and university, outlets, and institutions as the distribution channels. These participants were connected to one another and the efficiency of BAPAMIN depended on its linkages with the other components of the business model. Based on the interview with the entrepreneur, the vision for BAPAMIN is to be ?the pioneer in the propagation and processing of sweet sorghum in the country and the main advocate for developing high value products from sweet sorghum?. On the other hand, the mission of BAPAMIN is ?to campaign for mass planting of sweet sorghum as an alternative crop, address the goal of food sufficiency in the country and promote and educate the farmers on the best agricultural and cultural management practices for the adoption and propagation of sweet sorghum to consequently improve the financial condition of the farmers?. An examination of BAPAMIN?s vision and mission revealed that the mission statement only consisted of 4 out of 9 elements. Thus, improvements in both the mission and vision statements were suggested. BAPAMINS business functions were also presented in the study. The production and operations activities to the enterprise were not programmed and intermittent as they produced different products which were being introduced to the market and also displayed in trade exhibits. It was analyzed that then current equipment was still not enough to achieve the target production volume. In terms of raw materials supply, the enterprise bought grains from the BFC at Php 13/kg and the juice at Php 3/liter. Generally, the harvest were much higher during the dry season that the wet season. The enterprise as of the time of the study employed 4 full time and 210 seasonal workers because processing operations in the company took place only during harvest season. The marketing aspects of the enterprise were assessed to be relatively weak as the firm does not employ any marketing strategy. A closer look at the financial aspects of BAPAMIN revealed that the enterprise yielded an acceptable amount of profit but a part of it was plowed back for research and development of the sweet sorghum crop. Through the problem flowchart, it was seen that there were factors hindering BAPAMIN to becoming a true social enterprise. The owner was more focused on his advocacy of promoting sweet sorghum production and processing in the country to uplift the situation of farmers rather than focus on the profitability of the business itself. He overlooked the fact that BAPAMIN must first a profitable enterprise which is a must for any social enterprise. The EFE score derived for BAPAMIN was 2.53 which means the enterprise was only a little above the average in its effort to pursue strategies that capitalized on external opportunities and avoid threats on the other hand, the IFE score was 2.45 which implies that the enterprise is below average in terms of its overall internal strength. There was only one alternative formulated from the SWOT and this is the owner should exert more aggressive efforts in showcasing BAPAMIN as a model social enterprise. To achieve this, it must align its strategies to consumer preferences expose its customers to the various aspects of its business model through field and plant tours, and come up with a compelling product labeling and appealing packaging which would reflect the social enterprise dimension of the business.

