UNDERSTANDING STEM DEVELOPMENT AND SUCROSE ACCUMULATION TO INCREASE CCS

THE sucrose content along a sugarcane stalk varies according to developmental age and anatomy. This paper identifies some of the traits that contribute to this variation and examines how these components vary between cultivars. From a comparison of a small number of cultivars, the results showed that cultivar Q188A attained a higher sucrose content in the upper stalk internodes when compared to cultivars CP44-101, Q117 and Q127. This increase was achieved by lower moisture contents, differences in carbon partitioning (Q188A partitioning more of its dry matter to sucrose) and changes to the ratios of cell types. Genetic regions that are shown to be associated with these traits may be useful tools in producing varieties with higher CCS.