Final assessment stage selection trials (FATs) in sugarcane breeding programs are expensive but critical in recommending new clones for cultivation within each major growing region. Traditionally, clones selected from local early stage trials were given priority for...
Researchers routinely use ‘blocking’ as a technique to reduce the natural variation within field experiments. This enables treatments to be compared without the confounding effects of differences in environmental factors such as soil type. However, it is...
The hybridisation of noble sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum, with its wild relative S. spontaneum in the early 1900s was responsible for greatly improved resistance to a number of diseases, increased vigour and improved ratooning. New crosses made in Australia with S....
Each year, sugarcane breeders in each region plant and assess new populations of clones in Clonal Assessment Trials (CAT, target 2,000-2,500) and Final Assessment Trials (FAT, target 150-250). These clonal populations are selected originally from seedling families...
