Table Of ContentDevelopments in Crop Science
Volume 1 Oil Palm Research, edited by R.H.V. Corley, JJ. Hardon and BJ. Wood
Volume 2 Application of Mutation Breeding Methods in the Improvement of
Vegetatively Propagated Crops, by C. Broertjes and A.M. van Harten
Volume 3 Wheat Studies, by H. Kihara
Volume 4 The Biology and Control of Weeds in Sugarcane, by S.Y. Peng
Volume 5 Plant Tissue Culture: Theory and Practice, by S.S. Bhojwani and
M.K. Razdan
Volume 6 Trace Elements in Plants, by M.Ya. Shkolnik
Volume 7 Biology of Rice, edited by S. Tsunoda and N. Takahashi
Volume 8 Processes and Control of Plant Senescence, by Y.Y. Leshem, A.H. Halevy
and Ch. Frenkel
Volume 9 Taigu Genetic Male-Sterile Wheat, by Deng Ying Yang
Volume 10 Cultivating Edible Fungi, edited by PJ. Wuest, DJ. Royse and R.B. Beelman
Volume 11 Sucarcane Improvement through Breeding, edited by D. J Heinz
Developments in Crop Science 11
Sugarcane
Improvement
through Breeding
Edited by
Don J Heinz
Director Experiment Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association,
99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, P.O. Box 1057, Aiea, Hawaii 96701 (U.S.A.)
ELSEVIER
Amsterdam — Oxford — New York — Tokyo 1987
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sugarcane improvement through breeding.
(Developments in crop science ; 11)
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Sugarcane—Breeding. 2. Sugarcane. I. Heinz,
Don J II. Series.
SB231.S97 1987 633.6'183 87-6748
ISBN 0-444-42769-4 (U.S.)
ISBN 0-444-42769-4 (Vol. 11 )
ISBN 0-444-41617-X (Series)
© Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1987
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V
CONTRIBUTORS
B. S. Ahloowalia, Research Geneticist, Agricultural Institute, Oak Park Research
Centre, Carlow, Ireland
Nils Berding, Senior Research Officer, Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations,
Meringa Sugar Experiment Station, P.O. Box 122, Gordonvale 4865, Australia
Richard D. Breaux, Sugarcane Breeder and Research Leader, United States
Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Sugarcane
Field Laboratory, P.O. Box 470, Houma, Louisiana
John Daniels, Manager, Information Services, CSR Limited, 702 Greentrees, 856
Pacific Highway, Chatswood, NSW 2067, Australia
Don J Heinz, Director, Experiment Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters 1
Association, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
D. Af. Hogarth, Senior Research Officer, Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations,
P.O. Box 651, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
Andrew Maretzki, Leader, Cell Biology Group, Experiment Station, Hawaiian
Sugar Planters1 Association, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Jimmy D. Miller, Sugarcane Breeder and Research Leader, United States
Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Sugarcane Field
Station, Canal Point, Florida 33438
Paul H. Moore, Plant Physiologist, United States Department of Agriculture/-
Agricultural Research Service, Experiment Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters 1
Association, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Karl J. Nuss, Head, Crossing Department, South African Sugar Association
Experiment Station, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, Republic of South Africa
Brian T. Roach, Chief Technical Field Officer, CSR Limited, P.O. Box 59,
Macknade 4850, Queensland, Australia
J. C. Skinner, Principal Research Fellow, Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations,
Meringa Sugar Experiment Station, P.O. Box 122, Gordonvale 4865, Australia
Γ. V. Sreenivasan, Head, Division of Genetics and Cytogenetics, Sugarcane
Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, Tamil Nadu, India
Thomas L. Tew, Head, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Experiment
Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive,
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
VI
D. /. T. Walker, Director, West Indies Central Sugar Cane Breeding Station,
Groves, St. George, Barbados, West Indies
K. K. Wu, Associate Plant Breeder, Genetics and Pathology Department,
Experiment Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters1 Association, 99-193 Aiea
Heights Drive, Aiea, Hawaii 96701
VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In addition to thanking individual contributors to this book, the editor wishes
to thank Assistant Editors Rita Rigby and Melinda Carlson; Graphic Artists
Rowen Tabusa, Derek Hataoka, Bryant Fukutomi; and Juana Tabali, without
whose efforts this book would not have reached completion; and the Hawaiian
Sugar Planters1 Association for its cooperation in this project.
1
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
D. J Heinz
Improvement of sugarcane through genetic manipulation has been a
directed, ongoing process since 1888, following the observation in 1858 that
sugarcane produced viable seed (Stevenson 1965). The ravages of sereh disease
in Java motivated the Dutch to find control measures, leading to breeding and
selection programs that were the forerunners of today's successful sugarcane
improvement programs. Most sugarcane-producing areas have breeding programs
to develop and improve locally adapted sugarcane varieties.
Significant contributions in cane and sugar yield, disease and insect
resistance, stress tolerance, and other characters have been made to sugar
industries around the world through breeding. Sugarcane has been adapted to a
wide range of environments and cultural practices, and high yields have been
obtained through genetic improvement of the crop.
George Müller (Husz 1970) recognized this when he stated, "Sugar cane and
its product, cane sugar, holds a prominent place among tropical plants. From its
mythical origins and early sources up to its present-day production and world-
wide utilization, cane sugar has played its role in the history of human culture
and world economy. The cultivation of sugar cane provides an outstanding
example of the spread, the development and the breeding of a valuable plant and
of its processing from the most primitive beginnings to a state of near
perfection."
