Importance of international germplasm exchange to the Australian sugar industry

The release of foreign germplasm to the Australian sugar industry has been severely reduced due to the finding of germplasm infected with sugarcane bacilliform virus, sugarcane mild mosaic virus or yellow leaf syndrome. Germplasm exchange is important for any sugar industry because it provides a source of clones for commercial production or for breeding purposes. Australia, in particular, has benefited greatly from the introduction of clones that have been grown commercially and from clones that are prominent in the cane breeding program. A system fur free and safe exchange of modern cane hybrids is proposed.