Varieties, plant breeding and release

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://elibrary2.sugarresearch.com.au/handle/11079/13841

Research outcomes: Comprehensive and efficient variety breeding, selection and release programs responding to yield expectations, environmental constraints, resource scarcity and regional preferences. Faster varietal adoption using advanced methods for bulking, distribution and planting.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Plant breeding

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 119
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    Marker-assisted selection for smut resistance : ASSCT poster paper
    (ASSCT, 2019) Sun, Y; Joyce, P; Deomano, E; Eglinton, J
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    Effect of neonicotinoid, pyrethroid and spirotetramat insecticides and a miticide on incidence and severity of Yellow Canopy Syndrome : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper
    (ASSCT, 2019) Olsen, DJ; Ward, AL
    Yellow Canopy Syndrome (YCS) is a condition affecting Australian sugarcane that can lead to yield losses in excess of 30% in severely affected crops. The causal agent of this condition is unknown. Insect pests are well known causal agents of a wide variety of yield-limiting crop conditions, either as vectors of pathogens, directly through their feeding damage, or as transmitters of toxins, but little has been done to evaluate insects as a possible causal agent of YCS. This paper presents the findings of a one-year field trial in which insecticides from different chemical groups and an acaricide were tested to evaluate their effect on YCS incidence and severity. Results showed a delay in the onset of symptoms and a significant reduction in the severity of symptom expression following the application of neonicotinoid and pyrethroid treatments. These treatments also resulted in a significant yield improvement relative to cane in the untreated control. The acaricide treatment was ineffective. These findings suggest further work is warranted to determine which insects are being controlled and to identify the mechanism for the positive yield response.
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    Unknown to known - Sclerotium rolfsii can cause severe germination failure and seedling death in sugarcane : ASSCT poster paper
    (ASSCT, 2019) Bhuiyan, SA; Wickramasinghe, P; Mudge, SR; Adhikari, P; Garlick, K
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    Field evaluation of selected introgression clones for their resistance to root-knot nematodes : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper
    (ASSCT, 2019) Bhuiyan, SA; Piperidis, G; Hu, F; Parfitt, R; Garlick, K; Quinn, B; Jakins, A
    Sugarcane nematodes, root-knot (RKN) and root-lesion (RLN), cause an estimated loss of over $80 million per year to the Australian sugar industry. In particular, RKN is a major problem if sugarcane is planted in sandy soil. No effective control method is available for sugarcane nematodes in Australia. Crop rotation and fallowing provide only short-term control and nematode populations usually bounce back within 12 months after these control methods. The use of nematicides is restricted due to inconsistent results, difficulty in application and the highly toxic nature of the chemicals to humans and the environment. No commercial cultivars are resistant to sugarcane nematodes. Recent glasshouse trials in Australia suggested that clones from introgression populations, originating from crossing between commercial canes and Saccharum spontaneum or Erianthus arundinaceus, possessed good resistance to root knot nematodes. Field trials were established to determine the reliability of glasshouse resistance-screening results. Eight introgression clones that showed resistance to RKN in glasshouse trials were evaluated in a field in Wallaville, north of Childers. Test clones were planted in plots with high and low nematode populations and maintained up to the second ratoon crop. Trial plots were assessed for nematodes each year 6 weeks after planting and ratooning. Three years of results showed that 7 of 8 introgression clones consistently maintained low numbers of RKN until the end of the trial period, and significantly (P
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    Exploiting Erianthus diversity to enhance sugarcane cultivars : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper
    (ASSCT, 2019) Piperidis, N; Tom, C; Aitken, KS; Atkin, FC; Piperidis, G
    Introgression of Erianthus arundinaceus into the SRA sugarcane-breeding program has been a goal for researchers for many years. The Erianthus genome was finally accessible to sugarcane breeders with the identification in 2005 of the first Saccharum/Erianthus fertile hybrids, developed in China. Today, Saccharum/Erianthus BC3 and BC4 clones are available in Australia, and Erianthus-sugarcane hybrids have been characterised by cytogenetics and investigated for their potential resistance against pachymetra root rot, sugarcane smut and nematodes. Some clones have shown potential as new sources of resistance for incorporation into the SRA breeding program. These hybrids were created from Erianthus clones indigenous to China and their reaction to the above diseases is unknown in Australian conditions. In Meringa we also have access to many Erianthus clones of Indonesian origin. Some of these Erianthus clones have previously shown immunity to pachymetra root rot. In the late 1990s, these Indonesian Erianthus clones were used in crossing but no fertile hybrids were ever produced due to an incompatibility between the Saccharum and the Erianthus genomes. We revisited this untapped source of resistance by utilising the fertile Erianthus hybrids derived from China to cross with the Indonesian Erianthus of known resistance to pachymetra root rot. Here we report on the early stage results of introgressing Indonesian Erianthus into the SRA breeding program.
