Quality Of Sugarcane Research Articles

Dual-modal improved biosensing platform for sugarcane smut pathogen based on biological enzyme-Mg2+ DNAzyme coupled with DNA transporter cascading hybridization chain reaction

Sugarcane smut is a major disease affecting the yield and quality of sugarcane, and its early detection is crucial for the healthy development of sugarcane industry. In this work, a dual-modal biosensing platform is designed based on Au-V-MOF and 3D DNA walker for highly sensitive and precise detection of the sugarcane smut pathogen. This detection system utilizes the catalytic properties of biocatalysts and the precise cleavage of DNAzymes, along with 3D DNA walker nanotechnology and a designed “walking track”, to achieve amplified detection signals and accurate target recognition. The detection platform utilizes catalytic hairpin assembly for target recycling. Output strand T1 interacts with DNAzyme via a 3D transporter, cleaving S1 in Mg2+ presence. This triggers cascading hybridization chain reaction to form long double-stranded DNA structures that absorb substantial methylene blue (MB). This amplifies the electrical signal and causes a proportional color change due to the redox reaction of MB, which enables electrochemical and colorimetric detection of the target. The method shows a linear response range from 0.0001 to 10,000 pM with a detection limit of 56.76 aM (S/N = 3). It features high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, which offers significant potential for early warning and precise detection of sugarcane smut.

Laboratory analysis of soluble solids content in sugarcane juice from direct and shredded extraction methods using NIR spectrometer

Most stakeholders, including farmers and sugar millers, are interested in sugarcane quality to plan for harvesting season. However, the impact of different juice extraction methods on juice quality is not clearly understood. While individual factories measure soluble solids content (SSC) to gauge sugar content before harvest, the extraction method significantly affects the measurement. This study was performed to determine and compare the SSC in sugarcane juice extracted by the direct extraction method (DEM) and shredded extraction method (SEM), and to develop a calibration model to monitor SSC in juice using NIR measurement to support harvest planning. A total of 156 sugarcane samples were collected, and the juice was extracted using both DEM and SEM. Their spectra data were acquired using NIR spectrometer (400-2500nm) and uniformly divided into calibration and validation sets. The models were developed using PLS regression. Calibration models developed from short and long wavelengths showed significant prediction, with RMSEP values of 0.27oBrix and 0.11oBrix for independent samples, and biases of 0.05oBrix and 0.00oBrix for DEM and SEM, respectively. These results indicate that the choice of juice extraction methods can significantly influence predictions of sugarcane maturity based on SSC levels. Therefore, farmers and sugar millers should consider their extraction methods when monitoring and predicting sugarcane harvest maturity.

Elucidating the G X E Interaction Using AMMI, AMMI Stability Parameters and GGE for Cane Yield and Quality in Sugarcane

Elucidating the G X E Interaction Using AMMI, AMMI Stability Parameters and GGE for Cane Yield and Quality in Sugarcane

Optimizing nutrient management for sustaining sugarcane yield throughintegration of biochar, digested sludge, liquid slurry and ash applicationswith inorganic fertilizers

A field experiment was laid out during 2023-24 at ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to study the effect of various nutrient management options on growth performance, yield and quality of sugarcane. Optimized integration of organic sources were evaluated with inorganic nutrient sources in randomized block design with three replications. The result revealed that a significantly higher plant height (407.8 cm), number of tillers (191 × 103/ha), leaf area (511.7 dm2), leaf area index (6.81) and cane yield (91.2 t/ha) of sugarcane were obtained with the integration of 100% synthetic along with 4 t/ha solid digest, which was at par to 100% NP + K through liquid digest, 100% synthetic + 6 t/ha biochar and 100% NP + K through Ash, while the lowest were observed under treatment receiving organic manure alone i.e. 100% N through solid digestate, might be owing to very slow mineralization process of nutrients. These treatments also resulted in an effective combination of organic and inorganic nutrient sources with regard to increased 0brix reading.

