Mission:
The overall mission of the station is to serve as a national sugarcane crossing unit that supports sugarcane cultivar development programs by providing true seed to ARS sugarcane cultivar development programs at Houma, Louisiana, and Canal Point, Florida and to the Texas A&M University at Weslaco, Texas. The breeding CRIS supports NP 301 by conducting a cultivar development program in Florida and conducting molecular and plant stress physiology research and developmental research on water table regimes that maximize cane yield and minimize soil subsidence. The pathology CRIS supports NP 303 by development and application of improved disease detection and screening techniques for sugarcane diseases with particular emphasis on the newly introduced pathogen, Puccinia kuehnii. Scientists from each CRIS participated in their national program workshop.