Genetic Mastery for Improved Crop Yields

Sugarcane is a globally important crop, mainly harvested for sugar production. Despite significant advancements in breeding techniques, which have adapted sugarcane to various environments and increased its resistance to pathogens, sugar yield improvements have recently hit a plateau. This stagnation in yield enhancements can be attributed to the limited genetic diversity within breeding populations, extended breeding cycles, and particularly the complex structure of its polyploid genome. This complexity has hindered breeders from leveraging modern genomic technologies that have benefited other crops.