Scientists developing cauliflower-bearing sugarcane
Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 19:30 IST
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Bangalore: Scientists in Tamil Nadu plan to develop sugarcane whose stem yields sugar and its upper portion would grow a cauliflower-like vegetable. Scientists at the Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) in Coimbatore hope to achieve this with the help of a cane variety brought from New Guinea some 30 years ago, and maintained at the institute's field gene bank in Kannur, Kerala. The New Guinea canes, called Saccharum edule are mutants of Saccharum robustum - the progenitor of commercial varieties. "They have very less sugar (four-six percent sucrose in juice compared to 18-21 percent in commercial sugarcane varieties) and a very high percentage of fibre and hence unsuitable for sugar extraction," said M.N. Premachandran, principal scientist for crop improvement at the institute. But the natives of New Guinea grow these canes because they produce edible heads like cauliflower that are eaten as vegetable after boiling or roasting. Scientists believe that the flower modification in New Guinea varieties are due to mutated cauliflower genes, according to a report in the September issue of Current Science journal. "With identification and cloning of the genes responsible for the cauliflower phenotype, it will be possible to manipulate the flowering genes in commercial sugarcane varieties and the cauliflower phenotype can be brought in them," explained Premachandran. "We are yet to clone this gene. We are exploring the ways to transfer the character to cultivated sugarcane," the scientist added. According to Premachandran, many of the popular sugarcane varieties have large cluster of flowers that are thrown away. By modifying these flowers into cauliflower, "one more economic product can be obtained from sugarcane which can improve the profitability of sugarcane farming". The researcher said that like baby corn, which has become a favourite with many, "cane flower" too could become a popular vegetable.
Source: IANS
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