Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol.

27, 2010
______________________________________________________________________________________

OVERVIEW OF SUGARCANE BREEDING

IN MAINLAND CHINA

By

LIN YANQUAN1, DENG ZUHU1 and DENG HAIHUA2

1
Key Lab of Genetic Improvement for Sugarcane, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002 China
2
Guangzhou Sugarcane Industry Institute, Guangzhou Guandong China,510316
[email protected] and [email protected]

KEYWORDS: Breeding, Sugar Production,

Sugarcane, China.

Abstract
THIS PAPER briefly reviews the history of sugarcane breeding in mainland China, major
sugarcane research institutes in different provinces, and the development and adoption
of new varieties in the past 10 years. It also highlights important benefits and progress
in introducing sugarcane varieties from overseas and Taiwan, China. Progress in
utilising basic germplasm for sugarcane improvement in mainland China is also briefly
reviewed. Challenges facing sugarcane breeding in China and potential ways to address
these are proposed.
Introduction
China is currently the 3rd largest sugarcane producing country in the world, following Brazil
and India. Sugarcane is mainly grown in south-western China. In the 2007–08 season, 1.47 million
hectares of sugarcane was grown in China and produced 13.19 million tonnes of sugar.
Improvement of sugarcane varieties has played a critical role in the Chinese sugarcane
industry. The central and local governments have therefore given a high priority to the program of
sugarcane breeding, and sugarcane improvement through breeding has made considerable progress
in recent years.
History of cane breeding in mainland China
Chinese people have cultivated sugarcane for more than 2000 years. In the early days,
(before 1930) of sugar production in mainland China, the principal varieties were Bamboo Cane
and Lu Cane, which were Saccharum sinense Roxb (Chen et al., 2003).
From 1932 to 1934, POJ2725, POJ2878 and POJ2883 were introduced from the Philippines,
and Badila from Australia, but only POJ2878 and POJ2725 became major varieties for sugar
production. F134 and Co419 (originally from India) were introduced to the mainland from Taiwan
in 1947. F134 became the most popular variety in the sugarcane growing areas in mainland China
until early 1980 (Peng et al., 1990).
In 1953. a sugarcane breeding station was established in Yachen Sanya (formerly known as
Yaxian county), Hainan Island. It is located in a tropical region (18°27’N) and sugarcane can flower
in the field (Figure 1). Sugarcane seeds from this station were sent to sugarcane research institutes
in different provinces (Table 1). This station can make 1200 crosses from 1600 flowers every year.
Besides this station, Ruili hybrid station can provide about 100 crosses. The number of seedlings is
1
Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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about 0.8 million over the country each year.

Fig. 1—(a) Parental plots in the sugarcane breeding station in Yachen, Sanya
Hainan province; (b) Crossing house at the same sugarcane breeding station.

Table 1—The main sugarcane research institutes in different provinces in mainland China

Abbreviated Chinese name

Institute Name Location and prefix of varieties selected
at each location

Guangzhou Sugarcane Industry Research YueTang – YT

Guangzhou,Guangdong
Institute (GSIRI) YueGan – YG

Sugarcane Breeding Station, GSIRI Yacheng, Hainan YaCheng – YC

Guangxi Sugarcane Research Institute, Guangxi

Nanning, Guangxi GuiTang – GT
Academy of Agricultural Science (GAAS)

Sugarcane Synthetic Research Institute, Fujian

Fuzhou, Fujian Funong – FN
Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU)

Sugarcane Research Institute, Fujian Academy of

Zhangzhou, Fujian Mintang – MT
Agricultural Science (FAAS)

Sugarcane Research Institute, Yunnan Academy Kaiyun, Yunnan and Yunzhe – YZ

of Agricultural Science (YAAS) Ruilli, Yunnan YunRui – YR

Sugarcane Research Institute Gangzhou, Jiangxi Gangzhe – GZ

Sugarcane Industry Research Institute Zhizong, Sichuan Chuantang – CT

Economic Crop Research Institute, Guangdong

Guangdong,Guangzhou Yuenong – YN
Academy of Agricultural Science (GAAS)

Since the 1950s to 1999, more than 100 sugarcane varieties have been bred and released for
commercial sugarcane production in mainland China. Of these GT11 (CP49-50 × Co419), YT57-
423 (F108 × F134), YT63-237 (Co419 × CP33-310) and MT70-611 (CP49-50 × F134) have
became dominant varieties for a period in different provinces (Lin et al., 2004; Tan and He, 2004).

