ABSTRACT
Sugarcane is the most important commercial crop, growing widely in tropical and subtropical regions to meet more than 75% of worldwide sugar demands. It is also used as a source for the production of juice, syrup, jaggery, sweetener, drink, etc. Apart from being used as food sources, the by-products of sugarcane are also being used for the production of novel biofuels and biochemicals with industrial and medicinal values. The quantity and quality of sugarcane must be improved to meet the demand of the public and industries. However, the conventional methods have attempted to improve sugarcane, but complex and dynamic genomes, susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stress, poor fertility, and long duration of the crop create an obstruction for the crop improvement programme; this result has piqued scientists and the research communities. The biotechnology tools, genetic engineering, molecular breeding, tissue culture, etc., are widely used to improve the sugarcane crop. This chapter addresses different biotechnological approaches for sugarcane improvement.
