Research

Recent Research Achievements - Division of Crop Production

Agronomy

Resource Use efficient Sugarcane intercropping system

  • Application of 100% N to sugarcane in combination with sugarcane + amaranthus intercropping system is more advantageous in terms of land use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, crop yield and economic advantage.
  • Sugarcane + amaranthus was found to be a profitable system as the net return (Rs.169,763 ha−1) and B: C ratio (1.78) was higher than all the other system.
  • The best combination in terms of B: C ratio is sugarcane + amaranthus as the cost of cultivation is lower and the net return is higher.

Standardized Planting Agro-techniques for Sugarcane Tissue Culture Plantlets and Bud Chip Settlings (Co-PI)

  • Micro-propagated tissue culture plantlets (TCP) recorded higher cane yield than bud chip settling. Planting of tissue culture plantlets with crop geometry of 120 cm x 60 cm and 5.0 cm planting depth was found beneficial in improving cane yield over rest of planting agro-techniques.
  • Planting tissue culture plantlets with crop geometry of 120 cm x 60 cm and 5.0 cm planting depth recorded significantly higher mean cane yield (99.3 tha-1) than planting TCP with crop geometry of 120 cm x 45 cm and 2.5 cm planting depth (82.2 t ha-1), whereas planting bud chip settling with crop geometry of 120 cm x 60 cm and 2.5 cm planting depth recorded marginally higher (90.7 t ha-1) mean cane yield than planting BCS with crop geometry of 120 cm x 45 cm and 5.0 cm planting depth (83.9 t ha-1).

Potential growth promoting Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

  • Single bud sett treatments with Beijerinckia spp. recorded a higher germination of 80% when compared to all other bioinoculants with single bud setts. Similar results were obtained with chip buds also, where Beijerinckia recorded, 46% and 58% germination at 20th and 30th days, respectively. 
  • Sett treatment with bio-inoculants through Sett Treatment Device significantly influenced the settling vigor in single bud and bud chips. Beijernickia recorded the highest settling vigor index in single bud (857.7) and bud chip (437.1) on fresh weight basis.
  • Among the bio-inoculants, higher microbial count was observed in Beijernickia spp. Treated setts followed by diazotrophicus (GD) and Methylonbacterium spp. (PPFM).
  • Sett treatment with bioinoculants prior to planting in protrays with Beijernickia @ 0.5 ppm has advantage in improving the germination and vigor of sugarcane transplants.
  1. Developed technology for the production of novel products from sugarcane viz., freeze dried sugarcane juice, cane jam, cane dietary fibre food products, liquid jaggery processing without any chemical additives, novel frozen sugarcane juice products like frozen sugarcane juice, kulfi and softy ice cream and wine
  2. Associated with the development of a process for producing biopesticide formulation of entomopathogenic nematodes with extended shelf life  
  3. Associated with the development of a standardized novel process for formulating a low-cost scarabid-specific Bacillus thuringiensis biopesticide for management of white grub Holotrichia serrata

Integrated nutrient management package for sugarcane in calcareous soil

  • INM package for sugarcane in calcareous soil with soil calcareous amendments has been developed.

The Package is includes

  • FYM @ 5 t/ha + elemental sulphur @ 1.0 t/ha as basal for plant crop only, Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) based NPK (P basal, N and K in three splits) with symptomatic spray of Urea, FeSO4 and ZnSO4 for plant and ratoon crop.

(or)

  • FYM @ 5 t/ha + gypsum @ 2.50 t/ha as basal for plant crop only, soil test based NPK (P basal, N and K in three splits) with symptomatic spray of Urea, FeSO4 and ZnSO4 for plant and ratoon crop.

Efficient and Economical way of Nutripriming of Sugarcane Single Bud Setts

  • Reuse of same nutrient solution for nutripriming of sugarcane single bud setts up to four cycles in vacuum based treatment to produce vigorous settlings which is evident with nutrient infusion, sett germination, settling biometrics and vigour.
  • Two days of advancement in mean germination time provides 15.56% additional settling production with same set of nursery resources. This technology saves 75% nutrients and water required for priming, and reduces the preparatory time for treatment, disposal of spent solution, and drudgery involved.
  • Multi-location trial conducted at selected Sugar Mills showed average sugarcane yield gain of 5.26%.

