Crop Production
Crop Production Division
The Crop Production Division is headed by Dr. P. Gopalasundaram (Principal Scientist & I/C Division).
The Thrust Areas of Research for the Crop Production Division are:
Basic
- Development of integrated nutrient management practices and low cost production technologies involving microbes, unconventional sources of manures, organic recycling etc
- Identify clones suitable for Multi-ratooning
- Irrigation management for higher water use efficiency
- Management of abiotic stress (drought, salinity and waterlogging) Studies on integrated weed management
- Physiological studies on drought tolerance and evaluation of elite clones for drought tolerance.
- Physiological basis of salt resistance in sugarcane and evaluation of co-canes for salt resistance
Strategic
- Screening varieties for low-cost production technologies- Studies on maximising sugarcane productivity through cropping system approach
- Screening IVT/AVT genotypes for resistance to salinity and drought
- Photoperiodic induction and synchronization of flowering in sugarcane clones
- Investigations on the hormonal regulation of flowering in sugarcane
- Evaluation of promising clones and breeding stocks for drought, salinity and waterlogging
- Physiological studies on ratooning in sugarcane varieties
- Studies on waterlogging resistance in sugarcane clones
- Investigations on the mechanism of sucrose synthesis and accumulation in high and low sugar varieties
Applied
- Screening of varieties for higher calorific value of bagasse for co-generation
- Developing technology for conversion of sugarcane biomass to biofuels
- Enrichment of soil through incorporation of trash after composting
- Use of distillery effluents and sugar factory wastes (press-mud) after proper treatment to enhance microbial activity and nutrient status
Anticipatory
- Studies to generate basic data required for developing crop models for yield predictions
- Studies on planting geometry for adoption of micro-irrigation systems
- Studies on tackling operational problems in micro irrigation systems
- Studies on agrotechniques for mechanised sugarcane farming
- Impact of climate change in sugarcane agriculture
- Investigations on PEP carboxylase in Saccharum species for genetic transformation
- Investigations on the mechanism of sucrose synthesis and accumulation in high and low sugar varieties
- Identification of marker gene for floral induction
Research Programmes
The Division has 4 major programmes of research:
- IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY OF PROMISING SUGARCANE VARIETIES BY INTEGRATED, COST EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE CROP MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES - 5 projects are in operation under this programme.
- PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON GROWTH PRODUCTIVITY AND FLOWERING IN SUGARCANE - 3 projects are in operation under this programme.
- STUDIES ON SUGARCANE CHEMISTRY, MATURITY, JUICE AND JAGGERY QUALITY, PRE / POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS 2 projects are in operation under this programme
- STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF CERTAIN SOIL CONDITIONS & FERTILISERS ON NUTRIENT UPTAKE, YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGARCANE - 5 projects are in operation under this programme
carried under the following disciplines-
- Agronomy
- Plant Physiology
- Agricultural Chemistry
- Soil Science
- Microbiology