Question

Name the prominent South Indian and North Indian species of sugarcane used for crossbreeding. List the desired qualities of the hybrid cane obtained from this cross.

Answer 1

Sugarcane is a perennial grass species that comes under the genus Saccharum. The plant is known for sucrose accumulation in its fibrous stalks. It is an economically important flowering plant that is used to make cane sugar. With the help of cross-breeding various new and superior hybrid species of sugarcane have been developed.

Complete answer: Sugarcane is an important crop used for sugar production. Other important products obtained from sugarcane are molasses, rum, bagasse, falernum, etc. It is the world’s second-largest crop to be grown by production quantity. Sugarcane grows best in tropical and subtropical regions. The major sugar-producing can species is Saccharum officinarum. It is a large growing species with stalks rich in sucrose. It is one of the most productive cultivars of sugarcane. It has several hybrid species produced by crossbreeding. The hybrid that is obtained by cross-breeding Saccharum barberi from North India and Saccharum oficinarum from South India is the most productive sugarcane species in India. The North Indian species had poor sugar content and gave a lesser yield. To overcome this issue the South Indian species which have a thicker stem and more sugar content is crossed with the North Indian species. Due to this beneficial cross-breeding, North India gained a high yielding and high sugar content hybrid which grows well in the North Indian habitat. The new variant shows combined desirable traits of both species. It gives a higher yield, has thick stems, high sugar content, and the ability to grow in areas of North India.

Note: The Saccharum officinarum is native to New Guinea. It can be majorly cross-bred with Saccharum sinense and Saccharum barberi. Hybrids produced due to this crossbreeding are called complex hybrids. $70$ of the world’s total sugar comes from the complex hybrids. The byproducts of sugar cane production are used as feed for livestock.