Genetic Variability and Clustering Patterns of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) Germplasms with Respect to Sucrose-Related Traits

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Overall ms is well written. However, some sections need additions or changes:

Introduction:  needs to be developed to better put the reader in context. Then the study's objectives need to be delineated from previous studies and better highlighted.

The conclusions, while highlighting the objectives achieved, repeat the results obtained. This needs to be corrected.

 Materials and Methods: 77-79 There is a reason why these sugarcane genotypes used in this study were chosen?

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, 

Thank you so much for your great suggestions & time to review the manuscript. We believe after revising the manuscript, is on great shape. 

Regards 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Only one year of data is present for cane yield and two years of data (plant cane and first ratoon) for sucrose content. Usually field agronomic trials would need 2 years of both cane yield and sucrose yield data. Also, most agronomic trials need to be duplicated and this data are not. This is a major issue with this paper. 

I think the paper could be strengthened with a table showing actual yield data (cane yield, sucrose concentration, sucrose yield, stalk counts, etc). 

Several examples of using "sugar" and "sucrose" interchangably. Is this standard practice or should you choose one or both. Also, need to proofread for subject verb agreement (was vs. were near "data" usage). Spell out BLUP first usage. Also would help to define what "stages" are in lines 92-93. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

I would like to extend our thanks for your great suggestions and time to revise our manuscript. We believe that after the edits the manuscript is on great shape.

Answers for all the questions are blue colors.

If you have any questions about the manuscript, please let me know.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Aliya Momotaz

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors have conducted extensive phenotyping of 59 sugarcane genotypes over two years to assess sucrose yield-related and cane yield-related traits. 

Enhance the Abstract by clearly stating the study's objectives, providing detailed methodology, emphasizing obtained results, and including more relevant keywords to enhance searchability.

Elaborate on the importance of exploring genetic variability in sugarcane breeding, emphasize the significance of improving sucrose yield-related and cane yield-related traits, clarify knowledge gaps, and hypotheses, and extend the objectives.

Materials and Methods

Provide more details about the experimental site including meteorological data for growing months not just the lowest temperatures during the growing period which could presented as supplementary materials.

Elaborate on cultivation practices, including inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and water consumption.

I did not see the applied experimental design which should be mentioned.

Results

The analysis of variance presented in Table 2 focuses solely on genotypic variance, omitting variance attributable to crop cycles. It would be beneficial to include variance due to crop cycles to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the data.

Considering the complexity of the dataset and the need for effective classification of assessed genotypes based on sucrose yield-related and cane yield-related traits, hierarchical clustering (dendrogram) emerges as a suitable technique. Hierarchical clustering offers a more nuanced and insightful approach compared to scatter plot graphs for delineating genotypic clusters.

In addition to hierarchical clustering, employing heatmap visualization and further clustering analyses could enhance our exploration of the associations among assessed traits and evaluated genotypes. These techniques have the potential to reveal underlying patterns and relationships that may not be immediately apparent through traditional analysis methods, thereby enriching the depth of our findings.

Verify the order of tables throughout the manuscript to ensure consistency and accuracy. Table 2, in Line 190 (Table 4) should be (Table 3), Line 190 and 211 (Table 4) should be (Table 3), in line 259: Table 8 should be Table 5, line 294 Table 9 not existed.

Present the discussion in a separate section and enhance with comprehensive revisions, incorporating recent literature to support statements and clarify ambiguous points.

Condense the conclusion by providing actionable advice applicable to sugarcane breeding for improving sucrose yield-related and cane yield-related traits.

References

Ensuring consistency in journal abbreviations, some journals are abbreviated as " Proc. Am. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol." in line 471 while others are not abbreviated as Crop Science in lines 362 and 386 also Crop Breeding and Applied Technology in line 374 and 398.

Moreover, some journals are wrongly abbreviated  such as:

Line 348 “J. of Plant Physiology” which should be “J. Plant Physiol.”

Line 352: “Field Crop. Res.” Should be “Field Crops Res.”,

Line 379 “J. of the American Statistical Association” should be “J. Am. Stat. Assoc.”.

Line 391: “Agronomy J” should be “Agron. J.”

Line 40: “South African J. of Plant and Soil” should be “S. Afr. J. Plant Soil”

Line 402: The Indian J. of Agricultural Sciences” should be “Indian J. Agric. Sci.”

Line 407: J. American Soc. Sugar Cane Techn should be “J. Am. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol.

 

Some journals contain DOI while others no. Ensure consistent use of journal abbreviations and proper citation formatting throughout the manuscript. It's vital to follow the journal's style guide or citation requirements for uniformity and accuracy. Please review and standardize the reference section according to MDPI style guidelines.

Author Response

Dear Respected Reviewer, 

We would like to express our sincere thanks for your valuable time & great suggestions. We believe that after the edits the manuscript is on great shape, and I hope you will consider evaluating the manuscript.

The manuscript is on track changes mode to see where the changes were made. Answers for all the questions are blue colors.

If you have any questions about the manuscript, please let me know.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely, 

Aliya Momotaz

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript has been revised. It has also been improved. My only concern is the small number of bibliographic references. Otherwise, as already mentioned, the ms. is well written and can be published.

 My only concern is the small number of bibliographic references.

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer, 

Thank you so much for reviewing our manuscript (Manuscript ID ijpb-2868506) entitled " Genetic Variability and Clustering Pattern of Sugarcane  (Saccharum spp.) Germplasm with Respect to Sucrose  Related Traits" which we submitted to the International Journal of Plant Biology.

We sincerely appreciate all excellent comments and suggestions from the reviewer. We truly believe all the excellent comments improved the manuscript a lot.

Sincerely,

 

Aliya Momotaz

03/19/2024

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for making needed changes to the manuscript. I believe the paper contains relevant data, and although additional results would strengthen dataset, that should not hold up publication of current paper. 

Its hard to see exact details in track changes, so go back over to look for typos in final version. 

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer, 

Thank you so much for reviewing our manuscript (Manuscript ID ijpb-2868506) entitled " Genetic Variability and Clustering Pattern of Sugarcane  (Saccharum spp.) Germplasm with Respect to Sucrose  Related Traits" which we submitted to the International Journal of Plant Biology.

We sincerely appreciate all excellent comments and suggestions from the reviewer. We truly believe all the excellent comments improved the manuscript a lot.

Sincerely,

 

Aliya Momotaz

03/19/2024

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors have addressed most of the previously raised concerns. However, some areas still require attention.

The applied experimental design still needs to be added for clarity. Additionally, Table 1 has not been referenced within the text, which is necessary for contextual understanding. Also, there appears to be a discrepancy in the citation of figures within the text. Specifically, Figure 2, which is a scatter plot, is incorrectly referred to as Figure 1. This should be corrected to accurately reflect the figure's designation and ensure readers can follow along with the correct visual aids as intended.
There is still a need to revise the abbreviations for journal references, such as "J. of Plant Regi." (lines 423-431), "J. of Crop Imp." (line 437), and "J. of the Am. Stat. Assoc." (line 446),............

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer, 

Thank you so much for reviewing our manuscript (Manuscript ID ijpb-2868506) entitled " Genetic Variability and Clustering Pattern of Sugarcane  (Saccharum spp.) Germplasm with Respect to Sucrose  Related Traits" which we submitted to the International Journal of Plant Biology.

We sincerely appreciate all excellent comments and suggestions from the reviewer. We truly believe all the excellent comments improved the manuscript a lot.

Sincerely,

 

Aliya Momotaz

03/19/2024

Author Response File: Author Response.docx