Growing Food: A Guide to Food Production

UTILISATION

The seed of rye contains a high proportion of gluten, and is used for making

black bread (schwartzbrot), rye crispbreads (knaeckebrot in Scandanavia) and

biscuits, whisky (in America and Canada), gin (in Holland), beer (in Russia)

and rye starch. Pumpernickel is a dark brown bread made from unsifted rye

flour, and for many centuries was a staple food in much of eastern and central

Europe.

Rye is often planted, either alone or in mixtures with other forage crops, and

grazed by livestock when the plants are green and young.

The straw can be fed to animals, but it is poor quality fodder and is more often

useful for animal bedding or for construction of buildings.

The dried sclerotia of ergot are sometimes used in pharmacy, as the source of

certain alkaloids to produce Ergotamine; this causes constriction of the blood

vessels and is used to treat migraine.

LIMITATIONS

Middle Ages—gangrene, abortion, hallucinations and other unpleasant

because rye normally cross-pollinates.

Sorghum

Sorghum bicolor (Syn. S. vulgare)

Milo, Milo Maize (America), Indian Millet, Sorgo (sweet sorghums);

Sorgo, Sorgho (French); Sorghum (German); Daza, Sorgo {comun} (Spanish);

Sorgo (Portuguese); Ovasa, Omassambala (Angola); Mtama (East Africa);

Guinea Corn (West Africa); Mechella (Tigrinha, Ethiopia/Eritrea), Mashella

(Amharic, Ethiopia), Mishinga (Oromifa, Ethiopia); Durra (Sudan); Kaffir Corn

(South Africa); Jola, Jawa, Jowar, Cholam, Great Millet (India); Bajra (Pashtu);

Kaoliang (China)

Sorghum is the fifth most widely grown cereal crop in the world, after wheat, rice,

maize and barley. The FAO estimate for global production in 2004 was 59 million

cultivated between about 40North and South of the equator.

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Rye is susceptible to Ergot, causing ergotism, the “St Anthony’s Fire” of the

symptoms.

Timing of harvest is critical as the seed shatters very readily.

The plants are intolerant of high temperatures.

litter.

The straw is tough and fibrous and can normally be used only as bedding or

Expenses are incurred as new seed has to be frequently bought in by farmers,

The crop takes a long time to grow (“long growth period”);

MT. Sorghum plants prefer warm growing conditions, and the crop is mainly

GROWING FOOD – THE FOOD PRODUCTION HANDBOOK