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Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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From 1999 to 2009, 42 new sugarcane varieties have been released for commercial sugarcane
production (Table 2).
Table 2—New varieties released in recent 10 years and their parents.
Variety name Female parent Male parent Identified by Released year
GT91-116 (GT19) ROC1 YC85-55 National 2005
GT93-103 (GT23) ROC1 YC71-374 National 2005
GT94-116 (GT24) GT71-5 YC84-153 National 2005
GT96-44 (GT25) CP72-1210 YC71-374 National 2005
GT96-211 (GT26) Pindar GT11 National 2007
GT86-267 (GT16) YT59-65 Ya72-399 National 1999
GT84-332 (GT15) HN56-12 Neijian59-782 National 1999
GT89-5 (GT17) GT11 YC62-40 National 1999
GT94-119 (GT21) GZ75-65 YC71-374 National 2005
GT90-95 (GT18) CP65-357 F172 Guangxi 2001
YT89-240 (YT48) CP72-1210 GT11 National 2005
YT91-976 (YT49) YN73-204 CP67-412 National 2005
YT91-1102 (YT51) YN73-204 YT84-3 National 2007
YT93-159 YN73-204 CP72-1210 Guangdong 2001
YT85-177 YT57-423 CP57-614+CP72-1312 National 1999
YT96-835 (YT49) Co419 ROC10 National 2007
YT96-86 (YT50) YT85-177 Zang74-141 National 2007
FN91-3623 CP72-1210 GT11 National 2002
FN91-4621 CP72-1210 Zang74-141 National 2002
FN91-4710 CP72-1210 Ke5 Fujian 2004
FN94-0403 CP72-1210 MT69-263 National 2005
FN98-1103 Cp72-1210 Zang74-141 National 2009
FN95-1702 CP72-1210 YN73-204 National 2005
FN83-36 CP49-50 FN57-18 National 1999
FN81-745 YT59-65 CP36-105 National 1999
MT88-103 Co1001 YC82-96 National 1999
MT92-649 ROC1 Co1001 National 2005
MT86-2121 Q641 CP49-50 National 2005
MT92-505 Co1001 CP73-1547 national 2007
MT99-596 Co1001 YC73-226 National 2009
YZ85-151 Gang64-137 Chuang57-416 National 1999
YZ92-19 Gang64-137 CP67-412 National 2005
YZ89-351 YC82-96 GT11 National 2005
YZ94-375 CP72-1210 YC73-512 National 2007
YZ99-596 Co419 YC85-881 National 2009
* Variety identified by National means that the variety can be planted in main production
provinces. Identified by one province means can only be grown in this province; before
extending in other provinces, further testing may need to be done in those provinces.

Cane production and cane yield and quality have been improved very quickly in mainland
China in the past 50 years. Cane production in mainland China has risen from 12.4 Mt in 1961 to
over 97.5 Mt in 2008, while the harvested area has increased from less than 0.3 Mha to more than
1.5 Mha (Figure 2). Over the same period, cane yield has increased by about 40%, from under 50
t/ha to over 70 t/ha, representing an increase of 40% or an average 0.43 t/ha/year over 47 years. The
average sucrose content, over this same period, has increased from under 13% to more than 14.5%,
3

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Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
______________________________________________________________________________________

with some varieties now providing an average over 16% (from October to April) (Figure 3 and
Table 3). Success in the improvement of sucrose content is attributed at least partly to the use of
introduced varieties with high sucrose, such as CP and ROC varieties, as parents.

Fig. 2—Cane yield and area in mainland China 1961–2008.

Fig. 3—Cane yield and sucrose content of sugar in mainland China.

Table 3—Cane yield and sucrose content of new varieties in the sixth series of
national evaluation trials.
Cane Mean sucrose content (%)
Varieties
(t/ha) Means of February Means of November–March
RB76-5418 123.92 15.33 14.14
FN02-3924 108.73 17.08 16.28
FN99-20169 124.96 16.18 15.48
GN99-591 117.05 15.87 15.38
GT98-296 116.15 16.50 14.84
GY6 128.23 15.29 14.56
MT95-261 122.57 15.57 14.26
MT96-6016 124.36 15.76 15.1
YT16 137.99 15.28 14.6
YT18 110.53 16.78 15.92
YZ99-91 108.62 16.53 15.5
CK1 (ROC16) 108.67 15.44 14.76
CK2 (ROC22) 116.21 15.60 14.44

