FOREWORD

With the exponential growth in scientific literature, there is a need to synthesize the proliferating fragmented knowledge appearing in many different scientific journals and reports. While a bibliography provides a head-count of the total number of scientific contributions in a field of research, it does not give an idea of the growth of knowledge in that field, or the areas where more research efforts are needed. Reviews that sift, evaluate, and put each significant contribution into its proper perspective are increasingly seen as offering a possible path out of the literature jungle. State-of-the-art reports that are reviews on selected, specific topics of active current interest are very useful for busy scientists. Preparation of these reports, however, requires close cooperation between documentalists and expert scientists-a combination not always possible to achieve. SMIC, the Sorghum and Millets Information Center at ICRISAT, was fortunate to have the willing cooperation of Dr. H.L.S. Tandon of the Fertiliser Development and Consultation Organisation, New Delhi, and Dr. J.S. Kanwar, Director (Research), ICRISAT, both renowned soil scientists, who agreed to write this bulletin. Sorghum is the third most-widely grown crop in India after rice and wheat, and constitutes the staple food for a large proportion of the population. In this bulletin, soil fertility and fertilizer-use research on grain sorghum in India has been reviewed for the post-1960 period. The review covers all nutrients, soil-climate conditions, and seasons in which sorghum is grown. The reviewers studied many documents and used those which were considered to have made significant contributions to knowledge in the preparation of this review. I congratulate them and the documentalists of SMIC for the excellent work they have done.

L.D. Swindale

Director General
ICRISAT