An Analysis of the Research on Sugarcane Yellow Leaf: Not a Disease, a Syndrome

Author Biography

Sizuo Matsuoka graduated in agronomy in 1967 and got his PhD in 1973. From 1968 to 2003, he researched sugarcane as a virologist, phytopathologist, and breeder in public institutions. In 1973, he joined the National Program of Sugarcane Improvement-PLANALSUCAR, Brazil, and became the leader of its breeders in 1979. When this program was phased out, its facilities and staff were incorporated into federal universities, and the rescue of the sugarcane breeding program was the seminal work undertaken by the group. As a result, several productive cultivars were released, which later contributed as genitors of many others, helping the sugarcane agroindustry in Brazil to hold its prominence worldwide. He has published over one hundred technical and scientific papers, including over a dozen book chapters. In 2003, he became Director of Procurement and Development at a private sugarcane breeding company and later founded his own energy-cane breeding company.