EF yolov8s: A Human–Computer Collaborative Sugarcane Disease Detection Model in Complex Environment

The precise identification of disease traits in the complex sugarcane planting environment not only effectively prevents the spread and outbreak of common diseases but also allows for the real-time monitoring of nutrient deficiency syndrome at the top of sugarcane, facilitating the supplementation of relevant nutrients to ensure sugarcane quality and yield. This paper proposes a human–machine collaborative sugarcane disease detection method in complex environments. Initially, data on five common sugarcane diseases—brown stripe, rust, ring spot, brown spot, and red rot—as well as two nutrient deficiency conditions—sulfur deficiency and phosphorus deficiency—were collected, totaling 11,364 images and 10 high-definition videos captured by a 4K drone. The data sets were augmented threefold using techniques such as flipping and gamma adjustment to construct a disease data set. Building upon the YOLOv8 framework, the EMA attention mechanism and Focal loss function were added to optimize the model, addressing the complex backgrounds and imbalanced positive and negative samples present in the sugarcane data set. Disease detection models EF-yolov8s, EF-yolov8m, EF-yolov8n, EF-yolov7, and EF-yolov5n were constructed and compared. Subsequently, five basic instance segmentation models of YOLOv8 were used for comparative analysis, validated using nutrient deficiency condition videos, and a human–machine integrated detection model for nutrient deficiency symptoms at the top of sugarcane was constructed. The experimental results demonstrate that our improved EF-yolov8s model outperforms other models, achieving mAP_0.5, precision, recall, and F1 scores of 89.70%, 88.70%, 86.00%, and 88.00%, respectively, highlighting the effectiveness of EF-yolov8s for sugarcane disease detection. Additionally, yolov8s-seg achieves an average precision of 80.30% with a smaller number of parameters, outperforming other models by 5.2%, 1.9%, 2.02%, and 0.92% in terms of mAP_0.5, respectively, effectively detecting nutrient deficiency symptoms and addressing the challenges of sugarcane growth monitoring and disease detection in complex environments using computer vision technology.

Soil chemical characteristics, yield and technological quality of sugarcane under subsurface drip irrigation with treated sewage effluent

ABSTRACT Sugarcane cultivation requires sustainable strategies to meet water and nutritional needs. This study tested the hypothesis that irrigation with treated sewage effluent (TSE) can meet the water needs of sugarcane plants, improving their technological quality and yield. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) with TSE or surface reservoir water (SRW) on soil chemical characteristics and technological quality and productivity. Thus, an SDI system was installed at soil depths of 0.20 and 0.40 m to apply SRW and TSE to sugarcane plants, composing four irrigation treatments (TSE0.2 m, TSE0.4 m, SRW0.2 m and SRW0.4 m) and a control (non-irrigated treatment). Analyses of soil chemical characteristics in different layers showed no negative effects for the use of SDI, which maintained favorable soil conditions for sugarcane plantations. The surface layer (0–0.2 m) irrigated with SRW or TSE showed higher accumulation of nutrients and organic matter. The results confirmed the hypothesis that irrigation with TSE or SRW improves the technological quality and yield of sugarcane; the treatment TSE0.2 m showed the best results regarding increases in sugar yield and alcohol production. However, continuous monitoring of soil salinity is necessary in wastewater-irrigated agricultural systems.

Effect of Zeolite on Sugarcane Growth, Yield and Juice Quality of Sugarcane in Water Stress Condition

Effect of Zeolite on Sugarcane Growth, Yield and Juice Quality of Sugarcane in Water Stress Condition

Intelligent system based on a satellite image detection algorithm and a fuzzy model for evaluating sugarcane crop quality by predicting uncertain climatic parameters

The increase in uncertain weather affects agriculture, impacting crop yield and quality, mainly due to the interaction of climatic variables such as temperature, wind speed, and humidity. In addition, soil erosion and nutrient loss are regional problems aggravated by inadequate agricultural practices in developing sugarcane agriculture. The present research proposes an Intelligent System based on a detection algorithm and a fuzzy model to estimate the quality of the sugarcane crop and the probability of the presence of pests and diseases through the prediction of uncertain variables. Wind speed, cloudiness, humidity, and thermal amplitude were considered variables of interest because parameters out of control of these variables generate a state of thermal stress, triggering pests and diseases that reduce crop quality and sugar production. This research uses geospatial information to simplify the exchange of information through a detection algorithm using real-time satellite images and a fuzzy model to estimate crop quality and prevent climate change-related problems. The variables humidity and cloudiness determine sugarcane quality as they are related to crop phenology and the probability that the crop will develop pests and diseases. In contrast, the intelligent system showed a correlation of over 93% for predicting the variables of interest.

