Assessing limits to sugarcane yield

Assessing the scope for further improvement in productivity as a basis for industry planning requires quantitative knowledge of the processes of yield accumulation. This paper reviews and summarises recently acquired knowledge of the determinants of sugarcane yield. It is concluded that the main avenue of productivity improvement is more likely to be better capture and utilisation of radiation and optimising crop age at harvest, rather than improvement in sucrose partitioning. The difficulties associated with assessing yield limits using fresh weight measures of cane yield and CCS are highlighted, and future collection of productivity data on a dry weight basis warrants attention.