After the long and tricky process of breeding new high yielding varieties (HYVs) of sugarcane, the next big problem is making the planting material available to the planters as fast and as widespread as possible.

Thanks to biotechnology, which the sugar industry has set out to exploit, sugarcane planters can easily avail of seed cane of new HYVs that are recommended for commercial planting. For many years now, HYVs in plantlet forms have been produced using micropropagation -- an advanced multiplication technique utilizing tissue culture procedures by which the excised tissue of a plant is grown in an artificial medium in a germ-free environment. The process involves small parts of a plant such as shoot tips, spindle, inflorescence, node and root tip.

"Micropropagation has greatly reduced the lag time between the introduction and the full adoption of a new variety because it enables breeders to generate hundreds of thousands of plantlets in a small laboratory space in a relatively shorter period of time," Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation, Inc. director-general Leon M. Arceo said.

Using the breakthrough technique, an initial shoot tip can produce as many as 20,000 pieces of planting material in one year. This is a big leap from conventional propagation methods which generate only up to 100 seed pieces from a single canepoint over the same period.

From 1998 to 2003, Philsurin has dispersed more than four million plantlets to 26 mill district coordinating councils nationwide (MDDC). Its micropropagation laboratory in the Victorias MDDC alone produces 40,000 plantlets per week, while the La Carlota MDDC generates 10,000 plantlets weekly. The Sugar Regulatory Administration's laboratory in La Granja also produces 500,000 to 700,000 plantlets annually.

Unlike the traditional propagation of sugarcane with stem cuttings which often leads to the transmission of disease to succeeding generations, the tissue culture technique also helps planters maintain a disease-free stock.

"Since the plantlets come from a disinfected environment, planters are assured of disease-free planting material," Mr. Arceo said

Philsurin senior breeder Aurora T. Barredo said the micropopagation procedure undergoes three major stages -- laboratory, nursery, and field transplanting. Under the laboratory stage are culture establishment, shoot multiplication and the rooting of plantlets.

Initial planting material are sugarcane shoot tips containing the formative plant tissue. The spindles are then disinfected with Zonrox and sterilized water. The culture vessels are placed inside a rotary shaker with continuous light. It takes 28 to 65 days before initial shoots are developed.

The development and multiplication of shoots follow. The initial shoots developed are separated and transferred to a fresh medium. The multiplication cycle is repeated at two-week intervals.

In the final laboratory stage, the plantlets are allowed to develop a satisfactory root system for two weeks.

From the laboratory, the plantlets are transferred to the nursery where rooted plantlets are placed in plastic trays using sterilized compost-based media on seed boxes. The plantlets are placed under seedling sheds for two weeks, and transferred to an open rack for another four to six weeks.

Finally, the plantlets are transplanted to irrigated seedbeds. Technicians apply regular fertilization and crop maintenance to the micropropagated plantlets. After six months, the cane stalks are cut into patdans (seed pieces) and are distributed to planters. Each plantlet costs P2.50.

With the multiplication rate of HYV planting material increased exponentially, planters are offered the opportunity to improve farm yields. The 43.55% increase in sugar production to 2.34 million metric tons in crop year 2003-2004 from 1.63 million metric tons in 1999 is attributed to the massive dispersal of high yielding varieties by both Phlisurin and the SRA.

Micropropagation "is a clear indication of the success achieved with the application of biotechnology in the sugarcane industry," Ms. Barredo said.

Created through the National Council of Sugar Producers, Philsurin was formed in response to Executive Order no. 18, which stated that sugar research, development and extension activities be the responsibility of the private sector.

The organization is funded by sugar millers' and planters' liens at P2 per 50-kilogram bag of sugar produced, as required under SRA sugar order no. 2, Series of 1995.