Rainfed sugarcane under water limitation: agronomic challenges and breeding perspectives.

Water limitation significantly impacts sugarcane productivity, with drought tolerance traits linked to developmental stage, canopy architecture, and root function, especially during early growth.

• Why it matters: As sugarcane is mainly rainfed and sensitive to drought, understanding its drought response is crucial for maintaining yields amid climate change and water scarcity.
• What they did: The study reviews physiological, anatomical, and architectural mechanisms of drought tolerance, emphasizing high-throughput phenotyping, digital tools, and crop modeling to identify key traits.
• The result: Integrating these approaches can enable breeding of resilient sugarcane cultivars and management practices, addressing the challenges of water scarcity and supporting sustainable production.