CONVENTIONAL BREEDING PRACTICES WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE BREEDING PROGRAM

THIS PAPER summarises current conventional breeding practices used in the Australian sugar industry. The paper primarily seeks to inform interested parties who do not have a technical knowledge of plant breeding procedures. The paper draws on a number of comprehensive reviews of Australian sugarcane breeding research as well as interviews conducted with personnel working in the Australian Sugarcane Breeding Program. Sugarcane breeding, in combination with agronomic advances and development and implementation of best management practices, offers the best potential for improving productivity and combating losses from diseases and some insect pests in Australia. The Australian Sugarcane Breeding Program comprises three components: the collection, characterisation, and maintenance of sugarcane germplasm; the production of genetic variation through cross pollination; and a selection process based on phenotype. There are four regional breeding centres covering the geographic extent of the Australian sugar industry. All regions use similar procedures. This paper describes the stages contained in this generic breeding program and the specific differences operating in each of the four regions as a result of variation in the traits being selected for, disease prevalence, resource availability, environmental conditions, and historic events.