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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #176625
Title: EVALUATION OF NEW CANAL POINT SUGARCANE CLONES: 2003-2004 HARVEST SEASON

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item Comstock, Jack
item TAI, P.Y. - RETIRED
item Edme, Serge
item GILBERT, ROBERT - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item MILLER, JIMMY - RETIRED
item DAVIDSON III, JOSEPH - FLORIDA SUGARCANE LEAGUE

Submitted to: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Cultivar Release
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2005
Publication Date: 10/1/2005
Citation: Glaz, B.S., Comstock, J.C., Tai, P.Y.P., Edme, S.J., Gilbert, R., Miller, J.D., Davidson , J.O. Evaluation of new canal point sugarcane clones. 2003-2004 harvest season. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, ARS-165. 32 pp. 2005.

Interpretive Summary: Farmers in Florida need a constant influx of new sugarcane varieties. Due to changes in pathogens, varieties that were once resistant and productive can quickly become susceptible and not economical. Changes in farming practices also may lead to changes in variety preferences. For example, in Florida, some varieties lost there profitability when the harvesting system was changed from manual to mechanical. The Canal Point variety development program also seeks to develop sugarcane varieties that will grow well in the increasingly wet conditions occurring in commercial Florida sugarcane fields. The work described in this report, conducted during the 2003-2004 harvest season, identified five promising varieties in their first year of expanded testing, three in their second year, and lead to the recommendation to release CP 97-1944 and CP 97-1989 for commercial production in Florida, both in their third year of testing. With about 155,000 ha of sugarcane, Florida, the leading sugar producing state in the U.S., produces about 25% of the sugar produced in the U.S. About 40,000 jobs and several rural economies are dependent on the constant influx of new Canal Point sugarcane varieties.

Technical Abstract: Farmers in Florida need a constant influx of new cultivars of sugarcane, complex hybrids of Saccharum spp. Due to changes in pathogens, cultivars that were once resistant and productive can quickly become susceptible and not economical. The purpose of this report was to compare the tonnage and sugar yields of 51 new Canal Point (CP) clones in the 2003-2004 harvest season from plant cane, first ratoon, and second ratoon experiments with yields of reference cultivars CP 70-1133 (formerly a major cultivar), CP 72-2086 (fifth most widely used cultivar), CP 78-1628 (fourth most widely used cultivar), and CP 89-2143 (second most widely used cultivar) in the final experimental stage of Florida's public sugarcane cultivar selection program. Thirty-two replicated experiments were conducted on 11 farms (representing five organic soils and two sand soils) to evaluate new CP clones of sugarcane from the CP 99, CP 98, CP 97, and CP 96, series. Each clone was rated for its susceptibility to diseases and cold temperatures. Several promising varieties were identified, and CP 97-1944 and CP 97-1989 were released for commercial production in Florida.