Research Guides: Traditional Pacific Island Crops: Sugarcane

Key Web Resources for Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) originated in Melanesia, most probably in New Guinea, from the wild species Saccharum robustum. Indigenous peoples of the area selected sweet, soft forms of Saccharum robustum for chewing and eventually these developed into Saccharum officinarum. Early Pacific island voyagers carried this sugarcane into Indonesia and into the Pacific. A large number of traditional varieties of sugarcane were once grown on Pacific islands. Some of these Pacific island varieties are still grown on a small scale in home gardens and botanical gardens.

The sugarcane varieties grown by modern plantations are complex hybrids of Saccharum officinarum. Large-scale sugar production has been an important economic activity in some places in the Pacific, but it is now declining in many of them. It remains a significant commercial crop throughout the American and Asian tropics.

IN THIS BOX are links to COMPREHENSIVE or OVERVIEW web resources on this crop.

For web resources on SPECIFIC TOPICS, select the appropriate category in the BOX BELOW.

Florida Sugarcane Handbook
(Ronald W. Rice, ed. 2007. Florida Cooperative Extension Service) Comprehensive guide to sugarcane growing in Florida, but also includes topics of interest in other locations such as mineral nutrition, pests and diseases, and weed control. Individual sections available in HTML and PDF formats.
Saccharum officinarum
(James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.) Provides brief information on nomenclature, uses, folk medicine, chemical composition, toxicity, botanical description, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields and economics, energy, and pests and diseases; includes references.

Specific Topics for Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

Use and Improvement of Sugarcane Germplasm: Final Report
(Phillip Jackson. 2010. ACIAR) The overall aim of this project was to start a collaborative breeding program utilizing wild germplasm from China for sugarcane improvement in both China and Australia. The project was largely successful in achieving its objectives. Results from the genetic diversity studies indicated a high level of genetic diversity in both S. spontaneum and Erianthus arundinaceus in China. The genetic material generated has been incorporated into sugarcane breeding programs in China and Australia. Recommendations are made regarding ways to develop commercial outcomes from the outputs of the project to date. (1.76 Mb PDF file)
FAO / IBPGR Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Sugarcane Germplasm
(E.A. Frison and C.A.J. Putter, 1993, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) Provides "crop-specific technical guidelines that provide relevant information on disease indexing and other procedures that will help ensure phytosanitary safety when germplasm is moved internationally." (1.1 Mb PDF file)
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L): Origin, Classification, Characteristics, and Descriptions of Representative Clones
(Ernst Artschwager and E.W. Brandes. 1958. Agriculture Handbook 122, USDA) Covers origin, classification, and characteristics; describes vegetative characters used in description; provides a taxonomic key to sugarcane clones including a New Guinea group, New Caledonian group, and Hawaiian group. This is an historical document made available through the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections.

IPM Crop Profiles
(Western Integrated Pest Management Center, USDA) Crop Profiles are descriptions of crop production and pest management recommendations compiled by state or commodity. Crops are listed by state and entity including these in the Pacific: American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. Includes profiles for bananas and plantains, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and taro. Available only in PDF format.
Culture of Sugarcane for Sugar Production in the Mississippi Delta
(R.J. Matherne, R.D. Breaux, et al. 1977. Agriculture Handbook 417, USDA) "This handbook summarizes information on sugarcane production in the United States based on extensive research findings and grower experience." Covers cultural practices, varieties, weed control, diseases, insects, and sugar manufacture. This is an historical document made available through the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections.
Culture of Sugarcane for Sugar Production in Louisiana
(Leo P. Hebert. 1964. Agriculture Handbook 262, USDA) This handbook covers sugarcane varieties, diseases and insect pests, cultural practices, harvesting, and sugar manufacture. This is an historical document made available through the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections.
Culture of Sugarcane for Sirup Production
(I.E. Stokes. 1961. Agriculture Handbook 209, USDA) This handbook covers sugarcane varieties, diseases and insect pests, cultural practices, harvesting, and processing. This is an historical document made available through the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections.

The Pacific Islands Pest List Database
(Secretary of the Pacific Community) This database contains records of pests and diseases that are currently known to affect agriculture, forestry and the environment in Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). Country pest lists are currently available for Samoa, Tonga, Niue, French Polynesia, Fiji, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, FSM, Palau and Marshall Islands. The database can be also be searched by crop; use either English common name or botanical name. The database contains records for all of the crops covered by this Web site.
Plant Pests and Insects Publications (Agricultural Pests of the Pacific)
(ADAP Project. 2000) Leaflet series with color photographs of insect pests and crop damage. Includes pests of banana, betel nut, breadfruit, cassava, coconut, kava, pandanus, sugarcane, sweet potato, and taro. All available in PDF format.
Viruses of Plants - Known Susceptibilities of Gramineae
(A.A. Brunt, K. Crabtree, et al. 1996. Plant Viruses Online) Includes data on host range; transmission and control; geographical distribution; physical, chemical and genomic properties; taxonomy and relationships; and selected literature references.

