 Richard Pankhurst reports (citing Augustus B. Wylde) that in 19th-century Ethiopia, "durra" was "often the first crop sown on newly cultivated land", explaining that this cereal did not require the thorough ploughing other crops did, and its roots not only decomposed into a good fertilizer, but they also helped to break up the soil while not exhausting the subsoil.Sorghum is cultivated in many parts of the world today.In the past 50 years, the area planted with sorghum worldwide had increased 66%..