Improving biomass production and partitioning in sugarcane: theory and practice

Results suggest that there is scope for improving yields but that the optimisation process should include all components of the sucrose production process in sugarcane, including radiation capture, net photosynthetic efficiency and stalk partitioning. Sufficient understanding of the interactions between these components is lacking. There is a need for models to distinguish between photosynthesis and respiration and the strong dependence of both on temperature should be taken into account. Sinks for leaf, stalk structure and sucrose need to be considered separately to adequately understand the effect of temperature on partitioning.