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Abstract
The sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) breeding program consists in the evaluation and selection of varieties, and covers a series of phases or stages where agronomic, industrial, botanical and adaptation characteristics are evaluated, according to the phase and age of the crop where they are best observed, and where their study is most feasible. The botanical characteristics are used fundamentally for purposes of variety identification, while the agronomic, industrial and adaptation ones for the selection of varieties in function of their productivity. The evaluation phases are described, which for the generation of a new variety of sugarcane can take 14 years or more; in addition, advances in the Mexican sugarcane breeding program are analyzed and some general recommendations to achieve better results are established.