Protein varies by candidate.
8.8–18.2% dry basis
Observed grain-protein range in the 2004 search sheet. This is variation to select within—not a recommended target range.
USDA program screening record ↗SORGHUM / SELECT THE GENETICS. GROW THE POTENTIAL.
Great malt starts
inside the seed.
Which sorghum should we grow? Explore the composition, flavor potential and field traits that make a candidate worth choosing.
Explore the seed ↓One seed. A whole set of decisions.
Click a trait to see what to select, what to measure and where selection can fail.
3 SELECTION LENSES
SORGHUM BICOLORThe cultivar sets the potential.
The growing environment shapes the grain.
The growing environment shapes the grain.
CompositionCharacter & vitalityField resilienceEach card opens a seed-selection brief ↗
Starch worth growing.
Character worth keeping.
Resilience that gets it to harvest.
Look for a combination of useful composition, desirable flavor potential, reliable germination and local field performance. A single impressive number cannot describe the seed you need.
FROM YOUR RESEARCH RECORD
What the datasets actually tell us.
Seed-selection lessons from measured grain, historical composition and commercial cultivar experience. Open a record to see its basis.
Screen composition early.
6.41–16.76% as-is protein
The USDA 2023 dataset supports calibrated NIR screening of intact grain. Moisture basis and instrument validation matter when comparing candidates.
USDA protein / NIR dataset ↗Composition is a bundle.
8.69 / 11.9% dry-basis protein
Midwest’s white and red samples also differed in fat and fiber. These were malt samples: useful motivation for a raw-grain panel, not seed acceptance limits.
Midwest composition dataset ↗Flavor earns its place.
Beyond starch.
The Ivory 7 / Blue Milo #4 account makes flavor a cultivar-selection priority. Commercial preference is evidence of a choice, not a universal sensory ranking.
Read the cultivar-selection history ↗TAKE TO THE SEED GROWER
Build your seed brief.
Select the characteristics you want the grower to document. Download a checklist with the evidence to request for each one.
A specification starter. Priorities are your choices; this does not calculate a cultivar score or invent pass/fail thresholds.
Sources, measurement boundaries & companion pages
Selection guidance is a synthesis, not a validated sorghum seed standard. Historical lot measurements do not establish genetic causation, current seed availability or resistance ratings. Compare raw grain on the same moisture basis, and retain cultivar, location, crop year and method. Neither grain color nor a clean-looking sample proves absence of tannins, mold toxins or gluten cross-contact.