Sugarcane Under Pressure: An Overview of Biochemical and Physiological Studies of Abiotic Stress

Sugarcane is now an extremely important crop, particularly in tropical countries. Its use for sugar and ethanol production is critical and cultivated area and biomass yield are increasing. Environmental pollution by anthropogenic activities is perhaps one of the most disturbing problems the world is facing and the cultivation of crops is subjected to this pollution, which may result in drastic effects on crop production. Curiously, the literature on the study of abiotic stresses on sugarcane is very limited, indicating that there is far more research to be done and investigations on this topic need to be prioritized. In this article, we have tried to focus on four key abiotic stresses, drought, temperature, salt and toxic metals, to which sugarcane is most likely to be subjected and reviewed the scarce current literature on the subject. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.