Agriculture

More than half of the world's sugar is derived from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum). By far the largest sugarcane cultivating country is Brazil, followed by India, China and Thailand. Losses due to pests and weeds are estimated at more than half of the actual yield.

In 2005, worldwide over a thousand millions tons of sugarcane were produced from 19.8 million hectares.

Utilisation

Sugarcane is used

in foodstuffs and ingredients:

• Sugar

• Molasses, a syrup-like by-product of sugar production is the raw material for rum and other spirits

As animal feed:

• Chaffed sugarcane as well as the bagasse, the fibrous remains of the plants after sugar production are fed to animals

As energy crops, renewable primary products:

• Bioethanol used fro fuel is produced from sugarcane and molasses. Brazil is the world leader in the use of bioethanol as fuel for cars, where biofuel has replaced almost 20% of the mineral oil and is derived from sugarcane. In Brazil, about 4.5 of the agriculturally used land is cultivated with sugarcane for the production of ethanol.
• Bagasse is used as a fuel, for producing electricity, for manufacturing paper and cardboard as well as material similar to pressboard for furniture, doors and in car manufacturing.

Gene technology: Aims of research and development

Agronomic traits

Resistance against pathogens

• Virus resistance, e.g. against mosaic viruses

• Fungal resistance

• Bacterial resistance

Weed control

• Tolerance to herbicides containing the active ingredient glyphosate

Resistance to pests

• Insect resistance, in particular against borers, the larvae of certain butterflies.

Adaptation to climate and location factors

• Drought resistance

• higher tolerance to salt for cultivation on high-saline soils

Renewable primary products, energy crops

Production of bioethanol

• increased sugar content

Production of pharmaceutically active substances

• Molecular Pharming: Use as a bioreactor to produce pharmaceuticals

Field trials with GM sugarcane