Breeding for Drought Tolerance in Sugarcane: Indian Perspective

Drought is a common abiotic disaster in India, affecting the states that are prominent for sugarcane production, viz., Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. As sugarcane is a high water requirement crop with a long life cycle, water deficit conditions adversely affect its growth and production especially during the key water requirement time i.e., the tillering and grand growth phases which in turn, critically affects the sugar content in sugarcane. Sugarcane undergoes a variety of morpho-physiological, biochemical, molecular alterations, adaptations, and reactions to cope up with drought stress. Drought tolerance in sugarcane is bestowed by the traits of having a deep and widespread root system as well as root dispersion and abundance, and leaf characteristics which are evident in drought-tolerant genotypes such as Badila, Co 285, and Co 312. Nearly 40 sugarcane varieties having drought resistance potential have been identified under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Sugarcane in the last two decades. Some clones of Saccharum barberi, Hemja, Khari, Katha, and Ikhri are also recognized for drought tolerance. Additionally, molecular markers and potential genes associated with drought tolerance in sugarcane have also been identified like SCAR (sequence characterized amplified region) markers, Superoxide dismutase, and Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase genes. With the transgenic approach, Erianthus arundinaceus Glyoxalase III (EaGlyIII), Arabidopsis VacuolarPyrophosphatase (AVP1) and tomato ethylene-responsive factor 1 genes have successfully been identified for developing drought-tolerant transgenic sugarcane in India.