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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #175458
Title: "SUGARCANE VARIETY CENSUS: FLORIDA 2004"

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item vonderwell, Jennifer

Submitted to: Sugar Journal
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2005
Publication Date: 8/1/2005
Citation: Glaz, B.,and J. Vonderwell. 2005. Sugarcane variety census: Florida 2004. Sugar Journal 68(2):12-22.

Interpretive Summary: Florida sugarcane farmers produce about 25% of domestic sugar, more than is produced in any other state. Their cultivars come from a recently discontinued private genetics program of the United States Sugar Corporation in Clewiston, Florida and a public program at Canal Point, Florida. The public program is supported by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, the University Of Florida Institute Of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the Florida Sugar Cane League, Inc. This census reports total Florida sugarcane acreage, total acreage by cultivar for cultivars grown on more than 1% of Florida=s 2004 388,046 sugarcane acres, and cultivars most likely to be on organic or sand soils, planted in a fallow or continuous planting system, and planted manually or mechanically. The information summarized in this census was supplied by growers and mill managers. From 2003 to 2004, sugarcane acreage in Florida was reduced by 51,471 acres. Cultivars from the USDA-supported program comprised 93.3% of the total acreage. Of the total sugarcane acreage, 83.7% was on organic soil and 16.7% on sand soil. Data estimated that 56% of Florida's sugarcane was planted manually and 44% mechanically. CP 80-1743 was the leading cultivar in Florida, and CP 78-1628, the fourth most widely grown cultivar overall, was the most widely grown on sand soils. CP 89-2143 and CP 88-1762 were grown on more than 10% of Florida's sugarcane acreage. The census quantifies variety use industry wide for growers, and helps scientists plan experiments with the cultivars, planting systems, and soil types that best represent current industry trends.

Technical Abstract: The Florida sugarcane industry produces about 25% of all sugar produced in the U.S. Varieties originate from two sources, a recently discontinued private breeding and selection program of the United States Sugar Corporation in Clewiston, Florida and a public program at Canal Point, Florida supported by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, the University of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the Florida Sugar Cane League, Inc. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a 2004 survey of all Florida sugarcane growers requesting information on relative use among commercial sugarcane varieties, amount of sugarcane grown on organic and sand soils, percentages of sugarcane planted in the regular and successive planting cycles as well as by mechanical and manual planting systems. This information was requested for all land in Florida on which sugarcane is grown. Most of the information was obtained from sugarcane mills, but a small percentage of the information was obtained from independent growers. Varieties from the Canal Point breeding and selection program comprised 93.3% of the total cane acreage and varieties from the Clewiston program comprised 6.7% of Florida=s sugarcane. CP 80-1743 with 33.0%, CP 89-2143 with 14.9%, CP 88-1762 with 13.2%, and CP 78 1628 with 12.8% of the hectarage were the four most widely grown varieties among Florida=s 157,040 sugarcane hectares. About 83.7% of Florida=s sugarcane was on organic soils, 16.3% on sand soils, 55.1% was planted in the regular planting system, 44.9 percent in the successive planting system, about 56% was planted manually, and about 44% was planted mechanically.