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    Starch accumulation in sugarcane in response to stress
    (ASSCT, 2016) Joyce, P; Don, NH; Sousa, M; Olsen, D
    Yellow Canopy Syndrome (YCS) is a new problem affecting the Australian sugar industry. It was first reported in 2012 and has increased in occurrence and spread from the initial reports in North Queensland to further south in Mackay last year. While the causal agent is still unknown, several physiological studies have been performed. This paper examines the accumulation of starch in sugarcane leaves. This was an initial observation in YCS affected leaf sections of tillers of KQ228A. Subsequently, a method for routine high throughput qualitative analysis of starch has been developed, enabling rapid assessment of this response. Follow up work has compared this phenomenon in affected stalks, both between leaves of different ages within a stalk, as well as within regions of the same leaf. The accumulation of starch in sugarcane plants in response to biotic stress and in naturally senescing leaves has been undertaken to understand this phenomenon better and will be described in this paper. Our results showed that unlike YCS affected leaves, starch did not accumulate in the leaves of diseased plants nor in senescing leaves collected from the field.
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    Sugarcane root systems for increased productivity; development and application of a root health assay : final report 2015/002
    (Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2018) Rae, A; Pierre, J
    A better understanding of the sugarcane root system has the potential to improve productivity and overcome soil constraints. By adapting the digital methods that have been developed in other crops, we have developed a toolkit of reliable methods that enable analysis of large numbers of root samples. These methods have been used to provide a baseline understanding of the range and variation of root parameters for sugarcane, including root/shoot ratios, root opening angle, root length, proportion of fine roots, branching density, average diameter and diameter in each size class. We found a consistently high proportion of fine roots, but there was genetic variation for many other key traits amongst current commercial lines. Importantly, there were no significant reductions in root system size or quality in modern varieties compared to older varieties. The methods and baseline were then applied to test the response to stresses encountered in Australian growing environments. When comparing plants with or without YCS symptoms, we found no differences in root system structure, despite significant reductions in shoot mass. Limiting growth by removal of tillers or by restricting nitrogen availability identified plasticity in specific root traits that enabled the plants to adapt to the restrictions. Root system distribution by depth, and relative allocation of resources to the root system showed adaptations to stress while root angle appeared to be stable. With the new methods and knowledge of trait plasticity, we can now start to test which traits provide a benefit in various agronomic situations and develop an integrated understanding of root health which can be used to monitor soil health and promote the adoption of better agronomic practices.
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    SUMO wrestling - understanding the molecular basis of drought tolerance in sugarcane : final report 2017/401
    (Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2018) Garcia Tavares, R
    We report here that neither the plant growth hormone gibberellin (GA) signalling, nor SUMOylation post-translational mechanism, a well-known phenomenon triggered by several abiotic stresses, are involved in water stress-induced growth inhibition of sugarcane leaves. The Q208A commercial sugarcane variety was subjected to water stress condition and conducted targeted experiments to understand the molecular aspects of leaf growth regulation under water deficit. Plants were water stressed gradually by withdrawing irrigation. Growth-related parameters, but not photosynthesis, were significantly affected by water deficit. By day 25 following stress imposition, the youngest leaves ceased growing. Analysis of cell division and elongation regions of youngest developing leaves revealed that neither DELLA protein, a negative regulator of GA, nor conjugation of SUMO1 protein increased in response to water stress, suggesting a complex molecular regulation of stress-induced leaf growth inhibition in sugarcane. Analysis of sugar and energy sensing and signalling genes indicate a possible molecular reprogramming occurring in the basal region of developing leaves during water deficit. Understanding the nature of this molecular reprogramming may lead to important insights on sugarcane leaf growth regulation under water stressed and non-stressed conditions.