Vice-President Perceives

Sugarcane productivity has increased remarkably in the last century. This increase can be ascribed to the development and widespread use of improved cultivars with increased resistance to diseases and pests, better management of water, nutrients and other resources. Sustaining this pace of improvement in crop productivity by innovative and intensive agriculture whilst ensuring minimal environmental impact will be one of the major challenges to maintain profitability of sugar industry in the years to come.

His Excellency Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India, while addressing the nation on the eve of 60th Independence Day stated that “in the field of sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra, the intervention of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune has enabled farmers to increase the yield of sugarcane by 36 percent. This experience can definitely be emulated by other sugarcane growing States”. The President again referred to VSI in his inaugural address at Dr. B.P. Pal Birth Centenary Symposium on ‘Search for New Genes’ held on 1st of September 2006 and stated “I have witnessed the results based on the research conducted by Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune which has enabled the farmers to increase the yield of sugarcane from 69 tonnes per hectare to nearly 94 tonnes per hectare in Maharashtra”. This acknowledgement of VSI’s work by the President of India is indeed a great honour and puts a greater responsibility on VSI to develop even better varieties, which will surpass the above performance.

Sugarcane cultivars tolerant to drought, poor soil nutrition conditions with disease and pest resistance are needed for profitable sugarcane farming. It is also important that such varieties should have high yield and recovery. Drought tolerant sugarcane varieties would help in getting cane and sugar yields under scarcity of water and thus reduce water consumption. With this mandate, the biotechnological research at VSI focuses on the following aspects:

1. Cell and tissue culture techniques for molecular breeding and propagation.
2. Engineering novel genes into commercial cultivars for qualitative and quantitative traits (insect, pests, diseases, yield, sugar content, drought resistance, biomass production in relation to water use efficiency).
3. Understanding the molecular basis of sucrose transportation and accumulation.
4. Genetic improvement in the ability to acquire nutrients from the nutrient poor soils for better growth.

I am confident, under the able guidance of the VSI President, Shri Sharadchandraji Pawar, with his dedication and vision, this Institute will continue to make path-breaking progress in all its activities.

Shivajirao Patil
Vice-President