TITLE:
Agroclimatic Conditions for Growing Sorghum bicolor L. Moench, under Irrigation Conditions in Mexico
AUTHORS:
Genovevo Ramírez-Jaramillo, Mónica Guadalupe Lozano-Contreras, Jorge H. Ramírez-Silva
KEYWORDS:
Biofuels, Alternative, Sweet Sorghum
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.6,
June
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: Faced with the possible depletion of fossil fuels and the growing demand for energy; the liquid biofuels are being considered as a renewable energy alternative with low impact on carbon emissions. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) is a good alternative as it has several advantages in relation to other plant species. Given the interest of the Mexican Government to promote biofuels and S. bicolor in particular, this work aimed to spatially delimit the optimal and suboptimal areas to produce this crop in Mexico. The database information considered was the crop agro-ecological requirements for optimal production under irrigation conditions. To process and analyze the information, the QGIS version 3.6 software was used. In high potential areas all variables interact favorably for best crop development and in the suboptimal ones both climatic and edaphological factors interact properly with some limitations; in the unsuitable areas all factors are constraining ones. The study quantified more than 19 million hectares with high optimal conditions under irrigation conditions. The states with the largest areas to produce sweet sorghum are: Veracruz, Campeche, Tamaulipas, Tabasco, Guanajuato, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon, Michoacan, Chihuahua and Quintana Roo; however, should water is provided, practically, it can be grown in all the states of the country.