Résumé
Nitrogen (N), which accounts for ∼80% of soil derived essential nutrients acquired by plants, is critical for sugarcane productivity. Australian sugarcane agricultural systems are discussed as representative of high‐production systems to illustrate how N inputs are linked to crop N physiology. Brazilian sugarcane researchers have studied BNF since the 1960s and have isolated diazotrophic bacteria of the genera Gluconacetobacter, Azospirillum, Burkholderia, and Herbaspirillum from sugarcane. Membrane‐spanning transporter proteins facilitate the transport of N compounds from the soil solution into root cells. Transporters for N compounds and Nassimilating enzymes are main contributors to the uptake, assimilation, and remobilization of N that underlie overall nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Despite recent analyses of plant N and C metabolism, a better integration from the subcellular to whole plant levels is required for achieving crop yield benefits. Manipulation of gene function and engineering new traits through transgenesis is practiced in many crops including sugarcane.