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Sugarcane the champion crop at carbon sequestration

Authors:
Jeffrey F Parr at Retired Research Scientist Southern Cross University Adjunct Prof Fujian Academy of Forestry Science, Fuzhou China.
Jeffrey F Parr
  • Retired Research Scientist Southern Cross University Adjunct Prof Fujian Academy of Forestry Science, Fuzhou China.
Leigh Sullivan at University of Canberra
Leigh Sullivan
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Abstract

Dr Jeff Parr and Professor Leigh Sullivan, both researchers from Southern Cross University and Plantstone Pty Ltd in Lismore NSW, have recently discovered that a process that occurs naturally in plants (especially grasses such as sugarcane), plays an important role in countering CO2 emissions and global warming.This process is termed plantstone carbon and is also referred to as phytolith occluded carbon. Their research shows that plantstone carbon has been extracting 300 million tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere and storing it securely in soil for thousands of years.
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Sugarcane the champion crop at carbon
sequestration
Parr, Jeffrey F; Sullivan, Leigh A
https://researchportal.scu.edu.au/discovery/delivery/61SCU_INST:ResearchRepository/1267309060002368?l#1367466660002368
Parr, J. F., & Sullivan, L. A. (2007). Sugarcane the champion crop at carbon sequestration. Canegrower, 17
December, 14–15.
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17 December 2007
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Carbon trading
Sugarcane the champion crop at carbon sequestration
Dr Jeff Parr and Professor Leigh
Sullivan, both researchers from
Southern Cross University and
Plantstone Pty Ltd in Lismore NSW,
have recently discovered that a
process that occurs naturally in plants
(especially grasses such as sugarcane),
plays an important role in countering
CO2 emissions and global warming.
This process is termed plantstone
carbon and is also referred to as
phytolith occluded carbon. Their
research shows that plantstone carbon
has been extracting 300 million tonnes
of CO2 per year from the atmosphere
and storing it securely in soil for
thousands of years.
What are plantstones? Plantstones form
as microscopic grains of silica in plant
leaves, particularly grass-based pastures
and crops such as sugarcane and wheat.
During plant growth a small proportion
of organic carbon becomes encapsulated
within the microscopic silica grains.
Regardless of whether the plant dies,
burns or is harvested, the carbon
entrapped in the plantstone is highly
resistant to decomposition. Therefore,
unlike most plant matter, which readily
decomposes and returns CO2 to the
atmosphere, the carbon in plantstone
effectively removes CO2 from the
Tweed cane grower Robert Quirk was recently featured on the ABC’s Landline program explaining acid
sulphate soils. He will be on Landline again early in 2008 talking about the plantstone trials he has
participated in on his farm. uu
atmosphere. This process essentially
suggests that crop choice decisions by
farmers could be a major contributing
factor in the reduction of CO2 from the
atmosphere.
Parr and Sullivan’s research in crop
plantstone yields has shown that
different plant types produce greatly
varying amounts of plantstone carbon.
According to the research team, some
crops have been identied as producing
over 1,000 times more plantstone carbon
than other crop types.
Moreover, varieties within a single
crop type, such as sugarcane, have
been found to produce widely differing
quantities of plantstone carbon.
This indicates that a farmer’s decision of
choice of crop type and/or cultivar has
a considerable impact on the amount of
CO2 extracted from the atmosphere and
securely stored in their farm’s soil.
Some of the latest plantstone research
shows that sugarcane is the clear
champion crop at carbon sequestration.
Sugarcane can sequestrate up to 0.66
tonnes of CO2 per ha per year in
plantstones while many other crops
(especially legumes) sequestrate
comparatively little or no CO2 by this
process.
Thus the benets that farmers growing
sugarcane provide to society is not just
limited to the more obvious benets
such as the sugar they produce, but
also to the environmental services that
they provide by locking up enhanced
amounts of carbon in the plantstones
that are produced abundantly by their
crop.
Increasing carbon sequestration by
plantstones is by no means limited by
a need to change the types of crops
that a farmer grows. Indeed, it can be
business-as-usual: by simply choosing
to grow a high plantstone carbon
yielding cultivar of a crop over a low
plantstone carbon yielding cultivar
of the same crop can greatly enhance
carbon sequestration on the farm.