Sweet sorghum processing and production in the Philippines still at its infancy stage in the country. It was introduced in Ilocos Norte by Dr. Heraldo H. Layoen, Vice President of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in 2005. The crop has been found to be highly efficient in producing fuel in other countries like Indonesia, Tanzania, and USA. Other products that can be produced from the sweet sorghum crop are molasses, animal feeds, fertilizer, flour, syrup, vinegar, juice, liquor, and sugar. BAPAMIN Enterprise, (BAPAMIN) is the sole enterprise which has engaged in sweet sorghum production and marketing of products made from the crop in the country. BAPAMIN was established in 2009 as the marketing arm of the BAPAMIN Farmer?s Cooperative (BFC), a group of farmers into planting and growing of sweet sorghum in Batac, Ilocos Norte. Both the enterprise and cooperative ids headed by Engr. Antonio Arcangel. BAPAMIN and his wife, Doris who are co-managing the company. It was observed that the enterprise was encountering difficulty in taking off even it has existing for seven years already. Thus, this research was conducted to draw up a strategic plan that would help make BIPAMIN Enterprise a viable social enterprise. The specific objectives of the research are to: 1) Present and discuss a noteworthy business issue faced by BAPAMIN Enterprise, which has company wide implications. 2) Evaluate the BAPAMIN sweet sorghum business model in terms of its various business functions. 3) Analyze the opportunities, threats and the critical strategic and operational issue(s) facing the venture 4) recommend a strategic plan and operational options for BAPAMIN Enterprise to become viable. Primary and secondary data were used to gather information. Interviews were conducted with Engr. And Ms. Arcangel as well as key informants from BAPAMIN Enterprise. Technical and socio-economic experts from MMSU and government agencies like the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD)-DOST DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research were also interviewed. Secondary data on sweet sorghum were gathered from various publications as well as internet sources. The collected data were analyzed using Business Model Canvas, Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies Self-Rating Analysis, Internal Factor Evaluation, Porters Five Forces Model, Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Analysis, and the Qualitative Strategic Planning (QSPM) Matrix. It was learned through the Business Model Canvas that there were eight (8) participants in BAPAMIN?s business model: the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) for funding the research and some equipment the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for research and development Bapamin Farmers? Cooperative (BFC) for the production of raw materials and university, outlets, and institutions as the distribution channels. These participants were connected to one another and the efficiency of BAPAMIN depended on its linkages with the other components of the business model. Based on the interview with the entrepreneur, the vision for BAPAMIN is to be ?the pioneer in the propagation and processing of sweet sorghum in the country and the main advocate for developing high value products from sweet sorghum?. On the other hand, the mission of BAPAMIN is ?to campaign for mass planting of sweet sorghum as an alternative crop, address the goal of food sufficiency in the country and promote and educate the farmers on the best agricultural and cultural management practices for the adoption and propagation of sweet sorghum to consequently improve the financial condition of the farmers?. An examination of BAPAMIN?s vision and mission revealed that the mission statement only consisted of 4 out of 9 elements. Thus, improvements in both the mission and vision statements were suggested. BAPAMINS business functions were also presented in the study. The production and operations activities to the enterprise were not programmed and intermittent as they produced different products which were being introduced to the market and also displayed in trade exhibits. It was analyzed that then current equipment was still not enough to achieve the target production volume. In terms of raw materials supply, the enterprise bought grains from the BFC at Php 13/kg and the juice at Php 3/liter. Generally, the harvest were much higher during the dry season that the wet season. The enterprise as of the time of the study employed 4 full time and 210 seasonal workers because processing operations in the company took place only during harvest season. The marketing aspects of the enterprise were assessed to be relatively weak as the firm does not employ any marketing strategy. A closer look at the financial aspects of BAPAMIN revealed that the enterprise yielded an acceptable amount of profit but a part of it was plowed back for research and development of the sweet sorghum crop. Through the problem flowchart, it was seen that there were factors hindering BAPAMIN to becoming a true social enterprise. The owner was more focused on his advocacy of promoting sweet sorghum production and processing in the country to uplift the situation of farmers rather than focus on the profitability of the business itself. He overlooked the fact that BAPAMIN must first a profitable enterprise which is a must for any social enterprise. The EFE score derived for BAPAMIN was 2.53 which means the enterprise was only a little above the average in its effort to pursue strategies that capitalized on external opportunities and avoid threats on the other hand, the IFE score was 2.45 which implies that the enterprise is below average in terms of its overall internal strength. There was only one alternative formulated from the SWOT and this is the owner should exert more aggressive efforts in showcasing BAPAMIN as a model social enterprise. To achieve this, it must align its strategies to consumer preferences expose its customers to the various aspects of its business model through field and plant tours, and come up with a compelling product labeling and appealing packaging which would reflect the social enterprise dimension of the business.

The use of biofuels helps to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and therefore decreases CO2 emission. Ethanol mixed with gasoline in mandatory percentages has been used in many countries. However, production of ethanol mainly depends on food crops, commonly associated with problems such as governmental policies and social controversies. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the most potential and appropriate alternative crops for biofuel production because of its high biomass and sugar content, strong tolerance to environmental stress conditions and diseases, and wide adaptability to various soils and climates. The aim of this study was to select prospective varieties of sweet sorghum, optimum sowing times and densities to achieve high yields of ethanol production and to establish stable operational conditions in cultivating this crop. The summer-autumn cropping season combined with the sowing densities of 8.3–10.9 plant m−2 obtained the highest ethanol yield. Among cultivated locations, the soil with pH of 5.5 and contents of Al and Zn of 39.4 and 0.6 g kg−1, respectively, was the best condition to have an ethanol yield > ; 5000 L ha−1. The pH ≥ 6.0 may be responsible for the significant reduction of zinc content in soils, which decreases both biomass of sweet sorghum and ethanol yield, while contents of N, P, K, organic carbon (OC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and Fe likely play no role. The cultivar 4A was the preferred candidate for ethanol production and resistant to pests and diseases, especially cut worm (Agrotis spp.).

Sweet sorghum and energy cane (high fiber cane) are potential crops for conversion into fuels and chemicals due to their low agricultural input requirements, potentially high fiber content and processing similarities with established sugarcane crops. A conceptual approach to a biorefinery producing fuels and chemicals from sweet sorghum and energy cane is proposed. The front-end of the plant processes 10,000 t/d of feedstock to extract convertible sugars by milling and concentrate them into storable syrups. The latter can be processed into gasoline, jet fuel and isoprene using proprietary technologies. The fiber remaining after extraction, called bagasse, is used in the boilers of the front-end plant to provide steam and power for entire facility and to produce additional second generation sugars by pretreatment and hydrolysis in a lignocellulosic conversion plant. Material and energy balances for the front-end plant were calculated using SugarsTM software. Results show that for the selected variety of energy cane, up to 46% of bagasse is available for further lignocellulosic conversion resulting in production of additional 33.6% of sugars. In this case, however, surplus electricity production is reduced by 86%. Calculations for sweet sorghum follow the same trend. Results show that a 13% reduction in fiber content by processing sweet sorghum instead of energy cane, reduces power export by 71% and second generation sugars by 40%.