Quality seed assurance in sugarcane (saccharum spp.) for rejuvenation of varietal yield decline using rapid multiplication techniques (rmts)

Sugarcane, being a vegetatively propagated crop, has a low seed cane multiplication rate. Besides, huge quantity of cane seed used for planting may have infested with number of pest and diseases cause decrease in cane yield and quality significantly over the years of its cultivation. A number of cane seed propagation techniques have been adopted successfully by farmers and industry in different sugarcane growing countries. In vitro propagation is the best alternative to overcome such limitations to produce disease free and sufficient amount of planting material. It is however a very sensitive technique, which requires aseptic condition in different stages viz. mother plant establishment, initiation and establishment of aseptic culture, multiplication, rooting, and acclimatization. In different seed cane programmes, breeder, foundation and certified classes of sugarcane seed are not being maintained by the different agencies or organisations associated with sugarcane agriculture across different states. Further, accounting of different classes of sugarcane seed i.e. breeder, foundation and certified are not being maintained by the different sugarcane growing States therefore the exact quantum of sugarcane certified seed distributed by different agencies in major sugarcane growing state could not be assessed and resulted in failure of assessment of seed replacement rate (SRR) in sugarcane. Sugarcane varieties selected for micro-propagation should have accompanying morphological description to enable verification of varietal characteristics during different stages of seed production. The nursery crop meant for harvesting of shoots for culture is raised from heat-treated setts in a field where sugarcane crop has not been grown during the previous season. The nursery should be inspected and certified by breeders, pathologists from research institutes and accredited laboratories for freedom from diseases such as grassy shoot, phytoplasma, sugarcane mosaic virus, sugarcane yellow leaf virus, ratoon stunting disease, leaf scald, smut and red rot by using recent techniques/methods. Further, shoot tip explants can be obtained from three sources: (a) tops of actively growing canes, (b) elongating axillary shoots from the decapitated shoots, and (c) dormant axillary buds. In our experience, the best explants is the shoot tips from actively growing sugarcane tops. For best results, harvesting of shoot tips is done 120 and 180 days after planting and one to two days after a good irrigation of the nursery. This paper add information on testing and certification seed cane material for supporting the propagation within a short period of time and cost effective manner to have rapid multiplication of disease-free seed of new, improved varieties of sugarcane; and to safeguard the interests of cane growers and the sugar industry.