Agronomic performance and technological quality of sugarcane submitted to different poultry litter dosages

Sugarcane is a central crop for sugar and ethanol production. Investing in sustainable practices can enhance productivity, technological quality, mitigate impacts, and contribute to a cleaner energy future. Among the factors that help increase the productivity of sugarcane, the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the soil are amongst the most important. The use of poultry litter has been an important alternative for soil improvement, as it acts as a soil conditioner. Therefore, this work aimed to verify the best doses of poultry litter for the vegetative, reproductive and technological components of sugarcane. The experiment was carried out at Usina Denusa Destilaria Nova União S/A in the municipality of Jandaia, GO. The experimental design used was a complete randomized block design with four replications: 5 × 4, totaling 20 experimental units. The evaluated factor consisted of four doses of poultry litter plus the control (0 (control), 2, 4, 6 and 8 t ha−1). In this study, were evaluated the number of tillers, lower stem diameter, average stem diameter, upper stem diameter, plant height, stem weight and productivity. The technological variables of total recoverable sugar, recoverable sugar, Brix, fiber, purity and percentage of oligosaccharides were also evaluated. It was observed, within the conditions of this experiment, that the insertion of poultry litter did not interfere significantly in most biometric, productive and technological variables of the sugarcane. But it can also be inferred that there was a statistical trend toward better results when the sugarcane was cultivated with 4 t ha-1 of poultry litter.

Effect of planting geometries and integrated nutrient management practices on growth, yield, quality and economics of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) of Konkan region

Effect of planting geometries and integrated nutrient management practices on growth, yield, quality and economics of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) of Konkan region

A Data-Driven Approach to Sugarcane Breeding Programs with Agronomic Characteristics and Amino Acid Constituent Profiling.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) and its processed products have supported local industries such as those in the Nansei Islands, Japan. To improve the sugarcane quality and productivity, breeders select better clones by evaluating agronomic characteristics, such as commercially recoverable sugar and cane yield. However, other constituents in sugarcane remain largely unutilized in sugarcane breeding programs. This study aims to establish a data-driven approach to analyze agronomic characteristics from breeding programs. This approach also determines a correlation between agronomic characteristics and free amino acid composition to make breeding programs more efficient. Sugarcane was sampled in clones in the later stage of breeding selection and cultivars from experimental fields on Tanegashima Island. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis using agronomic characteristics revealed the diversity and variability of each sample, and the data-driven approach classified cultivars and clones into three groups based on yield type. A comparison of free amino acid constituents between these groups revealed significant differences in amino acids such as asparagine and glutamine. This approach dealing with a large volume of data on agronomic characteristics will be useful for assessing the characteristics of potential clones under selection and accelerating breeding programs.

EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF COLD RESPONSIVE GENES AND MECHANISMS INVOLVED DURING COLD STRESS IN SUGARCANE CELLULAR ORGANELLES

Sugarcane is a major cash crops cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the globe. This crop is mainly considered cold sensitive, although some cultivars showed resistance to cold stress. The crops respond to cold stress in diverse mechanisms and among these mechanisms, genes expression is one of the significant biological pathways. Our goal was to study the involvement of gene expression in cell organelles and cognate targets in the tolerance to low temperatures in sugarcane. The results reported here indicated that 2,324 genes were found upregulated in cultivar GT08-1108 organelles in a total of 5,649 upregulated genes, while 1,252 genes were found downregulated in a total of 3,289 downregulated genes. Furthermore, the cultivar ROC22 gene expression analysis showed that a total of 2,223 genes were found upregulated in 5,558 total upregulated genes, while 1,449 genes were found downregulated in a total of 3,252 downregulated genes. The gene expression analysis in both cultivars showed that during cold stress, the gene expression in the vacuole was found significantly downregulated. Hence, from these findings, we concluded that during cold stress, the most affected organelle is the vacuole. Collectively, our findings suggested that cold stress seriously affected cellular organelles in sugarcane. Hence, more research is needed to identify more cold tolerant cultivars using transcriptomics approaches in sugarcane, which could be significant for better production and quality of sugarcane. Keywords: Sugarcane; Cellular organelles; Gene expression; Sequence Read Archive; Cold stress.

