XXXII ISSCT Centennial Congress 2025
24-28 August 2025The ISSCT XXXII Centennial Congress was held at the Venue – Valle del Pacífico Events Center in Cali, Colombia from 24 to 28 August 2025 and was attended by 1150 delegates from some 60 countries.
Before the Congress the participants had a foretaste of the extent of the Colombian sugar cane industry and its formidable socioeconomic impact during the two Pre-Congress Tours held from 22-23 August 2025. This impression was further strengthened, not only at the congress, but also at the Post-Congress Tour from 30 to 31 August 2025, when visits were paid to a Green Hydrogen Plant among others.
We would like to thank heartily our Affiliated member CENICAÑA for having hosted in collaboration with ISSCT such a wonderful congress which has been a resounding success.
Congress Programme
The complete programme is available here:
Keynote addresses
Opening Ceremony – Monday 25 August 2025
Autrey, Saumtally, Dookun-Saumtally – The First 100 Years of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists – 1924-2024
Calero, Garcés – Global challenges and opportunities in the sugarcane agroindustrial sector: lessons from Colombia
Plenary Sessions
Plenary Sessions were held on:
Tuesday 26 August 2025
Plenary – Climate and Sugarcane
- Souza Glaucia – The Brazilian sugarcane ethanol contribution to the global climate-change mitigation effort
- Salazar Luis Fernando, Solís J. – Climate change and adaptation in the sugar agroindustry: 17 case studies of best practices from Latin America
- Capellaro Ferreira, et al. – Bonsucro’s Climate Cane Tracker, a new tool for setting science-based climate targets in sugarcane production
- Christophe Poser, et al. – Growing sugarcane in Corsica: a promising response to climate change in a Mediterranean environment
Wednesday 27 August 2025
Plenary – Molecular Biology
- Riascos John J.– Genomics in sugarcane breeding: from complexity to opportunity
- Butterfield Michael – Genetically modified sugarcane – history and status
Jones Michael – Genomics and crop improvement: focus on gene editing and its regulation
Thursday 28 August 2025
Plenary – Artificial Intelligence
- Hilbert Martin – The Era of AI Agents: the path taken and the course at play
Fraga Guilherme – Intelligent control strategies in agro-industrial systems: real-time optimization at Iracema Mill
Communications of sections
276 Communications in all have been presented in the different Sections of the five Commissions during the week. There were 169 papers and 107 posters across the five Commissions of ISSCT including nine Plenary Sessions papers and Sections’ reports.
Certificates were awarded to Senior Authors and Co-Authors of the best papers of the 5 Commissions as well as for the best posters.
| Best Papers | ||
| Commission | Authors | Title |
| Agriculture James E. Irvine Award |
Juan Sebastián Martínez Olaya | Calcium dynamics in sugarcane soils with high magnesium saturation in the northern Cauca River Valley |
| Biology Robert Antoine Award |
Jean-Yves Hoarau, Jordan Dijoux, Thomas Dumont, Laurent Barau, Olivier Garsmeur, Simon Rio, Angélique D’Hont |
The major contribution of resistance to orange rust and yellow leaf in modern sugarcane hybrids comes from Saccharum spontaneum as evidenced by genome-wide association studies |
|
Factory ex-eaquo |
Diana Méndez, Maria Alejandra Gómez Duque, Miller Lopez and Nicolás Javier Gil Zapata
Maria Alejandra Gómez Duque, Alejandro Estrada, Juanita Sierra, Henrry Bladimir Tarapues Ipial and Nicolás Javier Gil Zapata |
Direct cane analysis: a comparison of the hydraulic press and wet disintegration methods
Chopping quality in harvesting: its relationship with sucrose loss and operational efficiency
|
| Co-Products Maurice Paturau Award |
William Alexander Ojeda Muñoz, Andrés Felipe Ospina Patino, Lina Marcela Arévalo Hurtado and Nicolás Javier Gil Zapata |
Reduction in carbon emissions through the use of bioethanol in turbodiesel engines
|
| Management H. William Kerr Award |
Freddy Fernando Garcés Obando, Álvaro Amaya Estévez, Héctor Alberto Chica Ramirez and Claudia Posada |
The Sugarcane that Inspires Us: innovation for sustainability
|
| Best Posters | ||
| Commission | Authors | Title |
| Agriculture Norman Joseph King Award |
Rafael Vasconcelos Ribeiro, M. D. Pissolato, L. P. Cruz, Rafael Leonardo de Almeida, T. S. Silva and E. C. Machado |
Drought stress ‘memory’ increases cane yield and juice quality of field-grown sugarcane
|
| Biology Ernest Victor Abbott Award |
Quentin Roger Daniel Macé, S. Mkwachú, B. Heuclin and François-Régis Goebel | Influence of soil conditions on white grub infestations: a case study in northern Tanzania |
| Factory John Clayton Award |
Stephania Imbachi-Ordonez and Gillian Eggleston |
Novel methodology to quantify extraneous matter in shredded sugarcane using near-infrared spectroscopy
|
| Co-Products August John Vlitos Award |
Juan Sebastián Salazar Garrido, Darly Silvana Parrado Saboyá, Alejandro Villegas and Juan Carlos Serrato Bermúdez |
Culture medium design and kinetics of single-cell protein production from Candida utilis
|
|
Management |
Astrid Gabriela Galindo, C Solórzano, C Rodríguez and J Cante |
Predicting illegal burnings for effective risk management in the Guatemalan sugarcane agroindustry
|
Early and Mid-Career Awards
Dr. Simon Rio, CIRAD, France received the Best Early Career Scientist Award at the end of the ISSCT XXXII Congress.
Dr. John J. RIASCOS ARCOS, CENICAÑA, Colombia received the Best Midcareer Scientist Award at the end of the XXXII Centennial Congress.
The Proceedings comprising both papers and posters are available on ISSCT website in the Members’ Corner. Arrangements have been made with the three Journals: Sugar Journal (of New Orleans), Sugar Industry and Sugar Tech to publish some communications selected by them in their forthcoming issues during the year.
Venue
The XXXII Congress will take place at:
Cali – Colombia
Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacifico
PCalle 15 No. 26-120 Yumbo – Valle del Cauca
www.valledelpacifico.co
The venue has all the infrastructures for the Congress including the Trade Exhibition.
Congress Organizing Committee (COC)
The members of the Congress Organizing Committee (COC) are:
- Honorary President of Congress: Alvaro Amaya– Former CEO of CENICAÑA
- Congress Chairman: Nicolas Gil, Member of the Executive Committee of the ISCCT,
Member of the Board of Directors, TECNICAÑA, Director of the Factory Processes Program of CENICAÑA - Congress Vice-Chairman: Johan Martínez – President of the Board of Directors of Tecnicaña, Director of Renewable Energy and New Businesses of ASOCAÑA
- Congress Vice-Chairman: Claudia Calero- President of Asocaña
- Congress Vice-Chairman: Freddy Garces General Director of Cenicaña
- Congress Treasurer: Guillermo Rebolledo – Former President of TECNICAÑA
- Congress Secretary – Alvaro José Correa – Former President of Tecnicaña.
- Congress Coordinator: Martha Elena Caballero-– Executive Director of TECNICAÑA
Collaborators:
– Association of Sugar Cane Growers of Colombia, ASOCAÑA
– Colombian Sugar Cane Research Center – CENICAÑA
TECNICAÑA
Calle 38N # 3CN-75
Cali, COLOMBIA
Tel: 602 407 8414
Cel: +57 316 833 8724 y +57 318 402 1118
Email : tecnicana@tecnicana.org
https://tecnicana.org/