Most of us will recognize that Müller's statement is hyperbole since
sugarcane growers and processors seldom achieve a "state of near perfection" in
all operations. Nevertheless, the culture of sugarcane in some exceptionally
high-yielding areas of the world, such as Hawaii, appears to be approaching
agronomic near-perfection. Compared with other agronomic crops in the U. S.,
the yield for cane sugar production in Hawaii averages nearly 50% of the highest
2
yield recorded while, by contrast, the average yield of selected other major
crops ranges from 16 to 31% of record yields (Table I). The record yield can be
assumed to be proportional to the yield potential of the crop, and the ratio of
record to average yields can be taken as a measure of probability that changes in
agronomic practices can increase yields. A large ratio indicates a higher
probability for yield increases while a small ratio indicates a lower probability.
Thus, the prospects for projecting yield increases seem relatively high for wheat
and soybean as opposed to prospects for Hawaiian sugarcane. This is not to say
that the outlook for cane sugar yield increases are bleak, only that the gains
through improved agronomic practices may be difficult to achieve in areas where
the average yields are a large fraction of the record yields. Although the yields
of cane sugar are already relatively high (Fig. I), the sugarcane drymatter yields
are only 0.07 mt/ha/day, a full order of magnitude below the theoretical
maximum of 0.7 mt/ha/day calculated by Loomis and Williams (1963).
Table I. Average and record yields of selected crops
U. S. average0 Ratio
Food crop (1978-1982) World record record/average
(metric tons/ha/yr)
Wheat 2.3 14.5b 6.3
Maize 6.6 22.2D 3.4
Barley 2.8 9.0b 3.2
Rice 5.2 28.0D 5.4
Soybean 1.9 7.4C 3.9
Cane sugar (Hawaii) 11.9 24.2d 2.0
a U. S. Dept. Agriculture. Agricultural Statistics 1985. U.S. Govt. Printing
Office. Washington.
D Sinha, S. K. and Swaminathan, M.S. 1984. New parameters and selection
criteria in plant breeding, pp. 1-31. ]ru P. B. Vose and S. G. Blixt (eds.) Crop
Breeding: A Contemporary Basis. Pergamon Press. Oxford, New York,
Toronto, Sydney, Paris, Frankfort.
c Sanders, J. L. 1985. Maximum yield and maximum economic yield for soybean.
pp. 189-201. jri: S. Shanmugasundaran and E. Sulzberger (eds.) Soybean in
Tropical and Subtropical Cropping Systems. Fortune Printing Co. Ltd.,
Taiwan.
d Oahu Sugar Co. Ltd., Waipahu, Hawaii, April 1985. 21.62 tons sugar per acre
for a 2 year crop on 216 acres.
3
„_! 1 1 1 1 "
1945 1955 1965 1975 1985
YEAR
Fig. I. Annual yield trends of major U.S. crops. SB=soybean; W=wheat;
B=barley; R=rice; C=corn; MS=mainland cane sugar (FL, LA, TX); HS=Hawaii
cane sugar. Data from U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Agricultural Statistics.
The contribution genetic improvement has made to increased cane sugar
yield was estimated by Baver (1963) to be 75% of the yield increase attained by
the Hawaiian industry in the 1950s. Hogarth (1976) calculated that the
Queensland, Australia, sugar industry improved yields by 1.9% per annum from
1948 through 1975. He suggested plant breeding contributed about one-half of
the increase. In Hawaii, yields have improved every decade except the 1970s,
when disease and agronomic problems plagued the industry (Fig. I). Through
development of new, improved, disease-resistant varieties and the introduction
of drip irrigation, yields of sugarcane increased again in the 1980s. A large gain
4
in sugar yield was obtained on the Hilo-Hamakua Coast of Hawaii from 8.96
mt/ha/yr in 1955 to over 12.32 mt/ha/yr from 1983 on~a 3.36-tonne
improvement. It is likely that at least two-thirds of the gain was due to
improved varieties.
Most individuals associated with sugarcane industries recognize the contri-
bution improved varieties make to control of sugarcane diseases and increased
potential for cane and sugar yields. The increased emphasis on development of
new sugarcane varieties in many areas of the world is mentioned in chapter 15 of
this book. Personal communication with plant breeders in other sugarcane
industries indicates continued interest in producing improved varieties.
The principles and practices which have led to improved sugarcane
varieties are described in the chapters of this book. "Evolution and Taxonomy"
outlines important genera and species concepts and presents a clarification of
the use of the generic names of Erianthus and Ripidium; "Morphology and
Anatomy" discusses information necessary to properly understand breeding
concepts in sugarcane; "Germplasm Collection, Maintenance, and Use" summa-
rizes the extensive collection of germplasm in centers of origin and progress in
utilization of the collection.
"Cytogenetics" and "Genetics" outline complex issues faced by sugarcane
breeders in improving sugarcane through genetic manipulation. Chapters on
"Flowering," "Breeding Methods," "Tissue Culture," "Seedling Propagation,"
"Selection," "Breeding for Disease and Stress Tolerance," and "Data Storage and
Retrieval" describe methods used by breeders to improve sugarcane. The final
chapter, "New Varieties," summarizes and illustrates the progress achieved by
sugarcane breeders in various countries in the past 100 years.
Although yields in sugarcane have increased dramatically, new techniques,
agronomic practices, and knowledge will lead to even greater opportunities for
yield improvement. Imperative is the development of information on physio-
logical and biochemical pathways in sugarcane and the genetic control of these
processes. Until then, we will be at a disadvantage in using new tools such as
recombinant DNA techniques and other advanced technology. It is also impera-
tive that sugarcane breeders encourage the development of information neces-
sary to continue yield increases through genetic manipulation. This author has