Use of systemic biofertilizers in sugarcane results in highly reproducible increments in yield and quality of harvests

The utilization of a novel (systemic) biofertilizer containing Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azospirillum brasilense, and Bacillus subtilis and possessing the technology to facilitate the entry of bacteria through the stomata, was evaluated at three localities in Mexico (Potrero Nuevo, Veracruz; Ameca, Jalisco; and Champotón, Campeche) in two sugarcane varieties (NCO-310 and Mex 57–473) at different time scales. Inoculation of the systemic biofertilizer was imposed over the local agricultural management of the sugarcane; chemical fertilization of the experimental parcels at Potrero Nuevo was done using 70-20-20 and 120-80-80 at Ameca and Champotón. Three doses of the biofertilizer per hectare were applied during the annual productive cycle of sugarcane at each site; one year at Potrero Nuevo and Champotón; and six years at Ameca. The annual sugarcane yield was evaluated at each site. Additionally, sugar quality (°Brix or sucrose content) was evaluated at the three localities, while different variables of stalk performance were also measured at Ameca and Champotón. Our data provide evidence that this systemic biofertilizer consistently and reliably increased the sugarcane yield at all localities during the time of evaluation, ranging from 73.7 tons ha−1 at Potrero Nuevo (2.5 times increase; P < 0.05) and 77.7 tons ha−1 at Ameca (1.9 times increase; P < 0.05) to 23.8 tons ha−1 at Champotón (1.4 times increase; P < 0.05). This increase in sugarcane biomass was related to increased tillering rather than increased stalk height or diameter. This novel biological product improved the sugarcane quality in terms of °Brix (P < 0.05, 2.6° difference) and sucrose content (P < 0.5, 0.7% difference).

Design, construction and field testing of a manually feeding semiautomatic sugarcane dud chipper

Sugarcane is the main sugar crop, and sugar is an important agricultural product in Egypt. There are many problems with the technology used in the current planting method of sugarcane, which has a great impact on the planting quality of sugarcane, which have a series of problems, such as low cutting efficiency and poor quality. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to design, construct, and field testing of a semiautomatic sugarcane bud chipper assisted with pivot knives for cutting sugarcane buds and germinating them in plastic trays inside a greenhouse until they reached an average length of 35 cm, and then planting them in the field. In the field tests five cutting speeds (35, 40, 45, 50, and 56 rpm. (Revolution Per minute), three cutting knives (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mm) were used for cutting sugarcane stalks with four different diameters (1.32, 1.82, 2.43, and 2.68 cm). The obtained results showed that the values of the damage index and invisible losses were within acceptable limits (ranging between − 1.0 and 0.0) for all the variables under the test. Still, the lowest damage index and invisible losses were recorded with the buds that were cut with a knife of 1.5 mm thickness and cutting speeds less than 50 rpm. The skipping rate increases with the increase in cutting speed and stalk diameter, ranging between 0.0 to 13%. The maximum machine productivity was 110 Buds per minute at a cutting speed of 35 rpm and stalk diameter of 1.32 cm. The paper's findings have important application values for promoting the designing and development of sugarcane bud chipper and sugarcane planting technology in the future.

