Marvellous Zhou

• PhD, M. Applied Stats, MSc, BSc
• Manager at South African Sugarcane Research Institute

Indirect selection for yield in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) production can be achieved by identifying and selecting for plant traits that are correlated to yield. This study aimed to identify and quantify sugarcane traits that are associated with ratooning ability to generate information for varieties' selection. Data sourced from three va...

Sugarcane varieties differ in their ratooning ability (RA), and it is hypothesized that soil types and harvest seasons impact varieties' RA. However, the effects of these factors on varieties' RA remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the RA of different commercial sugarcane varieties (NCo376, N19, N23, N25, and N36), and establish the effects...

The primary objective of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) variety testing programs is to identify cultivars that have high cane yields and good ratooning ability (RA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of six RA indices to estimate RA among sugarcane varieties and to identify an index well suited to predict RA in long‐term ratoon c...

Testing sugarcane varieties for ratooning ability (RA) prerelease happens over fewer ratoon crops than those achieved commercially due to inadequate resources and the need to release varieties quicker. The purpose of this study was to model yield potential and RA of sugarcane varieties. To achieve this, yield (cane yield, TCH; sucrose yield, TSH; s...

Cultivar genetic gains quantify the increase in productivity from release of cultivars and measure genetic improvements from plant breeding. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the genetic gains from sugarcane coastal cultivars and evaluate their contribution to productivity. Data were derived from replicated plant breeding and post-relea...

Sugarcane yields are known to decline with successive ratoon crops, a phenomenon termed ratoon yield decline (RYD), and the rate of decline is largely dependent on the environment in which the crop grows. An environment in sugarcane production is characterized by harvest season and soil type, and gaining an understanding on how these influence RYD,...

Smut, Sporisorium scitamineum (Syd.) (formerly Ustilago scitamineum), is a major disease of sugarcane causing cane yield losses of 0.25 to 0.75% for every 1% of infected stools. Breeding resistant cultivars is part of integrated smut management. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of locations and seasons on smut infection geno...

In sugarcane, flowering is required for breeding but undesirable in commercial crops because it reduces yield and quality which is exacerbated by the development of side shoots and pithing in stalks. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of location on genotype flowering, estimate broad sense heritability and evaluate flowering...

The South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) breeding program started after imported cultivars showed poor adaptability and susceptibility to pest and diseases. SASRI started importing crosses in the 1940s and later established crossing facilities. The breeding program has produced some of the world’s most successful cultivars such as NCo...

Pigeonpea is an important grain legume. It contributes to the improvement of soil fertility through biological nitrogen (N) fixation. However, the symbiotic efficiency of pigeonpea with native soil rhizobia has not been determined adequately. This study was designed to determine the variation in the N fixation ability of pigeonpea inoculated with t...

Family evaluation has been adopted to improve selection in the early stages of sugarcane breeding. However, little knowledge is available for comparing families to genotypes among diverse sugarcane populations. The objectives were to determine and compare trends between family and individual genotype (genotype) variance components and broad-sense h...

General combining ability (GCA) referencing additive genetic effects and specific combining ability (SCA) referencing nonadditive effects have been applied for decades in maize (Zea mays L.) breeding and other crops to produce greater genetic gains in crop breeding. This study examined the magnitude of GCA and SCA for cane yield and evaluated poten...

General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) have been applied in breeding maize and other crops for decades. Sugarcane breeding has seen low genetic gains, which may be attributed to limited exploitation of GCA and SCA effects. The objectives of this study were to determine GCA and SCA effects for cane yield in unselected S...

Tissue-specific differential DNA methylation has been an attractive target for the development of markers for discrimination of body fluids found at crime scenes. Though mostly stable, DNA methylation patterns have been shown to vary between different ethnic groups, in different age groups as well as between healthy and diseased individuals. To the...

In sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) breeding, knowledge of progeny performance and adaptability increases crossing and selection efficiency. Family evaluation across environments uses progeny data to determine family genetic values and family × environment interactions. The objectives were to determine family × environment breeding parameters, fa...