For a sugarcane farmer, the relatively
simple decision to choose to grow one
sugarcane variety instead of another can
result in an extra 0.25 tonnes of CO2 per
ha per year being securely sequestered
in the soil inside plantstones.
Importantly, the research to date shows
that there are no crop yield penalties
involved in choosing to grow high
plantstone carbon yielding cultivars over
low plantstone carbon yielding cultivars.
For grain crops such as wheat and
sorghum, (for which there are readily
available data) some of the highest
yielding cultivars are also those that
produce the greatest amounts of
plantstone carbon.
The implementation of an appropriate
carbon trading systems, as are currently
being proposed by governments, would
provide an incentive to farmers to grow
high plantstone yielding crops and crop
varieties.
Carbon trading systems will result in
farmers having the potential to earn
additional income without detracting
from existing income streams.
The Australian Research Council
Discovery Grant Program has
recognised the importance of Parr
and Sullivan’s plantstone carbon
research providing means for further
development during 2007-2009.
15
Carbon trading
Plantstone carbon research is developing
powerful tools to counter global CO2
emissions providing land managers the
opportunity to play an even greater role
in the ght against global warming and
climate change.
c a n e g r o w e r s Senior Manager, Policy,
Bernard Milford, said that the phytolith
discovery was interesting and timely.
“In order for farmers to participate in
emerging carbon markets, it will be
necessary to demonstrate that carbon
can be sequestered in the soil in a way
that is permanent and measurable,” he
said.
“The ongoing research announced into
plantstone should prove whether these
tiny particles could be turned into an
income source. We will be watching the
results carefully and working to ensure
that innovations such as this can be
recognised in any future carbon trading
scheme.” n
Carbon emissions of
renery to drop by 70%
Industrial ingredients and food
processing giant Tate & Lyle announced
it was implementing a $41.1 million
(£20 million) biomass boiler project at
its East London sugar renery, which
will slash the carbon emissions from
energy use by 70% in less than two
years and turn the factory into a net
energy producer.
The carbon footprint of Tate & Lyle
cane sugar will be reduced by 25%
following the switch to renewable
biomass. The factory in London is one
of the largest cane reneries in the
world, processing 1.1 million tonnes of
sugar a year.
The new biomass boiler, which will
power the combined heat and power
(CHP) plant for the factory, will mean
Tate & Lyle can switch to renewable
biomass to supply 70% of the energy it
needs.
Post 2009, with the boiler working at
full capacity, the carbon footprint of
cane sugar produced at the renery will
be reduced to 0.32 tonnes per 1 tonne of
sugar. Raw cane sugar milling is almost
carbon neutral. n
Case IH has extended its
recommendations on use of biofuels
to include B100 – or pure biodiesel –
on even more of its farm equipment
models.
Farmers now can use B100 on nearly
all Case IH medium to high horsepower
tractors, combines, windrowers, and
most self-propelled sprayers and cotton
pickers - so long as proper protocols
are followed for engine operation and
maintenance.
“With record prices for crude oil, Case
IH committed to exploring better ways
to use environmentally-friendly biofuels
made from renewable raw materials,”
said Stuart Brown, Case IH Marketing
Manager.
“We have conducted rigorous laboratory
and in-eld tests to evaluate how our
engines perform with various biodiesel
blends.”
Recommended practices include
sourcing pre-blended biodiesel from
reliable suppliers, following proper
lter and oil change intervals and,
in some cases, having dealers install
special parts and approve warranty
extensions that help the vehicle perform
as expected with a higher percentage of
biodiesel.
New approvals for use of B100 apply
to Case IH JX and JXU Series tractors,
as well as the full line-up of Maxxum,
Puma and Magnum tractors.
All new Steiger tractors also are
approved for B100, except the 480 and
530 models. Other Case IH models
approved for B100 are the new Module
Express 625 module-building cotton
picker and Patriot 3320 and 4420 self-
propelled sprayers.
