ISMA and ICAR-ISRI partner to establish advanced centre for quality sugarcane seed production
ISMA and ICAR-ISRI have signed an MoU to establish an Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production in Lucknow, focusing on disease-free, genetically pure and high-yielding planting material. The initiative will accelerate varietal multiplication, improve cane productivity and sugar recovery, and enhance farmers’ incomes.
The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and ICAR–Indian Sugarcane Research Institute (ICAR-ISRI), Lucknow, have signed an MoU today to establish an Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production for sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh and the subtropical region.
This farmer-centric initiative aims to create a structured, science-based system for multiplication and distribution of disease-free, genetically pure and high-yielding sugarcane seed, helping farmers access better varieties more quickly, improve cane productivity, enhance sugar recovery and ultimately increase farm income.
The programme will also support seed quality monitoring, field performance assessment, training of cane development personnel and large-scale adoption through participating sugar mills, ensuring that research reaches farmers effectively.
The proposed Centre will serve as a dedicated hub for strengthening the quality sugarcane seed ecosystem, with a focus on:
- Quality Seed Production and Supply: Ensuring the assured production and timely supply of quality sugarcane planting material of improved, recommended, released and promising new varieties, with a defined annual production capacity.
- Rapid Multiplication of New Varieties: Enabling scientific and accelerated multiplication of elite and newly released sugarcane varieties through protected and scientifically managed cultivation systems.
- Varietal Replacement and Diversification: Supporting the systematic replacement and diversification of sugarcane varieties across participating sugar mill command areas to enhance cane productivity, sugar recovery and the long-term sustainability of sugarcane cultivation.
- Phytosanitary Quality Assurance: Ensuring adherence to stringent phytosanitary protocols, including disease-free seed production, certification and regular quality monitoring, to maintain the health and genetic purity of planting material.
- Traceability and Quality Monitoring: Introducing systematic tagging and digital traceability of seed lots to ensure transparency and preserve the identity, source and quality of planting material throughout the seed-to-field journey.
- Technical and Scientific Support: Providing continuous technical guidance, field monitoring and scientific support from ICAR–ISRI experts to facilitate effective implementation and maintain high standards of seed quality.
- Farmer-Level Adoption: Facilitating the timely availability and wider adoption of quality planting material through participating sugar mills, enabling farmers to access improved varieties and realise higher cane yields, better sugar recovery and improved farm returns.
For sugarcane farmers, timely access to quality planting material can make a significant difference to crop productivity and returns. The initiative is expected to contribute to higher cane yields, improved crop establishment, better ratoon performance, reduced disease incidence, improved sugar recovery and enhanced farm returns, thereby boosting farmers’ income.
The partnership brings together scientific research and industry expertise with a shared objective of creating a stronger and more reliable quality sugarcane seed ecosystem. The centre will be established at ICAR–ISRI, Lucknow, with dedicated facilities for quality seed production, nursery raising, disease indexing, hardening, multiplication, storage and distribution of planting material. It will also support the training of cane development personnel and field-level capacity building. These efforts will strengthen the ability of participating sugar mills to adopt, multiply and disseminate quality planting material, while enabling farmers to better understand and adopt improved planting practices.
Commenting on the development, Deepak Ballani, Director General, ISMA, said, “The sugarcane farmer must remain at the centre of every effort to strengthen the sector. Quality planting material is the starting point for higher productivity, better sugar recovery and stronger farm incomes. This partnership with ICAR–ISRI is aimed at translating scientific research into tangible benefits on the ground by enabling faster and wider access to disease-free, genetically pure and high-yielding planting material through participating sugar mills.
The establishment of the Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production will create a stronger and more reliable quality seed ecosystem, while strengthening field-level monitoring, varietal performance and the capabilities of cane development teams. More importantly, it will help build a sustainable mechanism through which scientific advancements can move from research institutions to the field at scale.
Our larger objective is to make quality planting material more accessible, improve productivity per acre and ultimately enhance the economic returns of sugarcane cultivation. This is not just an investment in better seed—it is an investment in the future competitiveness of the sugar industry and the prosperity of the farmers who sustain it.”
The initiative assumes particular significance for Uttar Pradesh and other major sugarcane-producing regions in the subtropical belt, where improved productivity and access to quality planting material can have a direct impact on the livelihoods and incomes of a large number of farmers.
The collaboration aims to establish a scalable, science-led framework for quality sugarcane seed production and wider adoption of improved planting material, helping bridge the gap between research and the field and delivering tangible gains in productivity, sustainability and farmer incomes.
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Source : ChiniMandi