Soil Inference System (SIS) software for soil constraint management for sugarcane cultivation

  • Twenty soil profiles were excavated in sugarcane growing areas of Erode, Tiruppur and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu and characterized.
  • SIS software with recommendations for soil constraint management for sugarcane was developed using profile characteristics, the general soil fertility categorization, categorization of soil as normal, saline, alkaline, saline-alkaline and calcareous and the soil physical constraints.
  • Management measures for subsurface hardening, sulphur nutrition and calcareousness were incorporated apart from nutrient recommendations and problem soil management measures in the SIS.
  • The developed SIS software provides soil health card with soil constraint management and nutrient recommendations in Tamil as Microsoft Excel .csv file. This system is developed for printing on template card.

Soil Smart Sugarcane Management System (SoSmart) software with site specific nutrient and irrigation management for sugarcane.

  • SoSmart software was developed with site-specific nutrient and irrigation management for sugarcane. This software provides the user with site-specific management options for efficient use of inputs based on soil types, climate, variety, planting material, irrigation methods, fertilizer application methods, intercultural operations under sole/intercropped situations, etc.
  • The time and quantity of fertilizers and irrigation water to be applied also incorporated in this software on scientific basis.
  • The output serves as a ready reckoner for the users with actual date of executing different management measures. Sugarcane farmers, cane official and extension personnel can make use of this software

DS4M (Decision support system for sustainable sugarcane soil management) software

  • DS4M software was developed for providing soil test crop response based recommendation for plant and ratoon crop.
  • Fertilizer recommendation for site specific management of soil for sustainable sugarcane production, enhance the resource use efficiency and reduce the environmental pollution.
  • Using the DS4M software generated 1079 soil health cards and package of practices for sugarcane and provided to the farmers through the sugar factories in Tamil Nadu.
  • From the test verification trial, it is concluded that the nutrient recommendation based on Soil Test Crop Response target yield of 150 t/ha applied P as basal and N & K in two splits (45 and 90 DAP) has the potential to achieve the target yield.

Sulphur recommendation for sugarcane

  • Blanket recommendation of S: Application of S @ 50 kg/ha in the form of gypsum or elemental sulphur + Thiobacillus thiooxidans culture is recommended for higher cane yield along with NPK fertilizers.
  • S recommendation for calcareous alkaline soils: S application @ 200 kg/ha along with NPK showed cane yield improvement with a corresponding reduction in soil pH indicating S application at higher doses function as an amendment in calcareous alkaline soils with yield improvement of 29% over without S application.

 

