The major Activities of Breeding Division are :

Conducting a number of research programmes such as collection and conservation of indigenous and exotic germplasm, characterization and documentation of germplasm, hybridization and selection, photoperiodic regulation of flowering, development of parent materials, nobilization through back-cross breeding, mutation breeding, selection chewing variety, cytogenetical study, rejuvenation of degenerating germplasm, somaclonal variant development and in vitro preservation of sugarcane germplasm.

The major Activities of Agronomy & Farming Systems Division are :

The agronomic programme covers the research activities on sugarcane, sugarbeet, date palm, palmyra palm and other ancillary sugar crops to increase production and profitability. The research also includes in determining region-wise appropriate planting/transplanting times, land management, weed management, fertilizer management, cultural management etc. of sugarcane and other noted crops. Research thrust is also given on the development of production packages for newly developed sugarcane varieties, companion cropping with sugarcane, sugarcane based cropping pattern, agronomic management of ratoon cane, management of chewing cane, on farm yield trial of promising technologies and sugarcane clones. Sugarcane based Farming Systems Research and Development is an on going project of the division.

The division is concern for the development of cultural management practices for vertical yield improvement of plant and ratoon cane; for increasing sugarcane yield through higher plant population and stalk weight by manipulating planting systems, plant geometry and nutrient management; to develop suitable and economical sugarcane based cropping patterns; to develop companion cropping systems with suitable intercrops to increase crop production per unit area and time; to develop proper weed management practices for obtaining higher yield of sugarcane; to determine appropriate cultural practices for increasing yield and quality of chewing sugarcane; to develop suitable management practices for sustainable yield of sugarcane and other sugar crops to increase sugar and gur production per unit area; to generate employment opportunity specially for the women incorporating other farming components like agro-forestry, livestock and fisheries with sugarcane production following farming systems.

The major Activities of Physiology & Sugar Chemistry Division are :

Screening agro-climatic stresses (drought, water-logging, flood and salinity) tolerant sugarcane; trying to identify sources of tolerance and other desired characters for target breeding; conducting research on physiological basis/bases of productivity; conducting research on biotechnology/tissue culture/genetic engineering for varietal improvement; screening high sugar and less fibre content early, medium and late maturing sugarcane varieties; screening suitable sugarcane varieties for gur production and chewing; conducting research on sugar/gur processing; and conducting research on date palm, palmyra palm and other ancillary sugar crops for gur and syrup production.

The major Activities of Soils and Nutrition Division are :

It has been conducting researches with major emphasis on fertilizer management packages for different agro-ecological zones for sustainable sugarcane production. Soil health is also taken care of through integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) for plant and successive ratoon crops. Current researches are to update location specific fertilizer requirement, to develop appropriate mixed fertilizer, to improve cane quality by using some recognized micronutrients and to use organic manure along with chemical fertilizers and residual effect of plant-ratoon cropping system. It is also aimed to identify/screen out suitable sugarcane genotypes favored with biological N₂-fixing system under N-stressed condition.

Future Research Strategies of this division are Bio-fertilizer production for sugarcane through exploring Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) technology by free living and endophytic bacteria. Utilization of by-products of sugar industry (Bagasse, Press mud etc.) as organic fertilizer.

The major Activities of Entomology Division are :

Identifying insect and mite pests of sugarcane as major and minor; identifying natural enemies of insect pests and mites (parasitoid, beneficial bacteria, virus, fungus, nematode etc); finding out source of resistance in existing germplasms; studying pest reaction of promising clones/strains; screening pest resistant commercial varieties; studying the biology, nature of damage, seasonal abundance and population dynamics of pests; studying the zonal distribution and incidence of pests; working on the loss assessment due to pests and economic injury level (ETL); identifying potential native and exotic natural enemies; developing cultural control tactics against pests; developing mechanical control tactics against pests; developing chemical control tactics against pests; conducting on farm level experiments on IPM; organizing training on pest and its management and publishing results/finding in leaflet, booklet, books, journals etc.

The major Activities of Pathology Division are :

Surveying, monitoring and identifying of new diseases of sugarcane; screening of sugarcane genotypes against major diseases; developing of sugarcane disease management technologies (mechanical, chemical and biological method); participating in the development of disease resistant varieties of sugarcane; producing of disease free foundation seeds of sugarcane; quarantine following-up of imported sugarcane germplasms; conducting training on sugarcane disease management; Assessing of losses of sugarcane due to major diseases; and publishing research results in the journals, booklet and leaflet.

The major Activities of On-farm Research Division are :

Assessing the maturity of a technology developed at BSRI using the same criteria used by the farmers. Bringing Extension workers and farmers together with researchers in the on-farm testing activities to keep all concerned abreast about the merit of the technology. Researchers monitor and evaluate the performance of the newly introduced technology which also help provide feedback. They also organize farmers’ rallies with a view to accelerating the process of technology transfer. On-Farm Research Division (OFRD) is responsible to carry out verification trials for technologies at different agro-ecological zones, in the research stations as well as in the farmers’ fields. The basic purpose of OFRD is to identify the mature technology after assessment, verification, fine tuning and refinement (if necessary) of BSRI developed technologies.

The major Activities of Agricultural Engineering Division are :

Design, development and fabrication of farm power machineries. They are also working on  irrigation, drainage & water management. In farm power machinery, they have designed & developed i) BSRI power crusher ii) Bud chip cutting machine iii) Sett cutting machine iv) Mini hot water treatment plant v) Pedal pump vi) Paired row trencher vii) Power tiller mounted trencher viii) Power tiller operated weeder ix) Hand bud chip cutter and x) Detrasher. They have also developed irrigation schedule of sugarcane at different growth stages.

The major Activities of Training and technology transfer Division are :

Offering short and long terms training for  Sugarcane growers, extension officers and workers. They are also conducting some research work on sugarcane extension, after training follow-up and communication.

The major Activities of Agricultural Economics Division are :

Conducting economic analysis of all technologies developed by BSRI. They also conducts research on sugarcane pricing, sugar policy and other related aspects.