Customers can use B5 in all Case IH
engines without restrictions or special
engine maintenance. Case IH also
supports B20 use in more than 90%
of the models it sells worldwide with
certain requirements for operation and
maintenance. n
Case expands biodiesel farm use
... This phenomenon is also called phytooccluded carbon (PhytOC). Par and Sullivan [48] have projected "the PhytOC yield of a sugarcane crop to remain 18.1 g C m -2 yr -1 , which is sustainable over millions of years and at the same time comparable with carbon sequestered while converting a cultivated land to forest or grassland or changing the conventional tillage to no-tillage. This amounts to 181 kg C sequestered/ha year". ...
... "High requirement of plant nutrient limits the crop yield due to scarcity of fertilizers" [47]. Similarly, spiralling prices coupled with a short availability of fertilizers in peak season [48] "Organic waste, such as press mud or filter cake, is generated during the purification of sugar by carbonation or sulphitation process as a byproduct of sugarcane industries. In general, when 100 t of sugarcane is crushed, about 3 t of press mud are produced as a by-product" [17]. ...
... Press mud contains sugar enhanced its decomposition in soil [17]. So, it is used as one of the substrates in biocomposting [48,17]. "The integrated use of SPM with nitrogen fertilizers (Urea) has enhanced the dry matter, number of malleable canes, cane, and sugar yield" [47,49]. ...
Sugarcane: A Climate Resilient Devine Crop
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
Worldwide increasing demands of food, fodder, fuel and other bio-chemicals for erratically increasing population, urbanization and industrialization. Only sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) has great potential as a major feedstock for sugar, biofuel and allied related production. Sugarcane is the lead driver for production of sugar and sweeteners globally. It is considered among the best options and replace the fossil fuels for production of biofuels today due to an exceptional biomass production capacity, high carbohydrate (sugar + fiber) content, and a favourable energy input/output ratio. The conversion of sugarcane biomass into fermentable sugars for second-generation ethanol production is a promising alternative to meet future demands of biofuel production in the world. Biofuels have gained much importance due to the depleting fossil fuel resources and the over-accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the environment. Biofuel and paper production from sugarcane can be achieve the targets to replace fossil fuels to scavenge carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and to attain environmental and economic sustainability. Fermentable sugars (40-60%) of molasses which is diluted with distilled water and by fermentation process (Saccharomyces cerevisae) produce rum (wine). Application of sugarcane by-products, such as press mud, vinasse and bagasse, to improves chemical, physical, and biological properties of soil and enhanced the crop quality and yield. For transfer the live micro-organism from agar slant of laboratory to rhizosphere then sugar press mud play key role in formulating microbial inoculant as suitable carrier. Food yeast Torulopsis utilis, is prepared from molasses used as baker’s and brewer’s yeast in bakery industry. Sugarcane improves the economy of rural population by providing lead source of fodder for livestock management as a sugarcane tops and by-products of sugarcane (molasses treated with urea, mineral mixture treated sugarcane top hays etc.). Scientific interventions have not only helped to improve the cane crop but industrial procedures have also been upgraded resulting in improved production of biofuel, paper, wine etc and other sugarcane by-products used to improve the economy of rural and urban population. However, building a bridge between science and industry requires investments in research, development and transfer of new technologies to the industry as well as specialized personnel to deal with new technological challenges.
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... thousand ton CO 2eq Y −1 and as per procedure given in sub Section "Carbon sequestration", the total carbon sequestration (CS) per year from the sugarcane was estimated to be 189,415.7 thousand ton CO 2eq Y −1 . Fig. 11 (Parr and Sullivan 2007). Sugarcane residue has a great potential to sequestrate the carbon in soil (Thorburn et al. 2012 Shukla et al. (2022) studied the sugarcane trash management effect on soil-carbon sequestration and yield of sugarcane. ...
... Cleaning the top surface of soil by open burning of trash decreases the soil carbon(Shukla et al. 2017b). By intercropping sugarcane and wheat, a greater quantity of crop residue was incorporated into the soil, resulting in increased CS(Parr and Sullivan 2007).Lefebvre et al. (2020) studied the sugarcane residue potential for soil CS using biochar in Brazil. The application rate of biochar prepared from sugarcane residue 4.2 ton ha −1 y −1 sequestrate the carbon of 2.35 ton ha −1 y −1 . ...