Breeding value refers to the ability of a genotype to produce superior progenies when crossed with other genotypes and are used to predict the performance of a genotype as a parent in plant and animal breeding. The objectives of this study were to estimate the breeding values of genotypes for cane yield, to determine the proportions of elite female...

Breeding programs conduct multienvironment trials to evaluate the adaptability and performance of genotypes across variable agroecological regions. Genotype × environment interaction (G×E) results in the genetic values varying across environments. When G×E is large, greater genetic gains can be achieved through developing specific genotypes for eac...

This study was conducted to assess the accumulation pattern of sucrose and fibre content among different types of energy canes in Mauritius. Twelve highly selected biomass genotypes with variable sucrose to fibre ratios were commonly planted in two variety trials in RCBDs with three replicates. Five month old samples, starting from pre-harvest seas...

Significant genetic diversity for sucrose and fibre percentages exists in the species that served as the foundation of present day sugarcane cultivars. However, information is lacking worldwide on the recent contributions of sugarcane crop wild relatives (mainly Saccharum , Erianthus and Miscanthus wild species) in developing new varieties. There i...

In response to the problem of dynamic channel state information in complex indoor environment, this paper proposes an adaptive and robust Kalman filter approach for indoor Wi-Fi/Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) fusion localization. This approach conducts the multiple location information fusion of Wi-Fi propagation model and PDR to infer the optimal...

Plant breeding aims to produce cultivars that possess optimum trait combinations for yield and other traits. Path coefficient analysis in sugarcane showed number, height and diameter of stalks control cane yield. The objectives of this study were to determine optimum combinations of number, height and diameter of stalks for high sugarcane yield in...

The received satellite signal will be converted into digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal after the radio frequency front-end processing.As one of the crucial parts in IF signal processing,the accurate phase tracking can ensure the precise satellite signal decoding,distance ranging,and positioning.Based on this,this paper proposes a Phase Loc...

Breeding values (BV) refer to the ability of a genotype to produce progenies with high trait values when crossed with other genotypes and are used to predict the breeding performance of parental genotypes in sugarcane breeding. The objective of this study was to use best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) to determine breeding values of parental gen...

Family selection is the positive advancement of all progenies from a cross and is widely practiced in breeding for sugarcane and other crops. The objective of this study was to compare family with individual genotype selection (IGS) for cane yield and its components (stalk number, height and diameter). Data for cane yield, stalk number, height and...

The success of sugarcane breeding is determined by the choice of parents, crosses made and progeny testing. The objectives of this study were to use best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) to evaluate parents using progeny data obtained from family plots and to determine the proportion of elite parents within the Midlands breeding populations. Data...

WLAN indoor localization has caught significantly wide attention.In offline phase, the location fingerprint RSS data acquisition often results in blindness and unreliability, and ignores the relations between the required RSS sample capacity and localization performance.To solve this problem, a new T-test based sample capacity optimization approach...

Accurate estimation of the angle of arrival (AOA) of the signal provides the possibility of high precision indoor positioning, in order to achieve the accurate AOA and extract the AOA information of the direct path to locate the target, this paper presents a sub-meter indoor localization system that uses the channel frequency response (CFR) to expa...

Simultaneous selection for multiple traits in plant breeding increases the value of cultivars to growers. Visual selection is inefficient while multivariate statistical analysis is too complicated for early stages. The objective of this study was to demonstrate logistic regression models as a statistical tool for simultaneous selection of several t...

Sugarcane has been cultivated for thousands of years for producing sugar. Sugarcane is a fast-growing grass species that accumulates high amounts of sucrose in its stalks. Sugarcane is a complex polyploid with high levels of autopolyploidy and aneuploidy. Sugarcane belongs to the Saccharum species which include S. officinarum, S. spontaneum, S. rob...

Coastal short cycle breeding programmes develop early maturing sugarcane cultivars adapted to harvesting at 12 months under rainfed conditions. Genotypes progressed to the advanced cultivar stage from these programmes are merged and evaluated concurrently in multi-environment trials across the region. The objective of this study was to determine th...

Genotypes are tested in several environments to evaluate the influence of genotype × environment interactions prior to their release as cultivars. The objective of this study was to determine location and crop-year effects and their implications on coastal short cycle sugarcane breeding programmes. Data for yield, quality and stalk traits were coll...