Sugarcane varieties introduced and used in mainland China

A large number of overseas sugarcane varieties have been introduced into mainland China
since 1978, such as the CP series of USA, Q series of Australia, PR series of Puerto Rico, RB series
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Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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of Brazil and ROC series of Taiwan, China. After quarantine, most of them have been used as
parental clones in the breeding program.
The CP and ROC series (Wu et al., 2008), in particular, CP72-1210, CP84-1148, ROC1 and
ROC10, were used most frequently.
Some introduced varieties were suitable for commercial production in some cane growing
areas and adopted directly as varieties. After assessment trials, such clones have been released as
commercial varieties.
The most important of these have been ROC10, ROC16 and ROC22 bred by Taiwan
Sugarcane Research Institute in China, and introduced to mainland China in 1980–2000.
The planting area of these three clones has expanded continuously due to their high cane
yield, high sucrose content and adaptation to a range of environmental conditions.
In the 2006–2007 season, these three clones accounted for 70 percent of the total planting
area of mainland China.
Basic hybridisation program in mainland China
China is rich in sugarcane germplasm resources. Since the 1980s, Chinese sugarcane
breeders have collected a large number of wild cane resources from different provinces and
maintained most of these in the National Sugarcane Germplasm Nursery, Kaiyuan City, Yunnan
province (Table 4).
Among them, S. spontaneum and E. arundinaceus are more prominent than other wild
species.
Table 4—Genetic resources maintained in National Sugarcane Germplasm
Nursery, Kaiyuan, Yunnan
Genus Species Number
S. officinarum 36
S. barberi 8
S. sinense 21
Saccharum S. robustum 6
S. spontaneum 663
Landrace 69
Commercial varieties 1158
E. Arundinaceus 153
Erianthus E. fulvus 4
E. rockii 9
N. porphyrocoma 13
Narenga
N. fallax 2
M. floridulus 10
Miscanthus
M. sinensis 3
Imperata I. cylindrica 2
Total 2163

As soon as the Sugarcane Breeding program was set up on Hainan Island, in 1953, Chinese
sugarcane breeders began working on a basic hybridisation program by crossing the local S.
spontaneum with Badila (S. offinarum).
This effort produced two high performing F1 hybrids; YC 58-43 and YC 58-47 (Deng et al.,
2004), which in turn have produced 5 and 9 commercial varieties, respectively (Figure 4).
In recent years, Chinese sugarcane breeders have used E. arundinaceus to cross with
S. officinarum in order to introduce the characteristics of resistance to disease and vigour in
E. arundinaceus into sugarcane. Some promising clones have been bred from the cross between
Erianthus and Saccharum (Figure 5).
5

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Lin, Y. et al. Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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Fig. 4—Pedigrees of S. spont. YC Derivative Varieties (Note: Those marked with ‘ * ‘ are
released varieties).

Badila E. Arundinaceus Badila F1 E. arun. FI BC1 BC2

Fig. 5—Saccharum officinarum, Erianthus arundinaceus and their hybrids.

Selection program in mainland China

The selection programs conducted in China are almost the same in all research institutes in
mainland China. Clones are first tested in an experiment station at an institute for 5–6 years.
This is followed by testing at multiple sites outside the original institute for 4–5 years. An
example of such a program, conducted in Fujian province, is shown in Table 5.
In addition to selection schemes operated by each individual institute, in 1996, China began
a new project to evaluate sugarcane varieties in a nationally coordinated series of trials.
The project was named the National Sugarcane Variety Cooperative Regional Test
(NSVCRT), and was coordinated by Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and supported by
Crop Variety Examination and Approval Committee, Ministry of Agriculture in China.
Seven series of regional tests have been carried out and more than 110 varieties were
assessed in the tests, of which 55 varieties have been approved and released.
6

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Table 5—Sugarcane selection scheme in Sugarcane Synthetic Research Institute, Fujian Agriculture and
Forestry University (FAFU).
Year and stage Site Population size Experimental design and selection criteria
200 crosses, Seedlings planted with 33 cm between plants and 100 cm
Y1 Single
FAFU 80 000 between rows.
seedling
seedlings Selection: vigour, stalk number, diameter, height and Brix
4000 – 5000 Augmented design, 2.5 m long, 1.2 m row spacing, with
Y2 First clonal trial FAFU clones commercial variety in every 30 rows. Selected in November.
Plant cane only. Selection criteria are similar to Y1.
300–500 clones Augmented design, 3 row plots, 8 m long, 1.2 m row spacing,
Y3 Second clonal with commercial variety every 20 rows. Selection in plant cane.
FAFU
trial Visual screening for smut and mosaic resistance, juice analysis,
estimating cane and sugar yield.
30–50 clones RCB, 3-row plots, 3 replicates, 8 m long, 1.2 m row spacing.
Y4 Preparation Selection in plant cane only, testing stalk numbers, diameter,
FAFU
trial height and yield, sucrose analysis, disease screening for smut
and mosaic.
Y5-6 Comparative 10–20 clones 5-row plots, 3 replicates, selection on 2 plant crops and one
FAFU
trial ratoon crop. Selection criteria same as in preparation trial.
10–14 clones 5–6 row plots, 3–5 replications. Selection in 2 plant cane crops
Y7-9 Regional trial 8–12 sites and one ratoon crop. Selection criteria same as in comparative
trial.
Y9-11 5–8 clones 10–20 row plot, unreplicated, 2 plant crops and one ratoon crop.
8–12 sites
Demonstration Yield estimate and sucrose analysis
1–2 varieties Approval by the National Sugarcane Variety Examination and
Y11-12 Approval Approval
Approval Committee for release