Assessment of Carbon and Energy Footprint of Sugarcane Production in India
Article
  • Feb 2024
This study aims to analyze and compare the carbon emissions (CE) and energy use patterns of sugarcane crops in different states of India as per the recommended inventories of Indian scientists for maximum sugarcane production. Additionally, this article discusses the possibility of increasing CE and energy consumption (EC) as compared with the present study and implementing low-carbon emission techniques to overcome this issue. The data presented here provides valuable insights for policymakers and researchers seeking to comprehend the carbon and energy footprint associated with sugarcane cultivation. The required data were collected from technical reports, research papers, and discussions with experts. The collected data was processed in an Excel spread sheet to understand the CE and energy use patterns of sugarcane crops. The total CE from used resources for sugarcane production in terms of per ha, per ton of sugarcane, and per year were 4273 kg CO2eq ha−1, 55 kg CO2eq ton−1 and 1616.53 thousand ton CO2eq Y−1, respectively. Similarly, the total energy used for sugarcane cultivation in terms of per ha, per ton of sugarcane, and per year were 36,986.62 MJ ha−1, 13,940.07 TJ Y−1, and 442 MJ ton−1, respectively. The total carbon sequestration per year from the sugarcane was found to be 189,415.7 thousand ton CO2eq Y−1. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka states contributed the highest share of total CE and EC. Nitrogen fertilizer contributed the highest share in the CE and EC from organic fertilizer.
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... Thus, 181 kg C has been sequestered ha/year. In another study, [89] estimated this procedure extracts about 300 Mt of CO 2 . Sugarcane is a champion crop for C sequestration, according to some plantstone studies [90,91]. ...
Prospects of the sugarcane industry in Fiji for carbon sequestration and environmental sustainability amidst changing climate: a critical overview
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2024
Fiji, a South Pacific island nation relies on its longstanding sugarcane industry for economic growth. However, this industry is threatened by climate change (CC), endangering lives and the economy. Sugarcane production has been declining due to changing climate conditions for over a decade. Despite its small carbon (C) footprint, Fiji is actively engaged in global efforts, including leading COP23, to prevent severe CC scenarios. As part of this, Fiji aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE’s) by 2050 through the Paris Agreement. Scientists worldwide are exploring ways to reduce C emissions and boost soil C absorption. Sugarcane, Fiji's oldest and largest cultivated industry has an opportunity to mitigate CC and improve soil sustainability. This can be achieved with proper land use and management. Advanced techniques like plantstone C, residue retention, conservative soil tillage, crop rotation, sugarcane bagasse biochar, and nutrient management practices can increase C in Fiji's soils. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and advancements that can be attained in the sugarcane industry. It covers various aspects, including the impact of CC in Fiji, the history of the sugar industry, changing industry status, market conditions, challenges, enhancement strategies, and the prospective potential for C sequestration and sustainability in the sugarcane sector. A key research priority is to establish optimal management practices that can increase C storage potential, building on a deeper understanding for greater sustainability in sugarcane production.
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... This contribution of the decrease of the environment load may be greater if the sugarcane residues are set to replace the fine aggregates only. In addition, if we consider that sugarcane can sequestrate up to 0.66 tons of CO 2 per ha per year [30], and even that a part of the bagasse is burned at the mill as fuel and generates CO 2 , the carbon in sugarcane fiber came from CO 2 that was already present in the atmosphere [31], and the addition of these residues in the preparation of interlocking blocks may be considered highly eco-friendly. Accordingly, the optimization of the concrete mixture and strength of interlocking blocks should be investigated in detail in order to decrease the dependency of conventional aggregates from other islands and, consequently, the environmental load. ...