  1. Liquid jaggery production technology
  2. Integrated nutrient management package for sugarcane in calcareous soil
  3. Efficient and Economical way of Nutripriming of Sugarcane Single Bud Setts
  4. Soil Inference System (SIS) software for soil constraint management for sugarcane cultivation
  5. Soil Smart Sugarcane Management System (Sosmart) software with site specific nutrient and irrigation management for sugarcane.
  6. DS4M (Decision support system for sustainable sugarcane soil management) software
  7. Sulphur recommendation for sugarcane in calcareous alkaline soils
Phenotyping Approaches to Characterize Root System Traits in Sugarcane
  • As roots are the most dynamic plant organs, a single methodology to evaluate variation in root phenotypes may not be conclusive, especially in a crop such as sugarcane. The application and integration of suitable permutations of methodologies including field excavation by trench sampling, the use of a root core sampler, raised platforms for root sampling, and raising plants under hydroponic culture.
  • Field excavation by trench sampling is imperative to assess the plant roots in their natural growing environment. The use of raised platforms simulating field conditions and a root core sampler are alternative approaches, with a considerable reduction in time, uniform sample size, and less loss of root material. Hydroponic plant culture allows the study of morphology, anatomical features, and rhizosphere biology, including the exudation of organic compounds and microbial interactions.
Optimising Critical Threshold, Deficiency, and Sufficiency Levels for Major Nutrients (N, P and K) in Sugarcane under Controlled Conditions
  • Nutrient efficient sugarcane varieties are required to sustain the yield under optimal fertiliser application with an aim of reducing environmental pollution and conserving natural resources. In this context, it is essential to evaluate sugarcane genotypes at an early crop growth stage for major nutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)) use efficiency under controlled conditions. Hydroponic culture facilitates evaluating crops under minimal to nil nutrient levels, thus response to varying levels of N, P and K may be observed earlier as compared to field conditions.
  • Based on the morpho-physiological responses of Co 86032 to varying levels of major nutrients, hydroponic nutrient supplementation for genotypic evaluation under controlled condition was optimised, including deficiency (20.0 µM N, 2.0 µM P, and 10.0 µM K), critical threshold (375.0 µM N, 87.5 µM P, and 175.0 µM K) and sufficiency (2.0 mM N, P and K) levels.
Drought Stress Alleviation in Sugarcane under Tropical Conditions”
  • Under drought conditions, foliar application of KCL (2.5%) produced a cane yield of 9 t/ha in Co 86032 and 99.0t/ha in Co 0212, which was 18% and 15.2% higher than the untreated drought plot.
  • Results from the research trial and its validation at farmers’ fields suggested that application of 2.5% KCl positively influenced growth, physiology and cane yield, with higher economic returns compared to the application of bio-stimulants spray and control(No spray)
Heat Tolerance Index (HTI) - A screening tool for thermotolerance in Sugarcane” Lead & Developers
  • Developing heat stress tolerance indices is a prerequisite for sugarcane for screening sources for thermotolerance for future challenging environments. The present technology focuses on studying the whole plant adaptive growth, physiological and metabolic responses to long-term elevated temperature conditions and developing a heat tolerance index for screening thermotolerance for sugarcane. The first systematic global study was conducted on the mechanism of thermo-tolerance in sugarcane at the whole plant level in commercial varieties and wild species clones under artificial conditions.
  • As a result of a five-year multilocational study, developed Heat Tolerance Index (HTI) for      screening thermotolerance, including traits such as the stay green nature of index leaf, lipid peroxidation, photochemical activity (Fv/Fm ratio), SPAD value, chlorophyll stability index and total phenolics.
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Physio-biochemical Markers for Oxidative Stress Tolerance for the First Time in Sugarcane
  • For the first time in sugarcane, screening methodology and phenotyping for oxidative stress were standardised using hydrogen peroxide. H2O2 concentrations of 500 and 1000 ppm at 48 hours are identified as critical concentrations for inducing oxidative stress in Erianthus arundinaceus and S. spontaneum respectively.
  • Physiological traits viz., chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), and chlorophyll stability index (CSI) are the key physiological traits for screening oxidative stress tolerance. Assay on soluble protein and reactive oxygen species scavenging enzyme activities like superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and Lipid peroxidation are the key biochemical indices for identifying oxidative stress tolerance in sugarcane.
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Transcriptomic and Proteomic Landscape of Sugarcane Response to Thermotolerance
    • Molecular techniques have revolutionised our understanding of the interactions between genes, proteins, and metabolites, and have aided in the identification of the key regulators of diverse traits.  In this process, the next-generation sequencing method RNA-Seq was used to analyse the transcripts of sugarcane and characterise candidate genes related to heat stress for the first time globally.

     Identified several novel transcripts which are differentially expressed under heat stress, registered in NCBI for public use. Analysis of relative gene expression studies showed phytepsin, ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase, and stress protein DDR-48 threefold increased expression during heat stress. The results of proteiomic study conclude the stress-related proteins including Hypothetical protein (function unknown), Thioredoxin O2 (protects structure and function of cellular proteins) and Cyclin-dependent kinase F (CDKs)-2 (stress signal perception) showed 1.4-, 1.2- and 1.0-fold up- regulation in transcript expression, respectively indicating their greater abundance under heat stress conditions. These findings reveal novel targets for subsequent research on the genomics, genetic manipulation, and molecular mechanisms of elevated stress tolerance in sugarcane

