Addressing the shortfalls of sorghum as a feed grain for chicken-meat production

SUMMARY Global chicken-meat production is projected to expand substantially in the coming decades to meet demand. Given the drought-tolerant properties of sorghum, coupled with the challenges of climate change, the use of sorghum as a feed grain for broiler chickens could markedly increase as, presently, the use of sorghum for this indication is limited. A mean crude protein concentration of 92.9 g/kg from a survey of 33 sorghum samples found an average kafirin concentration, the dominant protein fraction, of 48.2 g/kg, or 52%. As discussed, selection of grain sorghums with reduced kafirin concentrations and/or modified properties and reduced levels of phenolic compounds may largely address the shortfalls and enhance the quality of sorghum as a feed grain for chicken-meat production. If so, this should advantage energy utilisation and growth performance in broiler chickens offered sorghum-based diets. In this event, the acceptance of sorghum by chicken-meat producers would accelerate and the potential increase in sorghum usage realised.