Current Status of Sugarcane Research in India : Properties, Uses and Benefits

Sugarcane is one of the most important crops commercially grown in about 115 countries of the world. India is a major producer as well as consumer of sugar in the world and has produced about 25MT of sugar from 360MT sugarcane in 2011-13, contributing about 15 percent of the total sugar production in the world. A quantum of sugar is produced from sugarcane, however, this crop faces a number of problems such as low cane productivity, biotic and abiotic stresses, high cost of cultivation, post-harvest losses, and low sugar recovery. In India, sugarcane research began in the beginning of the 19th century. Since then rapid advancement has been made in sugarcane cultivation by Indian researchers. The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive account of all the major achievements based on Indian workers in sugarcane research. The book is a compilation of recent advancements made on sugarcane development, cultivation, and on improvement in cane and sugar yield using conventional and biotechnological approaches by different agricultural scientists and researchers of India.