No free, full-text resources have been found for this specific topic.

In many cases, the documents linked in the Key Web Resources section above will provide some information on this topic. Additional information may also be available by searching the resources in the Databases tab.

Please email us if you know of resources for this page.

The Pacific Islands Food Composition Tables, 2nd ed.
(Cecily Dignan, Barbara Burlingame, Shailesh Kumar and William Aalbersberg. 2004. FAO) Food tables for a large variety of foods consumed in Pacific Islands. There are 22 nutrients in the main body of the tables, which are presented in a fixed format for each record. The order of presentation is based on major nutrient categories and convention.
Feedipedia: An On-line Encyclopedia of Animal Feeds
(FAO) Feedipedia is an open access information system on animal feed resources that provides information on nature, occurrence, chemical composition, nutritional value and safe use of nearly 1400 worldwide livestock feeds.

No free, full-text resources have been found for this specific topic.

Please email us if you know of resources for this page.

Sugarcane and Speciality Crops - Hawaii
(National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA) The "Sugarcane and Specialty Crops" page continues to include a short report on sugarcane production in Hawaii. Archive of annual reports from 1998 also available from this page. All reports available only in PDF format.
Sugar and Sweeteners
(USDA) Links to a variety of reports about production and markets for sugar and other sweeteners. Includes access to both current and historical documents. Reports available in PDF format.
International Agricultural Trade Statistics
(FAOSTAT) Figures are given for quantity and value of commodies imported/exported (in metric tonnes). International commodity prices are used to calculate the total value of each commodity produced by each country. Select "Countries" using the drop down menu and then use the drop down menu to select the crop product. (There may be statistics available for more than one product for a crop.) Country level statistics are available using the links in the left hand navigation bar.
International Agricultural Production Statistics
(FAOSTAT) Provides figures for area harvested, yield, and quantity produced (in metric tonnes)Use the drop down menu to select the crop. Country level statistics are available using the "Countries" drop down menu.
History of Sugar Marketing through 1974
(Roy A. Ballinger. 1978. Agricultural Economic Report No. 382, USDA) "This report traces developments in the marketing of sugar and its principal competitors in the United States and, to some degree, in other countries." This is an historical document made available through the National Agricultural Library Digital Collections.

Pacific Crops - ACIAR
(Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) The Pacific Crops program aims to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of horticultural, root and tree crop-based farming systems in Papua New Guinea, selected Pacific Island countries and Australia. It has a multidisciplinary emphasis on integrated crop management, emphasising the production, protection, postharvest handling and marketing of key crops grown in these countries.

AgEcon Search
(University of Minnesota and Agricultural and Applied Economics Association) AgEcon Search collects, indexes, and electronically distributes full text copies of scholarly research in the broadly defined field of agricultural economics including sub disciplines such as agribusiness, food supply, natural resource economics, environmental economics, policy issues, agricultural trade, and economic development.
PubAg
(National Agricultural Library, USDA) PubAg is a portal to USDA-authored and other highly relevant agricultural research. At launch, it delivered over 40,000 full-text journal articles by USDA staff and includes nearly 450,000 citations. Open access; no login required.
FAO Document Repository
(FAO) The Document Repository is FAO’s online archive for collecting, preserving and disseminating digital copies of the Organization’s knowledge outputs to ensure that they are available to the widest possible audience. It contains publications, journals, official meeting documents, technical reports and information materials produced by FAO offices worldwide.
Global Agricultural Research Archive (GARA)
(CABI) This database currently contains over 3,750 full text records from institutional partners in Malawi, Pakistan, Myanmar and the Philippines, from the 2008 IAALD conference on agricultural information and IT, and from RUFORUM.
ScholarSpace - UH Manoa
(University of Hawaii at Manoa Library) ScholarSpace is UH Manoa's institutional repository. It provides free Web access to many of the University's publications. It includes both legacy publications and current research papers, journal articles, books, and conference proceedings. All are available in full text as PDF files. Try using the Advanced Search and enter the English common name or the botanical name.
AGRICOLA: 1970 - present
(National Agricultural Library, USDA) Citations, most with abstracts, to journal articles, books, theses, technical reports, and other publications in agriculture and related areas such as nutrition, biotechnology, and botany. Use the Keyword Search and enter the English common name or the botanical name.
AGRIS: 1975 - present
(FAO) International database covering agricultural sciences and technology containing citations for conventional and non-conventional ("grey") literature. Search using the English common name or the botanical name.
PubMed (Medline): 1946 - present
(U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH) Citations with abstracts for journal articles in biology and medicine including botany and nutrition. Citations may include links to free full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. Search using the English common name or the botanical name.
Sorting Saccharum Names - Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database
(Snow Barlow. 2007. University of Melbourne) Lists approved botanical names and synonyms and provides common names in a number of languages.

Need More Help?

Didn't find the sugarcane information you were looking for?

Email your question to the reference librarian