An Environmental Assessment of Interlocking Concrete Blocks Mixed with Sugarcane Residues Produced in Okinawa
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2020
The use of sugarcane residues in mortar and concrete is believed to contribute to the reduction of environmental problems, such as the reduction of mining of natural aggregates as well as the improper disposal of sugarcane residues. Therefore, in this study, bagasse fiber and bagasse sand were added into the preparation of the interlocking concrete blocks, and the flexural strength and an environmental assessment of the blocks were analyzed. The flexural strength of the blocks was not affected by the addition of the bagasse fiber and bagasse sand. In addition, the environmental load of interlocking concrete blocks using sugarcane residues was lower than the blocks using conventional aggregates due to the greater simplicity of acquisition of the residues. Moreover, in the scenarios where the blocks are supposedly made on smaller islands, the emissions increased due to long-distance transportation, since conventional aggregates come from other islands.
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... Sugarcane possesses a unique sequestration process for making phytoliths or phyto-occluded carbon (PhytOC). Australian Scientists, J.F. Parr and his associates have estimated that this process extracts around 300 Mt of CO 2 / year from atmosphere and stores it in the soil for thousands of years (Parr and Sullivan 2007;Parr et al. 2009). They have estimated the PhytOC yield of a sugarcane crop to be 18.1 g C m -2 yr -1 , which is comparable with carbon sequestered when a cultivated land is converted to forest or grassland, or conventional tillage is changed to no-tillage. ...
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... During plant growth a small proportionof organic carbon becomes encapsulated within the microscopic silica grains. Regardless of whether the plant dies, burns or is harvested, the carbonen trapped in the plantstone is highly resistant to decomposition (Parr and Sullivan, 2015) The average range of sugarcane trash is about 12-15% of tonnage. Using the unburnt trash on the bench mark yield of 82.5 TC/ha is about 11.13 t/ha (9.9 -12.38 t/ha = 11.13 t/ha average. ...
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... The information on rubber was collected from rubber processing units at Kumarawatta Estate, Moneragala and Dartonfield Estate, Agalawatta. GHGs (CO2 and CH4 and N2O) emissions from agronomic practices of rubber and sugarcane cultivation and processing into raw rubber and refined sugar were assessed and then used with data on carbon sequestration, for rubber 4 and for sugarcane 10 for the calculation of carbon footprint. Under the agronomic practices of rubber and sugarcane cultivation, land preparation, transportation of planting materials, transportation and application of fertilizers were considered. ...
Carbon Footprint of Rubber/Sugarcane Intercropping System in Sri Lanka: A Case Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2016
The global climate has been changing with the elevated CO2 in the atmosphere; hence identification of effective measures to mitigate or combat the adverse effects of climate change is at uttermost importance. The goal of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) for planting 40,000ha of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) in the Uva province may partly address this issue sequestering the key greenhouse gas (GHG), CO2. Farmers in the area usually practice intercropping sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) under immature rubber plants for extra income during the initial period of rubber cultivation. In the process of valuing rubber cultivation in mitigating the climate change effect, information on net greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from rubber/sugarcane intercropping system is required. Being scanty of such knowledge, this study was aimed to estimate the carbon footprint in the cultivation of rubber/sugarcane intercropping system in Sri Lanka.GHG emissions from the cultivation of rubber and sugarcane were calculated using the information available in the smallholdings having rubber/sugarcane intercropping in Monaragala district (IL2). GHG emission resulting from raw rubber processing, i.e. Ribbed Smoked Sheets (RSS) and Crepe Rubber (CR), was assessed using the data available in Kumarawatta Estate, Monaragala and Dartonfield Estate, Agalawatta, respectively. Also, GHG emission resulting from processing refined sugar was gathered from Palwatta Sugar Industries (Ltd), Monaragala. Carbon sequestration capacities of both crops were adopted from previous studies. Guidelines of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were used in the estimation of carbon footprint. GHG emission in the process of cultivating rubber for its lifespan (30 years) was 65.15 CO2-eq ton/ha. When sugarcane was cultivated in rubber lands for four year period as a rubber/sugarcane intercropping system, GHG emission increased only by 9.72 CO2-eq ton/ha. Processing of RSS throughout the lifespan was responsible for additional 93.49 CO2-eq ton/ha emission whilst that for processing CR was limited to 50.14 CO2-eq ton/ha. Processing of refined sugar during four year intercropping period was accountable only for 0.62 CO2-eq ton/ha emission. In conclusion, carbon footprint (Net GHG emission) of cultivating rubber/sugarcane intercrop to produce CR and refined sugar was -1537.02 CO2-eq ton/ha/30yr whilst that for RSS and refined sugar was -1493.73 CO2-eq ton/ha/30yr. Increase in carbon footprint by intercropping sugarcane was only ca. 0.5% over mono cropping rubber. Potential application of this information in developing carbon trading projects is discussed.
