Sugarcane Production: Environmental Impacts and Socioeconomic Issues

Sugarcane is one of the most important C4 cash crops, being the primary source of sugar worldwide, as well as for its use in energy production and various by-products. Sugarcane production, however, can have a number of negative environmental impacts. This new volume, Sugarcane Production: Environmental Impacts and Socioeconomics Issues, looks at sugarcane production in connection with its environmental impact and socioeconomic value and also offers innovative strategies to mitigate environmental damage from sugarcane production.

Covering myriad issues in sugarcane production, the volume emphasizes sustainable approaches, including employing climate smart technologies, considering biochemical and physiological traits for selecting drought-tolerant sugarcane species, employing state-of-the-art irrigation management techniques, managing biotic stress, applying mechanization in sugarcane cultivation, and more. It looks at environmental diversification as a measure for sustainable sugarcane growth and provides insights into various sugarcane cultivation systems, such as sugarcane plant-ratoon system.

Sugarcane growing areas are gradually expanding because of sugarcane diversification potential with co-products and by-products, and effective, efficient, and eco-friendly strategies and policies need to be in place for sustainable sugarcane production. This volume provides a valuable resource for agricultural specialists, agro-industries, policymakers, faculty and students in the area of agricultural sciences.

Krishan K. Verma, PhD, is a Principal Scientist and Foreign Expert at the Sugarcane Research Institute at the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement, China. He has 14 years of research experience in biotic and abiotic stresses, such as environmental toxicology, plant physiology, bioengineering, and nanobioscience. He has been included in the list of world’s top 2% of scientists by Elsevier and Stanford University. He is a regional editor for the journal Fluoride and also serves as an editorial board member for various peer-reviewed journals.

Xiu-Peng Song, PhD, an Associate Professor at the Sugarcane Research Institute at the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Sugarcane Research Center, China. His research focuses on plant physiology and biochemistry of stress resistance, occurrence mechanisms, and comprehensive control of diseases and insect pests in sugarcane. He has presided over four funded projects and participated in 16 projects that involved national and international cooperation. He has published over 65 scientific publications, three book chapters, and one book (Springer).

Lin Xu, PhD, is an Associate Researcher at the Sugarcane Research Institute at the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. She is engaged in conventional breeding and cultivation of sugarcane, innovation of sugarcane germplasm resources, and key technology innovation of the sugarcane seed industry. She has participated in and presided over several provincial, ministerial, and prefectural level projects and has been granted several invention and utility model patents. She has published over 40 scientific publications in high repute journals.

Rajan Bhatt, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Soil Science at Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Punjab Agricultural University, India. He has more than 13 years of research experience in enhancing farmers’ livelihoods and more than five years in enhancing sugarcane crop growth and yield and insect-pest management. He has organized and participated in numerous training programs, seminars, and workshops nationally and internationally and has also delivered keynote lectures on modern agricultural technologies and soil health management. He has earned many awards for his work.

Yang-Rui Li, PhD, is a Professor and Director of the Sugarcane Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He also serves as Chief-Expert of the National Joint Research Program for Elite Sugarcane Variety Development in China. He is President of the International Association for Professionals of Sugar and Integrated Technologies, Vice-President of the Society for Sugar Research and Promotion, and President of the Chinese Sugarcane Industry Association for Technological Innovation.. He has published 16 books and more than 1000 papers and has received 23 scientific research achievement awards from the Chinese government to date as well as 14 awards from international organizations.