Plant tissue culture or micropropagation technique is the rapid method to multiply newly released cultivar in limited time. Crop improvement by conventional method in vegetatively propagated crops like sugarcane is very difficult due to its narrow genetic base and other limitations. Somaclonal variations are easily achieved in asexually propagated crops like sugarcane and banana. Tissue culture derived variations are known as somaclonal variation. These variations play an important role in crop improvement program. Genetic variations are heritable in next generation and important for crop improvement, epigenetic changes are temporary ultimately reversible. Mutation breeding is also very advantageous for improving a cultivar. Somaclonal variants of sugarcane are available for several traits like drought, salt tolerance, red rot, eye spot disease, quality and quantity trait. Molecular marker techniques like RFLP, RAPD, AFLP and SSR etc. are regularly used preferentially over traditional phenotypic or cytological methods. (PDF version at GERF Bulletin of Biosciences)
Cited this as: Rastogi J., Siddhant, Bubber P. and Sharma BL. (2015): Somaclonal Variation: A new dimension for sugarcane improvement. GERF Bulletin of Biosciences. 6(1): 5-10.