Conventional Sugarcane Breeding in South Africa: Progress and Future Prospects

Zhou, Marvellous

doi:10.4236/ajps.2013.42025

Cited by 29 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…The data were collected from unselected populations from three Stage I trials (Zhou, 2013a) established for the coastal (TML11), irrigated (FML12), and midlands (BML13) breeding programs. The midlands represents cooler inland areas with long cold winters and short summer months, where sugarcane matures at a crop age of 24 mo.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General and specific combining ability for cane yield and implications for sugarcane breeding

Zhou

2020

Crop Science

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General combining ability (GCA) referencing additive genetic effects and specific combining ability (SCA) referencing nonadditive effects have been applied for decades in maize (Zea mays L.) breeding and other crops to produce greater genetic gains in crop breeding. This study examined the magnitude of GCA and SCA for cane yield and evaluated potential for application in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) breeding. Data were collected from unselected first‐stage breeding populations sourced from the irrigated, midlands (high‐altitude), and coastal breeding programs of the South African Sugarcane Research Institute. Cane yield data calculated from number of stalks, stalk height, and stalk diameter was analyzed using best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) analysis where female and male effects (GCA) and female × male interaction effects (SCA) were defined as random effects. There were significant (P < .05) female but nonsignificant male effects. Female × male interaction was highly significant (P < .001) and larger than both female and male effects, indicating higher SCA than GCA. Specific combining ability variance was 24% (midlands), 31% (coastal), and 57% (irrigated) higher than GCA. Genotypes with low GCA produced higher SCA. Crosses from parents originating from different breeding backgrounds produced higher SCA than those from the same backgrounds. Crosses with significant SCA produced 24–42% greater cane yield than those with nonsignificant SCA. Using GCA to develop parents with high breeding values and SCA to evaluate parent cross combinations will maximize exploitation of heterosis in sugarcane breeding. The results suggest the possibility to develop heterotic groups that are diverse and complementary as a strategy to optimize utilization of SCA.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General and specific combining ability for cane yield and implications for sugarcane breeding

Zhou

2020

Crop Science

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“…Flowering times were assessed using literature, herbarium specimens and collections made during field surveys. Saccharum hybrids flower from March to August in South Africa (Sithole and Singels, 2013 ; Zhou, 2013 ). Plant specimens with inflorescences, dates of collections and occurrence in the study area were used to analyse flowering times in addition to collections sampled during the study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Likelihood of Gene Flow From Sugarcane (Saccharum Hybrids) to Wild Relatives in South Africa

Snyman

Komape

Khanyi

et al. 2018

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Pre-commercialization studies on environmental biosafety of genetically modified (GM) crops are necessary to evaluate the potential for sexual hybridization with related plant species that occur in the release area. The aim of the study was a preliminary assessment of factors that may contribute to gene flow from sugarcane (Saccharum hybrids) to indigenous relatives in the sugarcane production regions of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, South Africa. In the first instance, an assessment of Saccharum wild relatives was conducted based on existing phylogenies and literature surveys. The prevalence, spatial overlap, proximity, distribution potential, and flowering times of wild relatives in sugarcane production regions based on the above, and on herbaria records and field surveys were conducted for Imperata, Sorghum, Cleistachne, and Miscanthidium species. Eleven species were selected for spatial analyses based on their presence within the sugarcane cultivation region: four species in the Saccharinae and seven in the Sorghinae. Secondly, fragments of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the 5.8s ribosomal gene and two chloroplast genes, ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL), and maturase K (matK) were sequenced or assembled from short read data to confirm relatedness between Saccharum hybrids and its wild relatives. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS cassette showed that the closest wild relative species to commercial sugarcane were Miscanthidium capense, Miscanthidium junceum, and Narenga porphyrocoma. Sorghum was found to be more distantly related to Saccharum than previously described. Based on the phylogeny described in our study, the only species to highlight in terms of evolutionary divergence times from Saccharum are those within the genus Miscanthidium, most especially M. capense, and M. junceum which are only 3 million years divergent from Saccharum. Field assessment of pollen viability of 13 commercial sugarcane cultivars using two stains, iodine potassium iodide (IKI) and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride, showed decreasing pollen viability (from 85 to 0%) from the north to the south eastern regions of the study area. Future work will include other aspects influencing gene flow such as cytological compatibility and introgression between sugarcane and Miscanthidium species.

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“…A similar role exists in countries where sugar mills support breeding research (although sugar is generally not a smallholder crop in SSA). The industry-supported South African Sugarcane Research Institute has been particularly influential, with its cultivars being widely disseminated in southern and eastern African countries (Zhou, 2013). We could find no evidence on adoption of improved varieties or clones of rubber, oil palm, coffee, cashew or coconut, which are other important non-staple tree crops in the SSA region.…”

Section: Assembling a Picture Of The Aggregate Diffusion Of All Impromentioning

confidence: 68%

Crop improvement, adoption, and impact of improved varieties in food crops in sub-Saharan Africa

2015

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Conventional Sugarcane Breeding in South Africa: Progress and Future Prospects

Cited by 29 publications

References 3 publications

General and specific combining ability for cane yield and implications for sugarcane breeding

General and specific combining ability for cane yield and implications for sugarcane breeding

Assessing the Likelihood of Gene Flow From Sugarcane (Saccharum Hybrids) to Wild Relatives in South Africa

Crop improvement, adoption, and impact of improved varieties in food crops in sub-Saharan Africa

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