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Title: EVALUATION OF NEW CANAL POINT SUGARCANE CLONES: 2004-2005 HARVEST SEASON

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item Milligan, Scott
item DAVIDSON, ROLLIN - FLORIDA SUGARCANE LEAGUE
item Comstock, Jack
item Edme, Serge
item GILBERT, ROBERT - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item TAI, PETER - RETIRED
item MILLER, JIMMY - RETIRED

Submitted to: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Cultivar Release
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2006
Publication Date: 3/1/2007
Citation: Glaz, B.S., Milligan, S.B., Davidson, R.W., Comstock, J.C., Edme, S.J., Gilbert, R.A., Tai, P.Y., Miller, J.D. Evaluation of new Canal Point sugarcane clones: 2004-2005 harvest season. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, ARS-166. 2007.

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 their profitability when the harvesting system was changed from manual to mechanical. This is a report of the progress on sugarcane varieties in an advanced selection stage of the Canal Point cooperative sugarcane variety development program. Members of this program include the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the Florida Sugar Cane League. In addition to disease resistance, this program also seeks to develop sugarcane varieties that are tolerant to freezes and grow well in the increasingly wet conditions of commercial sugarcane fields in Florida. This report of results from the 2004-2005 harvest season, identified 11 promising CP varieties in their first year of expanded testing, one in its second year, and lead to the recommendation to release CP 98-1029 for commercial production in Florida, after its third year of testing in the final testing stage of the Canal Point program. After discontinuing its private sugarcane variety development program, the United States Sugar Corp. of Clewiston, FL donated promising varieties with a CPCL designation to the public program at Canal Point. This report marks the first public report on the progress of these CPCL varieties. Eight CPCL varieties which were already in an advanced stage of testing in their program of origination were identified as promising varieties after their first year of testing in the Canal Point program. With about 405,000 acres 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: Thirty-six replicated experiments were conducted on 15 farms (representing five organic and four sand soils) to evaluate 57 new Canal Point (CP) and 25 new Canal Point and Clewiston (CPCL) clones of sugarcane from the CP 00, CP 99, CP 98, CP 97, CPCL 98, CPCL 97, CPCL 96, and CPCL 95 series. Experiments compared the cane and sugar yields of the new clones, complex hybrids of Saccharum spp., primarily with yields of CP 72-2086, CP 89-2143, and CP 78-1628, all major sugarcane cultivars in Florida. Each clone was rated for its susceptibility to diseases. Based on results of these and tests conducted in previous years, CP 98-1029 has been released for commercial production in Florida.