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CAPTURING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE SUGARCANE PLANT

CAPTURING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE SUGARCANE PLANT. Frikkie Botha. July 2006. Introduction Sugarcane today Why sugarcane in the future Sugarcane as Biomass Producer Other products/uses GM Sugarcane Conclusion.

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CAPTURING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE SUGARCANE PLANT

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  1. CAPTURING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE SUGARCANE PLANT Frikkie Botha July 2006

  2. Introduction Sugarcane today Why sugarcane in the future Sugarcane as Biomass Producer Other products/uses GM Sugarcane Conclusion

  3. Developed in 1890’s in response to viral infestation of commercial plantings of Noble cane Modern Sugarcane Hybrid between Saccharum officinarum (Noble cane) and S. spontaneum (wild cane)

  4. Phylogenetic relationships S.robustum S.officinarum S.barberi S.sinense S.spontaneum Modern sugarcane

  5. Sugarcane’s Green Revolution

  6. Historic Yield Data: Sugarcane (From Moore 2005)

  7. Sucrose Production from Cane

  8. Progress - Sucrose content

  9. Sugarcane Yields • Sugarcane yields are among the highest of any crop • 20-35 tons sucrose hectare-1 year-1 • 212 tons cane hectare-1 year-1 (Ham 1970) • Total dry mass record yields from commercial fields are: • 86 tons dry weight hectare-1 year-1(Hawaii) • 80 tons dry weight hectare-1 year-1 (Australia)

  10. Sugarcane today • The sugarcanes are genetically complex hybrids bearing enormous potential for increased biomass and multiple-product yields • They have been bred and optimised for one purpose only namely sucrose production • Little if any progress in sucrose content and gains primarily in sucrose per area • Sucrose accumulation in probably a major obstacle for full realisation of biomass production potential

  11. Why Sugarcane in future • Very high photosynthetic efficiency (biomass = photosynthesis – respiration) • Highest water use efficiency of any know crop • Plant packed with valuable chemicals • Well developed GM technology

  12. Water use efficiency

  13. Photosynthetic efficiency C4=22(55 max) g/m2/d C3=13 g/m2/d

  14. What is possible? RUE = 1.75g mJ-1 (Muchow et al 1994) - 2.3 g MJ-1(Sinclair & Horie 1989) 280 tons hectare-1 year -1 Record crop of 86 tons hectare-1 year-1 is only 40% of theoretical maximum

  15. Carbon Reactions ATP CO2 NADPH Light Reactions CH2O O2 H2O CO2 CO2 Carbon partitioning Product Biomass Production Biomass Prod = PAR●RUE ●Stress ●(1-exp(-LAI))

  16. Sugarcane as biomass or ‘Energy- cane’ Green tops 80-90% Moisture Attached Trash 18-30% Moisture Millable stem 70-75% Moisture Detached leaves 15-18% Moisture

  17. Management Practice and Yield Varieties = NCo310, PR980 and PR64-1791

  18. = biomass = fermentables Biomass and soluble fermentables Sucrose Biomass Tons/hectare Months

  19. Farming for Lignocellulose

  20. An ‘Energy- cane’ business Long term • The plant breeders role to support an “energy-cane’business will require improvements for: • Higher tonneages of biomass i.e. more lignocellulose and fermentable solids • High tonnages that are supportive of industrial conversion Short to medium term • Major changes in production management • Whole cane plant is the biomass resource • The 70% non-sucrose becomes the main focus

  21. It is a folk remedy for: • Arthritis • Bedsores • Boils • Cancer • Colds • Cough • Diarrhoea • Dysentery • Eyes • Fever • Hiccups • Inflammation • Laryngitis • Opacity • Skin • Sores • Sore throat • Spleen • Tumours • Wounds • Gonorrhoea • Vaginal discharges • Abdominal tumours A Plant Packed with Chemicals The sugarcanes do not consist of only fiber and sucrose but can be a source of multiple products

  22. GM Technology established • Several industries and research organisations have GM technologies in place • GM field trials in progress or have been completed • Many GM lines in laboratory evaluation • Traits under investigation: • Herbicide resistance • Insect resistance • Disease resistance • Sucrose levels • Pentan levels • Polymers

  23. Sucrose 1'000 nC 800 DP3 Polymer 2. BSES - biodegradable plastic detector response] 600 3 400 2 200 1 -50 Alternative Products 3. IPB - Sugar polymers • Texas A&M • - Snowdrop lectin • - proCane (collagen) Clone 1.2.1.1 Clone 1 control

  24. Sugar levels in GM cane

  25. Conclusions • It is sometimes hard to think of sugarcane as a plant that does well other things than accumulating sugar. • It is even more difficult to realise that sugar accumulation is not even the thing that it does best. • Above all else, sugarcane is an instrument of growth, a producer of biomass unequalled by any other plant when managed as a growth commodity • Packed packed with useful chemicalsand more can be added

  26. Conclusions (cont) For developing nations historically bound together with sugarcane, there is still time for constructive and meaningful change. There is time to prepare its place as a future sugar crop, a domestic energy crop, and a multiple-products commodity in service to all future generations. Alex G. Alexander, 1985

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