Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore
About the Centre
ICAR - Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore,was established in the year 1912 and served for more than 104 years in evolving superior varieties of sugarcane to cater the needs of the various agro climatic zones in the country. The Institute is located at Coimbatore (77oE longitude and 11oN latitude) in Southern India on the leeward side of Western Ghats at 427 metres above mean sea level and receives an annual average rainfall of 800 mm, bulk of it during the months of October-December. The maximum and minimum temperatures range from 35.2oCto 21.7oC respectively.During the last century, the institute had contributed to the varietal diversity of the nation, as it was evident from the fact that more than 90% of the area under sugarcane in the country covered by varieties which were bred or derived from crosses made at Coimbatore. In addition, the varieties bred at Coimbatore are also cultivated/used as breeding stocks in 26 other countries in the world. The National Hybridization Garden functioning at ICAR-SBI, Coimbatore is the basis for creating variability for the whole nation as it facilitates and coordinates the crossing programme of 24 sugarcane breeding centres distributed across the country. The National Distant Hybridization Facility created at ICAR-SBI, Research Centre at Agali is open to all the AICRP(S) participating centres to make wide crosses for strengthening the pre breeding activities.
Officials and their contacts
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2. Salient achievements/recommendations for inclusion in the website like major sugarcane varieties along with area occupied, average yield and sugar recovery
(i) Subtropical Cane Varieties
| S. No | Variety | Area occupied | Average yield t/ha | Average Recovery / Sucrose % |
| 1 | Co 0238 | 28.02 lakh ha | 81.08 | Sucrose % :17.99 Recovery %: 11.67* |
| 2 | Co 0118 | 1.215 lakh ha | 78.20 | Sucrose % :18.64 Recovery %: 12.14* |
| 3 | Co 98014 | 0.346 lakh ha | 76.29 | Sucrose % : 17.59 |
| 4 | Co 0239 | 0.193 lakh ha | 79.23 | Sucrose % :18.58 Recovery %: 11.97* |
| 5 | Co 05011 | 6000 ha | 82.47 | Sucrose %: 18.00 |
| 6 | Co 05009 | 4000 ha | 75.89 | Sucrose %: 17.44 |
| 7 | Co 15023 | 200 ha | 89.49 | Sucrose %: 19.41 |
(ii) Tropical Cane Varieties
| S. No. | Variety | Area occupied | Average yield t/ha | Average Recovery /Sucrose % |
| 1 | Co 86032 | 6.176 lakh ha | 105.33 | Sucrose %: 19.28 Recovery %: 9.39** |
| 2 | Co 92005 | 39,908 ha | 97.72 | Sucrose %: 17.41 |
| 3 | Co 91010 | 11,818 ha | 116.00 | Sucrose %: 19.10 |
| 4 | Co 09004 | 1,000 ha | 110.00 | Sucrose %: 20.2 |
3. Technology/variety for specific condition/location/ any other feature; major invention which improved the productivity/recovery of sugarcane in the domain area
Crop Improvement:
Variety Co 0238: The early maturing sugarcane variety Co 0238 (Karan 4) developed by ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Regional Centre, Karnal, Haryana has revolutionized sugar production in India. The variety gives high average cane yield (>81t/ha) with a sugar recovery of more than 12%. The wide spread cultivation of this variety has generated acumulative gross value of Rs.120.77 thousand crores during 2014–15 to 2017–18, accounting for Rs. 30,192 crores per year.The total additional benefit from sugar and by-products during the period was Rs.28,795 crores or Rs.7199 crores per year, bringing livelihood security and prosperity to lakhs of farmers and cheer to the sugar industry in the subtropical states, especially Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
Variety Co 86032 :The wonder variety Co 86032 was identified for the tropics during 1994 and started spreading during 1996 and quickly replaced almost all the earlier varieties in Peninsular zone comprising the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Tamil Nadu was the biggest beneficiary of this variety with over 90 % area under Co 86032 for more than ten years. At present Co 86032 is the ruling variety withmore than 50% of the area under cane cultivation in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and occupies significant area in Andhra Pradesh, , Odisha and Gujarat. The variety had wider adaptability and is cultivated more than 1 million ha in tropical India from 2007-08 onwards. It generated Rs. 20,000 crores as additional economic benefit since its inception by increased yield coupled improved sugar recovery.
Crop Production:
STCR based Nutrient Management in Sugarcane under Tropical Indian Conditions
STCR based nutrient in sugarcane recorded higher sugarcane productivity (186.46 t ha-1 and 111.15 t ha-1cane yields in plant and ratoon crops), better juice quality and improvement in soil health. With highest profitability (Rs. 304,110.5 and 129,066.0 per hectare net returns in plant crop and ratoon crops) and moderate partial factor productivity and agronomic efficiency of fertilizer NPK, STCR 150 + 10 t FYM + biofertilizer nutrient management module in plant crop and 20 t FYM+ STCR 150 module in ratoon crop hold great promise in meeting the growing nutrient demands of intensive sugarcane agriculture. Based on the results of 3-year field experiments, it is concluded that the application of 10 t ha-1FYM +STCR 150-based fertilizers (390 kg N ha-1and 94 kg P haha-1) + biofertilizers in plant crop and application of 20 t ha-1 FYM + STCR 150 (390 kg N haha-1, 94 kg P ha-1 and 117 kg K haha-1) in ratoon crop can be recommended for sustaining soil health, sugarcane productivity and profitability under tropical Indian conditions.
