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Title: Registration of 'Ho 95-988' sugarcane

Author
item Tew, Thomas
item Burner, David
item LEGENDRE, BENJAMIN - LSU AG CTR, ST GABRIEL
item White, William
item Grisham, Michael
item Dufrene, Edwis
item Garrison, Donnie
item Veremis, John
item Pan, Yong-Bao
item Richard Jr, Edward

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2005
Publication Date: 7/20/2005
Citation: Tew, T.L., Burner, D.M., Legendre, B.L., White, W.H., Grisham, M.P., Dufrene, E.O., Garrison, D.D., Veremis, J.C., Pan, Y.-B., Richard, E.P. 2005. Registration of 'Ho 95-988' sugarcane. Crop Science. 45(4):1660-1661.

Interpretive Summary: The need to remain competitive in a global economy and to reduce the risks associated with becoming overly dependent on a single major commercial variety highlights the need to continue to develop new, higher-yielding, pest-resistant sugarcane varieties. Ho 95-988, developed through cooperative research by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, and the American Sugarcane League of the U.S.A., Inc. has a unique ancestry that is unlike the current cultivars grown in Louisiana. It has consistently yielded 7% more sugar per acre than the dominant variety, LCP 85-384. Ho 95-988 has shown field resistance in Louisiana to rust, leaf scald, and mosaic diseases, but is moderately susceptible to smut disease. Ho 95-988 is susceptible to the sugarcane borer and should not be grown in areas where insecticides cannot be applied. Ho 95-988 was released for commercial planting in the spring of 2004 primarily because of its genetic diversity, its resistance to many of the diseases that plague the industry, and its increased yield potential. In addition to providing some assurance against shifts in major diseases, a 7% higher-yielding variety planted to 50% of Louisiana's sugarcane acreage could produce a $20 million increase in revenue to the state's sugar industry.

Technical Abstract: To remain competitive in a global economy new, higher-yielding, pest-resistant sugarcane varieties must be continually developed. The development of this variety was the result of a cooperative research effort between the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, and the American Sugarcane League of the U.S.A., Inc. Ho 95-988, was bred and selected by ARS researchers at Houma (Ho), Louisiana from progeny of the cross CP 86-941 x US 89-12. The variety is unique in that it doesn't share common ancestry with LCP 85-384, the dominant variety grown in Louisiana, with three of the four grandparents being wild-derivative clones, two involving Saccharum spontaneum, one involving S. robustum. The fourth grandparent is a BC2 derivative of the Hawaiian cultivar, H 49-3646. Ho 95-988 is a mid-maturing variety that has consistently yielded 7% more sugar per unit area than, LCP 85-384, in both plant-cane and ratoon crops. It has shown field resistance in Louisiana to rust, leaf scald, and mosaic diseases. It has exhibited moderate susceptibility to smut disease and the sugarcane borer. Ho 95-988 was released for commercial planting in the spring of 2004 primarily because of its genetic diversity, its resistance to many of the diseases that plague the industry, and its increased yield potential. Ho 95-988 will be maintained at the USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center's Sugarcane Research Unit, located at Houma, Louisiana, for five years.