History and Current Status of Sugarcane Breeding in Egypt

Abstract

Sugarcane has been cultivated in Egypt since 641 AD and is a source of raw material to various agro-based industries. The development of new varieties of sugarcane from controlled crosses in Egypt has developed greatly during recent decades with the majority of the present commercial varieties originating from the local breeding program. Egyptian sugarcane breeding program objectives are high cane and sugar yield, early maturing, good ratooning ability, resistance and tolerance to pests as well as diseases. This program depends on artificial flowering at Giza Research Station (latitude of 30.01° N and longitude of 31.20° E) and natural flowering at Sabahia Research Station, Alexandria (latitude of 31° 12 N and longitude of 29.57° E). There are four stations for selection trials, extending from middle to southern Egypt, namely Mallawi (Minia governorate), Shandaweel (Sohag governorate), Mattana Station (Luxor governorate), and Kom Ombo (Aswan governorate), respectively. Current sugar production in Egypt is about 2.458 million tons with 62.2% from sugar beet and 37.8% from sugarcane.

Factor proportions in ensuring the economic resilience of the Egyptian sugar industry

“…Sugar producing industry development in Egupt: the current condition and prospects. Currently, Egypt produces about 2.5 million tons of sugar [14]. The share of people employed in the sugar industry is approaching 30%.…”

Developing an interior cladding fiberboard by utilizing sugarcane bagasse as a local agro-waste in Egypt

“…SCB waste is chosen as an ideal raw material in manufacturing new products because of its low fabricating costs and high quality green end material. It is a suitable green material since it is widely available due to widespread sugarcane planting in many locations around the world 14 , 15 , providing a valid and consistent supply 16 . Hence, it is an easy to obtain accessible and sustainable material 17 .…”

“…In Egypt, sugarcane is an abundant crop cultivated mainly in Upper Egypt 18 (the land surrounding the southern part of the River Nile in Egypt till Sudan) 14 . Its main components are of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, in addition to ash and some extractives 19 , 20 .…”

Energy and exergy analysis of a sugar cane factory in Egypt

“…Creating cultured sugar from raw sugarcane juice requires a number of physical procedures, which are part of Egypt's main agricultural industry [1]. The sugarcane industry in Egypt dates back to 710 AD [2]. All Egyptian sugarcane factories are self-sufficient in energy, such as thermal and electrical, because a waste product of the juice extraction process called bagasse is used as a primary fuel in the boilers [3].…”