Crop Protection:
Screening methods for sugarcane diseases
Nodal Cotton Swabbing Method
A new nodal method of red rot inoculation ‘Nodal cotton swabbing’ which is ideal for disease development without disease escapes was developed. Currently this method is being followed at all the AICRP centres in the country to identify nodal resistance to red rot in sugarcane varieties.
New YLD screening technique for sugarcane
A new 0 - 5 disease rating scale to assess yellow leaf disease (YLD) was developed to screen resistant sources in sugarcane (Viswanathan et al., 2016) and the same has been adopted in AICRP on sugarcane to screen entries in IVT/AVT for YLD resistance.
Rust and pokkahboeng diseases in sugarcane
- The minor diseases such as rust and pokkahboeng have assumed as major diseases in the recent years in different parts of the country and there was need to identify resistant varieties. Hence new rust inoculation technique and pokkahboeng screening technique were developed in collaboration with different AICRP centres. The screening techniques are implemented in different AICRP centres in the country, to identify resistant varieties to these diseases.
- For rust, artificial inoculation of teliospores by ‘leaf whorl inoculation’ was standardized and recommended to screen the sugarcane entries in IVT/ AVT with four grades from R to S.
- For resistance assessment in pokkahboeng, a five grade system of R to HS was standardized to screen the entries in IVT/ AVT
Identification of new red rot pathotype
- A new C. falcatum pathotype CF12possessing higher virulence along with stability was designated and the new pathotype isused to screen sugarcane entries in the tropical region from 2015.
- A new C. falcatum pathotype CF13possessing higher virulence that caused breakdown of the popular variety Co 0238 was designated and the new pathotype isused to screen sugarcane entries in the North West and North Central zones from 2021.
Disease management in sugarcane
Mechanized fungicide delivery system for sugarcane
A new mechanized device based on vacuum infiltration was developed by ICAR-SBI in collaboration with ICAR-CIAE for efficient delivery of fungicides and other agro inputs in sugarcane setts. Fungicide treatment using this device increased the fungicide efficacy against red rot and smut diseases in sugarcane under disease endemic locations and the device has been standardized to deliver different agro inputs in seedling nurseries to increase seedling vigour and managing biotic and abiotic stresses. Most of the centres have installed ‘Mechanized Sett Treatment Device’ developed by ICAR-SBI Coimbatore for seed nursery programme and disease management.
Mechanized treatment of setts with fungicides efficiently reduced red rot from sett and soil borne inoculum sources. Also the fungicide treatment has improved germination in disease-affected setts.
YLD management
To manage YLD, healthy seed nursery programme is recommended. In this regard, all seed nursery units are advised to use certified virus free-seed to avoid spread of YLD and other diseases through planting materials. Also, virus indexing is made mandatory for all tissue culture-derived seedlings.
Fungicidal management of pokkahbeong
Overnight soaking of setts in Carbendazim @0.1% followed by 3 sprays of the same fungicide after the onset of disease was found effective for the management pokkahbeong in sugarcane.
Fungicidal management of brown rust
To manage brown rust, two sprays of Mancozeb 75 WP @ 0.3% at 15 days intervals from the initiation of the symptoms were found effective against the disease. The cost benefit ratio analysis of different treatments indicated Mancozeb 75 WP @ 0.3% recorded highest C:B ratio of 1.02.
Impact of YLD on sugarcane growth and yield
Detailed field experiments to assess the impact of YLD on cane growth and yield by comparing the crops planted with virus-infected and virus-free planting materials of the popular cvs Co 86032, Co 0238 and Co 11015 revealed that cane and juice yield are reduced in the range of 18.5-40.7 and 42.1-50 per cent, respectively in the varieties in the plant crop due to virus infection. The loss is expected to increase in ratoon crops.
4. Success story/impact of technologies in improving farmer’s income
Crop Improvement:
Variety Co 0238: Between the years 2014-15 and 2017-18, Co0238 has fetched an additional returnof Rs. 14,381crores to the farmers (from sugarcane and fodder) in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Uttarakhand. As a result, the profit of farmers increased by about Rs. 45,405/ha. The economic surplus model was fitted to estimate the total gain to society/economy due to adoption of Co0238, and its distribution among consumers and producers. Accordingly, the total annual economic gain (surplus) was Rs10,064.3 crores, distributed in the share of 40: 60,between the consumers and producers respectively. In the context of the Government of India’s priority of doubling the income of farmers, Co 0238 has made a significant contribution. Mere cultivation of Co0238 bringsRs. 45,405/ha additional income and with the adoption of more crop husbandry packages, including inter-cropping and wide row spacing, Co 0238 has the potential of multi fold increase in the income of farmers, as has already been demonstrated by 12 farmers associated with ICAR-SBI.
Variety Co 86032: Cane yield and sugar recovery went down drastically in Tamil Nadu due to red rot epidemic of the dominant variety CoC 671during 1990’s and the timely introduction of Co 86032 saved the farmers to sustain the sugarcane cultivation in tropical India. With the adoption and spread of Co 86032, there was an increased average yield in the range of 5- 15 t/ha and sugar recovery had significant improvement from 0.24 to 1.2% in various agro climatic zones of Tamil Nadu. In addition, this variety was suitable for jaggery preparation and the recovery percentage of jaggery was higher than that of other varieties cultivated in the state, hence Co 86032 is predominantly cultivated in the state since 2006-07.