The team collaborates with eRcane, which conducts a major varietal creation and selection program dedicated to a wide range of environments, in Reunion and in various West African countries. In La Réunion, the analysis of the multi-local selection system in seven representative environments allowed us to show that: (i) the genotype x environment interaction was highly significant for tonnage, cane processing traits and sugar yield (in terms of economic index for the grower) and (ii) that there was no redundancy of utility among the selection sites currently used by eRcane. In addition, analyses (linear mixed models) of a decade of variety trials in four breeding programs allowed us to estimate that the annual genetic progress in terms of economic index (+0.53% to +1.81% depending on the site) was statistically significant in only two of the four sites studied. This necessary multiplicity of selection programs and the relative slowness of genetic progress makes varietal innovation programs expensive. They motivate the development of quantitative genetic work using genome marking approaches. The recent availability of a reference sequence of the sugarcane genome opens the way to the development of efficient SNP genotyping systems (by sequence capture) necessary for the development of genomic applications. In the framework of a collaboration with eRcane (AGIV project), the team is interested in the study of the genetic determinism of disease resistance traits (mainly orange rust and SCYLV) and in the genomic prediction of traits related to yield (cane tonnage, regrowth resistance, economic index) and processing quality of cane (fiber and sucrose content, juice purity).

• Hoarau, J. Y., Dumont, T., Wei, X., Jackson, P., & D’hont, A. (2022). Applications of quantitative genetics and statistical analyses in sugarcane breeding. Sugar Tech, 24(1), 320-340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-021-01012-3
• Dumont, T., Barau, L., Thong-Chane, A., Dijoux, J., Mellin, M., Daugrois, J., & Hoarau, J. Y. (2022). Sugarcane breeding in Reunion: challenges, achievements and future prospects. Sugar Tech, 24(1), 181-192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-021-00998-0
• Dumont T., Thong Chane A., Barau L., Siegmund B., Hoarau J.Y. 2019. Genetic variabilities and genetic gains for yield components in regional sugarcane breeding programmes on Réunion Island. Sugar Tech, 21(6) : 868–878 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-019-00718-9
• Guilly S., Dumont T., Thong Chane A., Barau L., Hoarau J.Y. 2017. Analysis of multienvironment trials (MET) in the sugarcane breeding program of Réunion Island. Euphytica, 213 : 213 (20 p.) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-017-1994-1