Issues in sugarcane breeding in mainland China

An issue of concern in China is that currently the planting areas of three ROC varieties
accounted for 70% of the total sugarcane area in mainland China and exceeded 90% in Guangxi.
The growing areas of new varieties bred in mainland China only accounted for 30%. Adaptability
and yield stability of these newly bred varieties are commonly poorer than that of ROC series
varieties. However, many of them have higher sucrose or higher TCH than the ROC series varieties.
It is considered greater progress will be made by increasing the scale of sugarcane breeding
in China, which is limited by financial input by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of
Finance of Chinese Government. Substantial financial support from the government for the long
term should provide a golden chance for sugarcane improvement.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the following people for providing information used in this paper: Prof
Chen Rukai from Sugarcane Synthetic Research Institute, FAFU; Mr. Deng Haihua, Guangzhou
Sugarcane Industry Research Institute; Mr. Wu Caiwen, Sugarcane Research Institute YAAS, Mr.
Liu Shaomou, Sugarcane Breeding Station, GSIR, and Dr. Yang Rongzhong Guangxi Sugarcane
Research Institute, GAAS. This study was partly supported by National Technical System for
Sugarcane Industry and National 948 Key Project 2006–G37(2).
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Chen, R.K., Lin, Y.Q. and Zhang Muqing (2003). Theory and practice of modern sugarcane
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derivative sugarcane varieties in mainland China. In: Sustainable sugarcane and sugar
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REGARD SUR L’AMÉLIORATION GÉNÉTIQUE

DE LA CANNE À SUCRE EN CHINE CONTINENTALE

Par

LIN YANQUAN1, DENG ZUHU1 et DENG HAIHUA2

1
Key Lab of Genetic Improvement for Sugarcane, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002 China
2
Guangzhou Sugarcane Industry Institute, Guangzhou Guandong China,510316
[email protected] and [email protected]

MOTS CLÉS: Amélioration Génétique,

Production du Sucre, Canne à Sucre, Chine.
Résumé
CET ARTICLE passe en revue brièvement l’historique de l’hybridation de la canne à sucre en Chine
continentale, les principales institutions de recherche dans les différentes provinces, le
développement ainsi que l’adoption des nouvelles variétés de canne à sucre durant ces 10 dernières
années. Il met en exergue les avantages et les progrès accomplis en introduisant des variétés de
canne à sucre de l’étranger et de Taiwan, Chine. Le progrès accompli avec le matériel génétique de
base est aussi brièvement examiné. Les défis auxquels l’amélioration génétique de la canne à sucre
est confrontée, et les moyens potentiels de les aborder sont proposés.

VISIÓN GENERAL SOBRE MEJORAMIENTO

DE CAÑA EN CHINA CONTINETAL

Por

LIN YANQUAN1, DENG ZUHU1 and DENG HAIHUA2

1
Key Lab of Genetic Improvement for Sugarcane, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002 China
2
Guangzhou Sugarcane Industry Institute, Guangzhou Guandong China,510316
[email protected] and [email protected]

PALABRAS CLAVES: Mejoramiento Genético, Producción de Azúcar,

Caña de azúcar en China.
Resumen
ESTE artículo revisa rápidamente la historia del mejoramiento de caña en China continental, los
principales institutos de investigación en las diferentes provincias y el desarrollo y adopción de
Variedades en los últimos 10 años. También se destaca los importantes beneficios y progresos al
introducir variedades desde otros países y Taiwan. Los progresos logrados al usar el germoplasma
básico de China son también brevemente revisados. Futuros retos y caminos potenciales para
trabajar en mejoramiento de caña en China también son analizados.

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