Genotype × environment interactions (G×E) can reduce the genetic contribution to the phenotype and increase minimum detectable differences, which eventually reduce selection precision. This study was conducted to determine the magnitudes and trends of G×E variance components for sugarcane yield, quality and agronomic traits in the coastal short cyc...

Family selection in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) increases genetic gains for quantitative traits such as cane yield compared with individual genotype selection because families can be replicated to account for environmental effects. However, optimum family selection rates and trait dynamics among populations are not known. The objectives of t...

Family evaluation in sugarcane increases genetic gains for traits controlled by several genes, such as cane yield, by focusing selection on populations with a higher proportion of superior genotypes. In early stages of sugarcane breeding, families can be replicated while individual genotypes cannot because of insufficient planting material and the...

Global and gene-specific variation in DNA methylation has been observed between human populations. However, to our knowledge, differences in DNA methylation between South African ethnic groups have not been reported before. The present study aimed to determine if there was differential methylation in previously reported gene-specific markers betwee...

Based on the data fusion from micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) sensors and low-power bluetooth (BLE), an indoor BLE and MEMS based multi-floor positioning algorithm was proposed. First of all, the affinity propagation clustering, outlier detection and received signal strength indicator (RSSI) filtering algorithms were applied to denoise the f...

Genotype by environment interactions (GEI) are a major issue in plant breeding that complicates selection and requires breeders to assess the adaptability and stability of promising genotypes before release. Different techniques have been developed to model and present GEI. Current trends involve the use of AMMI and GGE multivariate techniques that...

Cultivar genetic gains provide a measure of benefits to growers from sugarcane breeding programmes and determine the effectiveness of cultivar development. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic gains for cane yield, percent estimated recoverable crystal (ERC%) cane and sugar yield of cultivars developed for the irrigated regions...

Family selection in sugarcane occurs when whole units are selected or rejected based on family mean value and is applied to traits with low heritability. The objective of this study was to compare family with individual genotype selection (IGS) for cane yield in humic and sandy soils breeding populations for the Midlands region of South Africa. Dat...

In response to the issues of the time-consuming and labor-intensive fingerprint collection involved in the conventional wireless local area networks (WLAN) indoor localization, as well as the specific requirement for motion sensors in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), we first use the off-the-shelf smartphones to sporadically collect a...

Eldana saccharina is an indigenous lepidopteran insect pest and the most damaging stem borer of sugarcane in southern Africa. Breeding for E. saccharina resistance in South Africa started in 1980 by crossing resistant parents (expected to possess resistance genes) and selecting for resistance. The objectives of this study were to compare family to...

The genotype × environment interaction (G×E) influences the values of genetic gains attained by plant breeding programs when breeding materials are evaluated in diverse agro‐ecological areas. This study was designed to evaluate a broad spectrum of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) genotypes for G×E and determine the yield and quality differences...

A novel access point (AP) deployment approach by optimizing the location fingerprints in indoor WLAN localization was proposed. Firstly, constructing the water-filling optimization model based on the maximum of the Euclidean distance of RSS between every two location fingerprints. Secoudly, after the process of the iterative cross-zero adjustment a...

A new access point placement optimization approach based on lowest positioning error bound in Wi-Fi fingerprint based localization was proposed. Analysis towards the theoretical relationship between positioning error and various signal distributions by using Fisher information matrix was presented. The target environment was divided into several su...

An important breakthrough in sugar cane breeding was achieved early in the last century with the use of sugar cane related species as parental lines that led to the creation of a few ‘wonder canes’, such as POJ 2364, POJ 2878, Co 206 and Co 213, with spectacular improvements in cane and sugar yields, pest and disease resistance and adaptation. Thes...

Minimum detectable differences (MDD) are the smallest difference between two genotypes that can be determined accurately at a given statistical significance threshold. The effect of genotype by environment interaction reduces accuracy of determining genetic values, increases MDD and reduces selection efficiency. The objective of this study was to d...

Eldana saccharina (eldana) is the most widespread sugarcane borer in South Africa and causes losses estimated at US$90 million. Breeding for resistance started in 1980. The objectives of this study were to examine the potential of evaluating sugarcane families and parents by using data collected from the seedling stage (Stage I) and determine the p...

