Sugarcane being an annual crop, faces different vagaries of nature in the form of different soil and climatic conditions during its life cycle. Due to the pressure on good lands for cereals, pulses, oil seeds and other short duration crops, sugarcane has been pushed to marginal lands where it faces many abiotic stresses. The productivity of sugarcane in Bihar being 45.2 t/ha during 1996-97, was lowest among the major sugarcane producing states of sub-tropical India. About one third of the area under sugarcane falling mainly under the districts of North Bihar, remain waterlogged during the rainy season (July-September) which is the most important period for growth and development of the crop. The cane yield and recovery per cent are significantly reduced by water logging which adversely affects the economy of growers as well as the sugar industry.

In order to achieve sustainable increase in sugarcane productivity in waterlogged tracts of Bihar, Eastern part of U.P. and West Bengal an experiment was conducted to identify waterlogging tolerant varieties.

Optimum irrigation is essential for cane crop to get maximum recovery. Any reduction from optimum water requirement, adversely affects the quality of cane. This holds good for all varieties. In India specially at Baramba where cane payment is made to the growers on the basis of cane weight, it is uneconomical to the factory under the present market scenario of cane price and sugar price to encourage cane registration under rainfed condition.

Sugarcane is an important commercial crop in Indian subtropics, but sugar productivity per se is rather low, inspite of introduction of improved cane varieties and better agri-management practices. The full genetic potential of these improved varieties could not be unveiled due to many biotic and abiotic stresses impeding their growth and sugar accumulation, leading to sub-optimal sugar productivity. The major factors impending the sugar productivity are :

(a) poor sprouting of cane sett and consequently low tillering

(b) climatic impediments during maturation process leading to low sugar recovery during early milling phase

(c) quality decline during late-milling due to high ambient temperature and

(d) flowering and poor sprouting of winter initiated ratoon.

The individual and cumulative impact of these constraints is always reflected in poor cane yield and low sugar recovery from this region. In order to minimise these hindrances, and set up sugar productivity, agrochemical manipulation techniques were resorted to at different stages of sugarcane growth viz., sett sprouting, tillering, induction of maturity (early milling). The application of 2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid (2-CEPA, ethephon, ethrel) was found to promote seed cane sprouting (13-17%), and improved tillering and millable cane formation (12-16%). Its beneficial response had been observed in the advancement of cane maturity (plant crop) with appreciable gain in CCS per cent, giving adequate flexibility to cane growers on the time of harvest Additionally, its efficacy has been demonstrated in minimizing sucrose losses in the over-stand at high temperature. 2-CEPA, therefore, seems to be the only chemical with a wide-spectrum of beneficial activity on sugarcane, under sub-tropical climate.

Sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV) was detected in the collections of world sugarcane germplasm at Cannanore in recent years. The characteristic foliar symptoms were freckles, chlorotic stripes of varying length, narrowing of leaves, stunted growth, presence of internodal cracks and bunchy top appearance. Among the different clones maintained, clones of Saccbarum officinarum are more prone to this virus. Genotypes of S officinarum collected prior to 1970 were heavily infected with the virus. Most of the S. barberi and S. sinense clones were also infected. However only a limited number of clones had suspected infection among the clones of S. robustum and interspecific hybrids. The techniques like enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and immune electron microscopy (IEM) were standardised for the detection of virus in the suspected clones. Presence of the virus in the sugarcane germplasm in India and other countries is a major obstacle for the exchange of germplasm. Immediate attention is warranted to enhance the precision of virus indexing by way of DNA probes and polymerase chain reaction and for eliminating the virus.

Inheritance of resistance of red rot disease caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went and the association of its traits with economic characters were studied with seedlings of six sugarcane crosses. Resistance was assessed by comparing disease development in inoculated seedling stalks by CFO1 (Co 1148) race. Disease severity was assessed by internationally accepted 0-9 scale. High juice quality was found to restrict nodal transgression and lesion width each in a cross. More stalk diameter helped in disease development vertically and horizontally through more nodal transgression and white spot formation as indicated by positive correlation between these traits. Resistance selection should be based on the component traits like nodal transgression and lesion width because these traits showed higher narrow-sense heritabilities and potential genetic gain as well as high correlation with disease index.

The herbicide resistant Bar gene driven by the ubiquitin promoter has been introduced to a commercial sugarcane variety along with the Gus gene through particle bombardment. Transient expression of the Gus gene could be observed one day after the bombardment but Gus expression could not be detected in the leaf tissue of the differentiated plantlets. The plantlets differentiated from the bombarded callus showed resistance to the herbicide basta. PCR analysis had shown the integration of both Gus and Bar genes

A second degree multiple regression equation was fitted to quantify) the relationship between sugarcane yield and weekly meteorological data of nineteen years (1975-76 to 1993-94) for Western part of Uttar Pradesh. Weekly mean maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity and rainfall accounted 41, 47, 49 and 57% variations, respectively, in cane yield. A unit use in mean maximum and minimum temperature during cane ripening period (November - February) improved cane yield by 25 - 202 kg/ha. However, during early crop growth stages from germination to cane elongation phase units use in mean maximum and minimum temperature decreased cane yield by 7-26 kg/ha. Above weekly mean relative humidity during germination, tillering and cane elongation phase ( 7-47 meteorological week) showed favourable effect (2-21 kg/ha) on cane yield. Units use (1 mm) in weekly total rainfall during tillering and cane elongation phase had deleterious effect on cane yield but during germination and ripening period, 1 mm rise in weekly rainfall exhibited beneficial effect on cane yield.

Sugar recovery in a factory depends upon regular crushing and quality of cane besides various other working parameters. In order to assess the supply of quantity, a study was undertaken at Daurala Sugar Works during season 1993-94 which continued till 1997-98. Through this study, we were able to increase the supply of healthy & fresh cane to the factory and reduce the supply of pest infested cane for increasing our sugar recovery. The study reveals that about 5% reduction in the supply of borers infested cane, may increase sugar recovery by about 0.6% to 0.8%. The details of the study are discussed in the article.

Varietal performance of sugarcane, involving five early maturing sugarcane types viz; CoJ 64, CoS 687 CoS 95255, CoS 96258 and CoS 96260 was studied during 1997-98 at Sugarcane Research Station, Golagokarannath (Kheri), UP. An early maturing cultivar CoS 95255, proved significantly higher in number of millable canes, stalk height, single cane weight, cane yield and available sugar I/ha but it was at par in p01 per cent cane with CoJ 64 and CoS 96258. Sustainability of pol in cane at peak maturity was maintained by CoS 95255, CoS 96258 and CoJ 64 in descending order respectively. No sharp drop in pol % cane was observed in these cultivars during the crushing period starting from mid October to mid April.

The sugar factories in sub-tropical India brook low productivity and quite often work with uneconomically. With the limitation of land and to meet the future targets of production, measures to increase field and factory productivity in terms of the production of Sugar/Ha/year and per tonne of installed capacity have become essential. This problem can be tackled by an integrated and sustainable plan of sugarcane development in the command areas of individual sugar units. Steps like selection of varieties on the basis of their sugar content, yield, resistance to pests and diseases, sustainability at peak maturity, fast multiplication of seed through polybag staggered planting, multiple ratooning, biological control of pests, management of inputs and appropriate cultural practices are essential. With this background and objective, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Applied Agricultural Research initiated the field work in Gola and Palia Mill zones situated in Central UP. The results or work are discussed and based on the observations, appropriate strategies for integrated development of cane are suggested.

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