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Can sugarcane cope with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration?
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2019
Climate change is the one of the most emerging problem of today's world. It is the most potent threat to the existence of mankind. These sudden abrupt changes in the climate are affecting all the crops to a great extent. High concentrations of CO₂ are one of the leading reasons contributing to climate change due to the increasing level of greenhouse gases. The elevation in CO₂ level is hampering crop production and productivity of different crops by causing effect on different physiological attributes. Unlike other crops, in sugarcane, several beneficial effects have been detected such as escalation in biomass, photosynthesis, leaf area, stalk juice volume, leaf dry weight and stem dry weight under such condition. Sugarcane crop is known to be one among those crops that is able to cope up with the increasing level of CO₂ due to four natural endowments it possesses. Very low carbon dioxide compensation point and unique property of sequestering carbon in form of phytolith or planstone is some of the important natural endowment with respect to the rising CO₂ concentration in atmosphere. Here, we have discussed the influence of atmospheric rising CO₂ concentration on sugarcane crop.
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Techno-Economic Feasibility Study of Low Cost Gravity Ropeway for Carrying Agricultural Produce in Hilly Terrain
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2018
The agricultural produce from the field to the homestead/market or road head in the mountain areas is transported mainly by the women and children on their back hanging from the forehead. Construction of farm road and bridges in hilly area is difficult, costly and require frequent maintenance due to landslide besides environmental degradation. A study on feasibility of transporting the agricultural produce in hilly area by gravity fed ropeway was conducted at College of Agricultural Engineering and Post Harvest Technology (CAEPHT), Gangtok at 300 slope and 150 m span. It was observed that the speed of the ropeway is insignificantly affected by the loading capacity, the load ratio between the upward and downward load went on reducing as the upward load was increased and relation between the gravity load and lifting load with regression coefficient of 0.9978 was observed. The regression equation “y = 1.1594 x + 12.727” may be used to find out the gravity load required for carrying a particular load from lower station to upper station. The constant 12.727 indicate the dead load to initiate the movement of trolley which may be due to frictional force between rope and pulley of the trolley at this particular slope and span. Actual loading ratio should be carefully evaluated and should be maintained. If the loading ratio is not properly maintained, the trolley will either approach the station with excessive speed or stop in between. This may be achieved by maintaining the average speed of the trolley at 5.13 ms-1.
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Sugarcane Crop: Its Tolerance Towards Abiotic Stresses
Chapter
  • Oct 2017
Sugarcane (Saccharum species hybrids) is a long-duration, high-water-requiring cash crop cultivated under different agroecological conditions. Besides experiencing vagaries of weather all the year round, the climate change, the order of the day, further aggravates effects of these abiotic stresses affecting sugarcane growth, development, sugar synthesis, its accumulation and recovery, ratooning ability and availability of the seed cane for succeeding planting. The relatively more resilience of sugarcane to abiotic stresses appears to be due to some natural endowments like a good deal of compensatory ability, C4 photosynthesis, higher temperature optima for most of the physiological activities (but for sugar accumulation), higher water-use efficiency, use of genetic complements from Saccharum spontaneum imparting tolerance to various abiotic stresses (in breeding varieties) and carbon-managing ability. Besides, some of the physiological interventions like inducing drought hardiness, training roots to penetrate deeper, reducing the heat load by trash mulching, increasing the age of the crop at the advent of drought/floods, organic matter amendment in the soil, nutrient management, managing rhizospheric salinity/alkalinity, etc., also contribute to its stress tolerance. Besides a large number of genes, molecular markers and miRNAs associated with these stress responses contribute to resilience of sugarcane to abiotic stresses. Such efforts have led to development of a transgenic utilizing betA gene, imparting drought tolerance, for commercial cultivation.
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