Analyzing genetic gains of sugarcane cultivars provides a measure of performance for plant breeding programs. Previous studies in several countries showed yield of up to 150% in the last 50 yr. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic gains for cane yield, percent estimated recoverable crystal (ERC%) cane and sugar yield of cultivar...

In sugarcane breeding, visual appraisal is used to select for cane yield among seedlings (Stage I) and non-replicated clonal plots (Stage II). Genotype by environment interaction and interplot competition reduces selection efficiency. Although path coefficient analysis studies identified important yield components for indirect selection, currently...

Family selection in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), as practiced in Australia, was difficult to implement in South Africa because of the non-availability of mechanical harvesting and automatic weighing machines. This study explored the potential of evaluating cane yield of sugarcane families estimated using stalk number, stalk height, and stalk diamete...

The identification and recommendation of superior genotypes is crucial for the growth of industrial crops, and sugarcane breeding performs a vital role by developing more productive cultivars. The study of genotype x environment interaction has been an essential tool in this process. Thereby, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relatio...

Sugarcane is a major crop in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide for producing sugar and biofuel. Molecular genetic maps, although all incomplete, have been constructed from ten segregating populations. Follow-up mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) has been conducted on several populations for sugar content, sugar yield, disease resist...

Sugarcane (Saccharum species hybrid) is a clonally propagated crop but during variety development, the first stage of selection occurs among seedlings established from true seed. All subsequent stages are established from vegetative stem cuttings and evaluated as clones. During family selection, whole families of seedlings are selected or rejected...

Increasing selection efficiency in un-replicated populations has remained a challenge to sugarcane breeders due to the effects of genotype by environment interaction and competition among plots. Therefore studies aimed at exploring models to improve selection efficiency are required. At the South African Sugarcane Research Institute, the Stage II s...

Family evaluation involves the selection or rejection of entire families of seedlings based on information derived from replicated family plots, and is widely practised in sugarcane breeding programmes. After family evaluation, individual seedling selection is restricted to the selected elite families. Family evaluation data is also used to determi...

The sugarcane thrips, Fulmekiola serrata Kobus, is a pest of the South African sugarcane industry. One of the strategies to control the pest is by breeding and selecting resistant genotypes. The main objective of this study was to compare different methods of predicting thrips damage to establish a method for resistance screening. Thrips number cou...

Initial sugarcane production in South Africa relied on imported varieties. When imported varieties succumbed to diseases, the industry established the South African Research Institute (SASRI) with the mandate to develop sugarcane varieties. The popular and highly successful varieties, NCo310 and NCo376 were selected from crosses imported from India...

In sugarcane breeding, family selection has been shown to produce larger gains than individual plant selection. During family selection, whole families of seedlings are selected or rejected based on data derived from replicated family plots. The objective of this study was to determine predicted family selection gains and evaluate their implication...

The renewed interest in wild Saccharum species germplasm across sugarcane breeding programs has been necessitated by the need to widen the genetic base of breeding populations. Modern sugarcane cultivars were derived from inter-specific hybridization between S. officinarum and S. spontaneum. Very few genotypes were used in the initial hybridization...

The causes of genotype × environment (G × E) interactions in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) are unclear. The objectives of this study were to (i) investigate the G × E interactions and site similarity in two selection programs in South Africa, (ii) identify factors responsible for G × E interactions, and (iii) illustrate the integrated use of crop mode...

Ratooning ability increases sugarcane production economics by reducing frequency of planting. During sugarcane breeding, indirect selection for pest resistance and direct selection for high ratoon yields increases ratooning ability. The objective of this study was to describe the simultaneous screening of genotypes for yield and ratooning ability i...

The ability to detect significant differences among genotypes in trials depends on the variance associated with the means. Dwangwa Sugar Estate, Malawi, imports genotypes from the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) to test for possible commercial release. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum number of replication...

Genotype by environment interaction (GxE) influences and complicates the selection of superior genotypes in trials by confounding the determination of true genetic values. In South Africa, variety trials are planted at several locations and harvested in the plant to third ratoon crops. The objective of this study was to determine the trends in comp...

