Growth of sugarcane under high input conditions in tropical Australia. II. Sucrose accumulation and commercial yield

Abstract

Information on the processes controlling the accumulation of sucrose over time can be used to assess the physiological basis of yield variation and consequently the scope for yield improvement in sugarcane. As commercial yield is commonly expressed on a fresh weight basis, and dry weight measures of sucrose accumulation aid biological interpretation, there is a need to study yield accumulation on both a fresh and dry weight basis. This study analysed the pattern of sucrose accumulation in the stalk in relation to crop biomass, and the concentration of sucrose in the stalk on a fresh and dry weight basis of two contrasting cultivars (Q117 and Q138) of sugarcane during the same season in tropical Australia, with irrigation and under plant and ratoon crop conditions. Over the 15 month season, 11 crop samplings were conducted. The key findings were that (1) greater than 95% of the aboveground sucrose accumulation is in the stalk; (2) a logistic relationship described the time trend in stalk sucrose accumulation, with maximum sucrose yield occurring 100 days before final harvest; (3) stalk biomass rather than stalk sucrose concentration was the major determinant of stalk sucrose accumulation; (4) maximum stalk sucrose concentration was stable across cultivars and crop classes at a value of 0.48 g g −1 stalk dry weight; (5) commercial yield expressed as the fresh millable stalk yield plateaued up to 230 days before final harvest and well before the attainment of maximum stalk biomass and sucrose yield due to increases in dry matter content during growth; (6) maximum stalk sucrose concentration on a fresh weight basis was obtained at a later crop age and was more variable across crops than maximum stalk sucrose concentration on a dry weight basis. The study highlighted the major influence that stalk dry matter content has on the relationship between sucrose yield and commercial yield, and that biological interpretation of crop response to climatic and management factors is difficult based on commonly available fresh weight measures of productivity. Optimising economic return from commercial sugarcane production requires further understanding on the factors controlling the dynamics of stalk dry matter content.