Comparative physiological analysis of tropical and sub-tropical varieties of sugarcane
      • A comparative analysis of field data at two different locations(tropical and sb-tropical) indicates that some of the biometric traits (tiller production, SGR, LAI, plant height, TDMP & its partitioning efficiency), physiological (total chlorophyll content & NR ase activity) and biochemical traits (total phenolics and soluble protein content) were strongly associated with the differences in yield performance when the varieties are grown at different locations. Some of the physiological factors are common, and some of the factors are location-specific, i.e., tillering potential is not a factor for sub-tropical varieties grown under tropical conditions; however, vice-versa was noticed for tropical varieties grown under sub-tropical conditions.
      • Yield and yield components in tropical conditions revealed that the tropical varieties Co 86032, Co 14012, and Co 11015 and sub-tropical varieties Co 98014 and Co 15027 performed better compared to other varieties studied.
      •  Similarly, in sub-tropical conditions, Co 15027, Co 0238 and Co 15023 in sub-tropical and Co 14012 and Co 13006 in sub-tropical groups recorded higher yield components and thus recorded higher yields. The results of G X E analysis suggest that Co 14012 and Co 98014 are identified as common varieties for cultivating both tropical and sub-tropical India, however, the latest variety Co 14012 was found superior in morpho-physiological, yield and quality to Co 98014.
      • Based on our study, the identified Co 14012 is being utilized in the breeding programme for developing climate-resilient sugarcane clones and the same variety is currently evaluated for the multilocational trail in both tropical and Sub-tropical conditions for adaptability and stability for yield and quality.

Photo (A)Field view of sugarcane variety Co 86032 at 15 days after planting (DAP), (B) Effect of early post-emergence application of metribuzin at 45 DAP (at the time of partial earthing up) (C) T8 (unweeded control) at 45 DAP, (D) Weed infestation before application of herbicides at 65 DAP, (E) T1 (Topramezone + atrazine) + hand weeding at 160 DAP, (F) T3 (Tembotrione + atrazine) + hand weeding at 160 DAP, (G) T5 (Halosulfuron methyl + metribuzin) + hand weeding at 160 DAP, (H): T7 Three hand weeding at 160 DAP, (I) Unweeded control at 160 DAP

Research findings details

  • Severe weed infestations in widely spaced sugarcane plant crops can be effectively managed through an integrated approach involving a sequential application strategy with an early post-emergence application of metribuzin at 1250 g a.i. ha⁻¹ at 10 days after planting (DAP), followed by a post-emergence tank mix application at 65 DAP.
  • The tank mix may consist of either topramezone at 29.4 g a.i. ha⁻¹ + atrazine at 625 g a.i. ha⁻¹, or tembotrione at 120 g a.i. ha⁻¹ + atrazine at 625 g a.i. ha⁻¹, or halosulfuron methyl at 67.5 g a.i. ha⁻¹ + metribuzin at 525 g a.i. ha⁻¹. This is followed by one hand weeding at 120 DAP.
  • This integrated approach is highly cost-effective, offering a higher benefit-cost ratio, superior weed control efficiency, and broad-spectrum weed management. Importantly, no phytotoxic effects were observed, and significant improvements in cane growth and yield were recorded with 60% reduction in manual labor requirements, contributing to overall farm efficiency.

Research findings details

  • The method developed complies with European Commission’s regulations for Trace Residue Analysis.
  • By adopting this method, the persistence and dissipation kinetics of halosulfuron-methyl was studied. The initial deposits of halosulfuron-methyl were 0.288 and 0.501 µgg-1 at the recommended dose (RD) and double the recommended dose (2RD), respectively. A week after application (7 DAA), the residues were 0.177 and 0.346 µgg-1, respectively for RD and 2RD.
  • The residues got dissipated to a level of about 95% within 75 days of application with the half-life of 8.85 and 9.12 days.
  • Developed technology for the production of novel products from sugarcane viz., freeze dried sugarcane juice, cane jam, cane dietary fibre food products, liquid jaggery processing without any chemical additives, novel frozen sugarcane juice products like frozen sugarcane juice, kulfi and softy ice cream and wine
  • Associated with the development of a process for producing biopesticide formulation of entomopathogenic nematodes with extended shelf life
  • Associated with the development of standardized novel process for formulating a low-cost scarabid-specific bacillus thuringiensis biopesticide for management of white grub Holotrichia serrata