INTEGRATED WEEDS CONTROL IN SUGARCANE RATOON MANAGEMENT WITH BIOTECHNOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES

Abstract

Sugarcane crop is a cash and industrial crop contributing 0.7% in Pakistan’s GDP. It is providing raw material for sugar mills operating in the country. The average cane yield in Punjab is 742mounds per acre. The progressive cane farmers is achieving more than 1500 mound per acre yield by growing latest varieties like CPF-249, HSF-240, CPF-234, CPF-250, CPF-251, CPF-252 and CPF-253 released by Sugarcane Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad. Each variety has
different features and needs different inputs and management requirements for plant and ratoon crop. Weeds management especially of narrow leaves is a difficult agronomic approach being
faced in sugarcane. In most agriculture farmlands of sugarcane, weed management is predominantly reliant on herbicide application. Other agronomic methods and agro-technological manipulations were also being practiced for improving the productivity of sugarcane ratoons. It
includes dismantling of ridges, stubble shaving, sub-soiling within rows, inter-culturing within rows and earthing up end of May. But these manipulations were adopted at small scale in farm area of
sugar mills and few progressive farmers in Punjab. The weeds control is mainly done with use of weedicides of pre-emergence and post-emergence groups. However, the overuse and misuse of herbicides has resulted in the uptrend of herbicide-resistant weeds. Many biotechnological and molecular strategies can be focused on alterations of plant architecture, increased drought adaptation capabilities, increased salt tolerance, and increased pest and disease resistance and to reduce herbicide-resistant weeds. It is concluded that modern molecular approaches like Gene discovery, “omics,” and genome editing technologies as a tool for current and future weeds
management strategies in sugarcane plant and ratoon crop.