Himmatbhai Virjibhai Lakkad (57) is a progressive farmer growing local sorghum, groundnut, coon, onion, and wheat crop variees and working for varietal improvement.

In 1995, he idenfied one unique sorghum plant among the local sorghum variety having bigger bold grains, good lustre, good plant vigour, green leaf midrib and free from insect and disease incidence. During 1996 – 1999, the selected plant seeds were culvated, and plants with evident phenotypical desirable traits were selected for propagaon. By 2000, the variety was stabilized for its dual-purpose characteriscs, and he named it “AA”. He has been distribung the seeds to the other farmers, and the variety is very popular in the region.

AA is a dual-purpose sorghum popular among farmers equally for grain and fodder. It is a high-yielding variety suitable for both Rabi and Kharif seasons. It takes 100-110 days for harvest maturity,is high yielding (grain yield: 25-35 q/ha, green fodder yield: 220-250 q/ha & dry fodder yield: 110-120 q/ha) and suitable for growing throughout the year. The fodder is sweet, and the variety is tolerant to insects, pests, diseases and is suitable for drought condions also. 

During 2018-2019, the validaon trials were carried out at S. D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat. The variety Sorghum AA recorded a 45% higher grain yield and 9.84% high dry fodder yield over the checks. Compared to the checks, the variety was early maturing in Rabi & Kharif seasons at all the locaons tested. The protein content in the flour ranged between 10.5 to 12% and was recommended for dual-purpose use with good performance.

In the field trials in Jammu and Maharashtra, the variety received good feedback for dual purpose use from the farmers. The innovator has disseminated seeds in Gujarat. The applicaon for registraon under PPV&FR Act, 2001 has been submied by NIF.