Influence of High-Sugar Early and Mid-Late Genotypes on Yield and Quality of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. Hybrid Complex) at Wider Row Spacing

A field experiment was conducted in Pusa during spring season of 2016-17, to evaluate 7 sugarcane genotypes (‘CoP 11436’, ‘CoP 11437’, ‘CoP 11438’, ‘CoSe 11451’, ‘BO 130’, ‘CoSe 95422’ and ‘BO 153’) in early maturing group and 7 sugarcane genotypes viz., ‘BO 155’, ‘CoSe 11453’, ‘CoSe 11454’, ‘CoSe 11455’, ‘BO 91’, ‘CoP 9301’ and ‘CoSe 92423’ in mid late maturing group at 120 cm row spacing. In early group, genotype ‘CoP 11436’ produced the higher tillers (1, 38000/ha), millable canes (1, 04800/ ha), cane (88.2 t/ha) and sugar yield (11.1 t/ ha). Genotype, ‘CoP 11438’ showed the higher brix (20.6) and pol (18.39%) per cent juice among test genotype, followed by standard check ‘BO 153’. Under mid late maturing group, higher germination count (46.2%), tillers (1, 52, 100/ha) and millable canes (1, 07800/ ha) was noticed due to the genotype ‘BO 155’ which was followed by the standard check ‘CoSe 92423’. However, ‘CoSe 11455’ recorded the highest cane (103.7 t/ha) and sugar yield (13.18 t/ha), followed by ‘BO 155’ in case of cane yield and CoSe 11453 in sugar yield. Among mid late genotype ‘CoSe 11453’, ‘CoSe 11454’ and standard check ‘CoP 9301’ obtained similar brix values of 20.7%. However, standard check ‘CoP 9301’ was found significantly superior to ‘BO 155’ with respect to pol and commercial cane sugar percent.

Improving sugarcane agronomy: Field evidence for ultrasonic treatment enhancing yield, growth, and physiological and biochemical characteristics

Ultrasonic treatment (UT) is a safe and efficient physical stimulus used to improve crop germination and growth. However, previous studies have concentrated on the germination and seedling stages of ultrasonically treated crops, while field tests of the effects of ultrasound on sugarcane growth have not been reported. In this study, we compared the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, and antioxidant properties of three sugarcane varieties, ‘ROC22’, ‘LC05–136’, and ‘YT93–159’, under no UT (T1), UT (20–40 kHz mixed frequency, dry treatment) for 1 min (T2), UT for 2 min (T3), and UT for 5 min (T4). The field experiments were conducted from January 2021 to January 2023.The effect of UT on newly-planted sugarcane was greater than on ratoon sugarcane for all measured parameters in both years. Compared with the T1 treatment, in 2021 the increases in cane yield and sugar yield under UT (T3 and T4) were 9.76%–28.57% and 7.80%–21.21%, respectively, while in 2022, the increases were 1.19%–12.64% and 2.16%–8.39%, respectively. From the two-year data, compared with the T1 treatment, the sucrose content of sugarcane under the T3 treatment in V1 increased by 0.38%–15.26%; the T3 and T4 treatments in V2 increased the sucrose content by 0.48%–4.90%, and the T4 treatment in V3 increased the content by 1.17%–5.85%. Moreover, suitable UT increased plant height, stem diameter, root length, and germination rate. Suitable UT also increased the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, superoxide dismutase activity, peroxidase activity, catalase activity, soluble protein content, and soluble sugar content while decreasing the malondialdehyde content in sugarcane leaves. Meanwhile, a multi-analysis showed that a more developed root system, a more efficient photosynthetic rate, and better antioxidant properties after UT treatment led to increased sugar yield of sugarcane. This study is the first to demonstrate that suitable UT (2–5 min, 20–40 kHz mixed frequency, dry treatment) can significantly increase the yield and quality of sugarcane based on field tests. Furthermore, this study shows that ultrasonic seed treatment technology has promising applications in sugarcane cultivation and significant potential in agricultural production.

Is It Possible to Measure the Quality of Sugarcane in Real-Time during Harvesting Using Onboard NIR Spectroscopy?