Relocation of South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) rain-fed research stations was due to urban encroachment and to increase representativeness of research farms. The relocation also coincided with the Recoverable Value (RV) payment system in 1998, which penalized growers for low sucrose content. After 12 years of trials, the large dat...

Test sites selected for plant breeding programs are often not ideal and need to be constantly evaluated for their appropriateness. Commercial sugarcane genotypes are selected for the Midlands region of South Africa based on evaluation at six testing sites. The similarities between these sites in terms of genotype performance have never been evaluat...

Eldana saccharina Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) has remained the most damaging sugarcane insect pest in southern Africa since 1970. Borer damage is a major cause of yield loss in the coastal region of South Africa. Varietal resistance is an important component of integrated management of this pest. Field (natural) and shade house (artificially in...

Artificial neural network (ANN) models are mathematical models based on biological neural networks; they are a supervised learning method and use pattern learning from a training dataset that is a subsample of the whole dataset to produce predictions of response variables. We demonstrate the potential of an ANN model as a tool for selection in suga...

Tillers carry leaves, determine leaf area index and indirectly influence the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) intercepted by the sugarcane canopy. Tillers develop into stalks, the sink for the products of photosynthesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of seasons and varieties on tiller population devel...

Starch negatively affects the quantity and quality of raw sugar produced. Starch reduces crystallization and centrifugation rates, occludes into sucrose crystals, and impedes refinery decolorization processes. The problem of starch in sugarcane juice has been exacerbated by the widespread adoption of green cane harvesting and also, perhaps by the n...

The sugarcane borer (SCB) [Diatraea saccharalis (F.)] and Mexican rice borer (MRB) [Eoreuma loftini (Dyar)] are two economically important pests of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) in the United States. Because of similarities in larval feeding behavior, selecting for resistance to one species could provide resistance to the other, a phenomenon w...

The high nitrogen requirement of sugarcane is problematic for small scale farmers in Zimbabwe due to the high cost and scarcity of fertilizer. Producing legume crops in rotation with sugarcane during the fallow period may alleviate the problem. The main aim of this research was to establish whether vegetable and grain soybeans used as fallow crops...

Data from an advanced stage selection trial from the Texas Sugarcane Improvement Program (TSIP) were analyzed to determine the relative magnitude of genotype x environment (GxE) interactions components namely, genotype x location (GxL), genotype x crop-years (GxC), and genotype x location x crop-years (GxLxC) on sugar yield and its components cane...

The use of non-destructive devices like Delta-T-Leaf- Area- Meter and Canegro Models can help farmers to manage their cane crops and have an understanding of the importance of measurement of physiological parameters so as to maximize cane and sugar yields. This study was conducted on sandy clay loams of the lithosol group under the Zimbabwe soil cl...

Louisiana sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) growers are increasingly harvesting fields 'green', without pre-harvest burning to eliminate leafy material. The post-harvest residue, however, is generally burned on the ground to avoid the debilitating effects of the residue on the subsequent ratoon crop in the production cycle. A best management pra...

Monoculture is common in sugarcane production throughout the world and leads to decline in yields and soil fertility and build up of pests and diseases. Legumes have been shown as potential crops that break the monoculture cycles in several crops. Farmers can reduce nitrogen fertilizer requirements to the subsequent sugarcane crop when soyabean (Gl...

Varieties NCo376 and N14 are the most widely grown varieties in Zimbabwe and are used as control varieties in the selection programme. The success of NCo376 was due to its high yield potential throughout the year and its ability to maintain good yields, even in advanced ratoons. A study was done to compare the performances of N14 and NCo376 in the...

The selection programme in Zimbabwe is based on crosses made by the South African Sugar Association Experiment Station (SASEX) in South Africa. In addition varieties are imported from SASEX and Canal Point, Florida, United States of America. Data collected over 20 years were analysed to illustrate trends and the impact of selecting for high yield,...

Sugarcane breeding is expensive because the plant is perennial and the frequency in obtaining superior clones is low. Plant breeding involves developing strategies that will increase the probability of identifying superior varieties. This paper discusses the strategies used to select varieties with high sugar yield, good disease and pest tolerance...