What is broomcorn?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

March 9, 2004

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Broomcorn (Sorghum bicolor variety technicum (Körnicke) Stapf ex Holland) is a utility plant, not eaten but useful to humanity. Broomcorn probably derived from a sweet sorghum (variety saccharatum grown for syrups and molasses) somewhere within the northeastern quadrant of Africa. Sometime during the Middle Ages, people along the Mediterranean began cultivating the plant for its unique, long branched panicle or seedhead, commonly called a brush.

According to Lost Crops of Africa (Volume 1, Grains, The National Academies Press, 1996), broomcorn was introduced to North America in 1725 by Benjamin Franklin. Legend says that Franklin picked the seeds from a small hat brush in England and, curious as to the plant,
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grew them when he returned home. By 1781, Thomas Jefferson listed broomcorn as one of the six most important crops of the day.

Before broomcorn became popular, brooms were made of bundled straw which fell apart quickly or tree twigs like birch which were sturdy but lacked closeness of the bristles and left tiny particles behind. Broomcorn made a broom that could sweep away dust and get into the crevices between paving stones and floorboards. Considering that city streets were filled with undesirable debris like horse manure and household garbage, the advent of broomcorn brooms is considered a major advance in public health.

According to the Alternative Field Crops Manual (1990), broomcorn has three sub-varieties: standard which grows 6 to 15 feet tall and produces a panicle 16 to 36 inches long, Western dwarf which grows 4 to 7 feet, also producing long panicles, and whisk dwarf that only grows 2.5 to 4 feet and produces 12 to 18 inch panicles with finer bristles. Various panicle types are used together to make brooms for different uses--home, outdoor, and industrial. ("Broomcorn", P.R. Carter, D.R. Hicks, A.R. Kaminski, J.D. Doll, K.A. Kelling, G.L. Worf, University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota, 1990)

Broomcorn does not require irrigation, needs very little fertilizer, almost no pesticides, and is biodegradable. A ton of broomcorn panicles makes about one thousand brooms. The panicles are broken from the plant before the seeds are mature and the branches of the panicles are too stiff. Pale green bristles are the most popular; most commercial varieties have yellow panicles that turn green when ready to harvest.

The R.E. Caddy and Company ships materials for broom manufacture. They have posted various photographs of warehoused items. The bottom left photograph is bundles of broomcorn panicles as they are shipped to broom manufacturers. To view the photographs, click on the link:

http://www.recaddy.com/old/web-misc.htm

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