In-field quality prediction in agricultural products is mainly based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR). However, initiatives applied to sugarcane quality are only observed under laboratory-controlled conditions. This study proposed a framework for NIR spectroscopy sensing to measure sugarcane quality during a real harvest operation. A platform was built to support the system composed of the NIR sensor and external lighting on the elevator of a sugarcane harvester. Real-time data were acquired in commercial fields. Georeferenced samples were collected for calibration, validation, and adjustment of the multivariate models by partial least squares (PLS) regression. In addition, subsamples of defibrated cane were NIR-acquired for the development of calibration transfer models by piecewise direct standardization (PDS). The method allowed the adjustment of the spectra collected in real time to predict the quality properties of soluble solids content (Brix), apparent sucrose in juice (Pol), fiber, cane Pol, and total recoverable sugar (TRS). The results of the relative mean square error of prediction (RRMSEP) were from 1.80 to 2.14%, and the ratio of interquartile performance (RPIQ) was from 1.79 to 2.46. The PLS-PDS models were applied to data acquired in real-time, allowing estimation of quality properties and identification of the existence of spatial variability in quality. The results showed that it is possible to monitor the spatial variability of quality properties in sugarcane in the field. Future studies with a broader range of quality attribute values and the evaluation of different configurations for sensing devices, calibration methods, and data processing are needed. The findings of this research will enable a valuable spatial information layer for the sugarcane industry, whether for agronomic decision-making, industrial operational planning, or financial management between sugar mills and suppliers.

(Impact of Micronutrients Spraying on Yield and Quality of Sugar Cane in heavy textured soil at Upper Egypt)

(Impact of Micronutrients Spraying on Yield and Quality of Sugar Cane in heavy textured soil at Upper Egypt)

Small secreted effector protein from Fusarium sacchari suppresses host immune response by inhibiting ScPi21-induced cell death.

Fusarium sacchari is one of the primary pathogens causing pokkah boeng disease, which impairs the yield and quality of sugarcane around the world. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the F. sacchari effectors that regulate plant immunity is of great importance for the development of novel strategies for the persistent control of pokkah boeng disease. In a previous study, Fs00367 was identified to inhibit BAX-induced cell death. In this study, Fs00367nsp (without signal peptide) was found to suppress BAX-induced cell death, reactive oxygen species bursts and callose accumulation. The amino acid region 113-142 of Fs00367nsp is the functional region. Gene mutagenesis indicated that Fs00367 is important for the full virulence of F. sacchari. Ayeast two-hybrid assay revealed an interaction between Fs00367nsp and sugarcane ScPi21 in yeast that was further confirmed using bimolecular fluorescence complementation, pull-down assay and co-immunoprecipitation. ScPi21 can induce plant immunity, but this effect could be blunted by Fs00367nsp. These results suggest that Fs00367 is a core pathogenicity factor that suppresses plant immunity through inhibiting ScPi21-induced cell death. The findings of this study provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of effectors in regulating plant immunity.

A protective foliar complex boosts sugarcane quality and energy yield by reducing oxidative stress under drought

AbstractWater stress negatively impacts plant morphology and physiology by inducing metabolic oxidative stress, which leads to cellular damage. Applying nutrients and/or organic molecules, such as amino acids, may mitigate the effects of drought stress. In the present study, the effects of a protective foliar complex (PFC) on late‐harvest sugarcane (Saccharum spp L.) (dry season) were evaluated. Four field experiments were carried out in commercial areas of sugarcane production in the central‐south region of Brazil using sugarcane variety CTC4: in the fourth and second ratoons in 2019 and in the fifth and third ratoons in 2020. The treatments consisted of foliar application or no application of the PFC at the beginning of the dry period in June. The PFC was applied at a dose of 10 L ha−1 in a water volume of 100 L ha−1. PFC application increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase) in sugarcane leaves. PFC application also reduced leaf levels of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). On average, PFC application increased sucrose accumulation by 2.26 and 1.74 Mg ha−1 in 2019 and 2020, respectively, indicating improved raw material quality. In addition, PFC application mitigated damage caused by drought, with average increases in stalk productivity of 10.7 and 7.6 Mg ha−1 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The positive effects of PFC application on plant antioxidant enzymes enabled greater biomass accumulation and, in turn, higher energy cogeneration.