Field Crop 2025, Vol.8, No.3, 102-112 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 107 root is suitable for multi-year stubble retention are also part of the evaluation indicators. In recent years, with the advancement of mechanization in sugarcane production, breeding varieties suitable for mechanization has become a new trend. Mechanization-adapted varieties usually have medium plant height, upright stems, strong lodging resistance, and easy leaf shedding (Liang et al., 2025), such as "Guitang 66" (GT66) cultivated in the regional trial of new sugarcane varieties in Guangxi, which is superior to the standard variety (Figure 2). Figure 2 The morphological development of Saccharum officinarumL. cultivar GT66 (Adopted from Liang et al., 2025) 5 Breeding Strategies for Multi-target Superior Varieties 5.1 Germplasm innovation and trait discovery The basis of multi-target breeding lies in the rich germplasm diversity and trait variation (Lu et al., 204). Therefore, the innovative utilization of germplasm resources related to fresh sugarcane should be strengthened. Make full use of wild species and special varieties in the existing sugarcane germplasm bank. Wild relatives (such as bamboo sugarcane and wild sugarcane of the genus Saccharum) contain favorable genes such as disease resistance, stress resistance and special flavor. For example, there is a broad-spectrum rust resistance gene Bru1 in wild sugarcane (S. spontaneum) (Chen et al., 2025). Some wild genotypes also have the characteristics of high fiber and unique flavor. These excellent genes can be introduced into the cultivated variety gene pool through distant hybridization and multi-generation backcrossing (Li et al., 2023). In addition, new mutations can be created by mutagenesis and biotechnology. For example, unconventional plant height, stem color or flavor mutants can be obtained through physical and chemical mutagenesis or somatic mutation; exogenous pathway genes (such as aromatic substance synthesis genes, antioxidant metabolism genes, etc.) can be introduced through genetic engineering to broaden the spectrum of sugarcane traits (Govindakurup and Mohanraj, 2024). Promoting multi-parent composite hybridization is also a way to increase trait diversity, that is, incorporating the traits of multiple excellent parents into a hybrid combination, and screening offspring that inherit multiple target traits at the same time. 5.2 Intelligent multi-trait selection In multi-target breeding, it is difficult to handle the selection decision of multiple traits at the same time. Traditionally, breeders rely on their experience to balance various traits, while modern technology can introduce intelligent data analysis to assist decision-making. Use genomic selection (GS) to achieve simultaneous improvement of multiple traits. GS establishes a genome-wide breeding value (GEBV) prediction model by measuring a large number of molecular markers and trait expressions in the training population, and then directly screens the selection population based on molecular information. This method has been explored in sugarcane, and studies have shown that GS is expected to shorten the sugarcane breeding cycle by about 30% and improve yield, sugar content, and disease resistance in earlier generations.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==