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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #289589
Title: Evaluation of New Canal Point Clones: 2010-2011 Harvest Season

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item Comstock, Jack
item Edme, Serge
item GILBERT, ROBERT - University Of Florida
item DAVIDSON, R WAYNE - Florida Sugarcane League
item GLYNN, NEIL - Syngenta, Inc
item Sood, Sushma
item Zhao, Duli

Submitted to: Government Publication/Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2013
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Farmers in Florida need a constant influx of new sugarcane varieties. During their evaluation, sugarcane varieties are referred to as clones because after a seed is obtained from a cross, the resulting plant (variety) is then vegetatively (clonally) propagated by planting buds on stalk sections. Hence the name of this report refers to sugarcane clones rather than varieties. Due to changes in pathogens, varieties that were once disease 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, Inc. In addition to disease resistance, this program also seeks to develop sugarcane varieties that are tolerant to stresses such as freezes, water deficit, and high water tables. This report of results from the 2010-2011 harvest season identified three promising CP varieties (CP 06-2400, CP 06-2713, and CP 06-28740), in their first year of testing in this program. In addition, based on data reported on in this and previous publications in this series, CP 03-1912, CP 04-1566, CP 04-1844, CP 04-1935, CP 05-1526, CPCL 02-6848, CPCL 05-1102, CPCL 05-1201, and CPCL 05-1791 were released for commercial production in Florida. The CL in the varieties with CPCL in their name indicates that these varieties were first selected from a cross made at Clewiston, FL in a private breeding program of the United States Sugar Corp. After discontinuing its breeding program, the United States Sugar Corp. donated these varieties to USDA-ARS and they then underwent further testing in the Canal Point program. With 397,389 acres of sugarcane, Florida, the leading sugar producing state in the U.S., is responsible for about 25% of domestic sugar produced in the U.S. About 40,000 jobs and several rural economies are dependent on the constant influx of new sugarcane varieties from Canal Point.

Technical Abstract: Thirty replicated experiments were conducted on 10 farms (representing 4 muck and 2 sand soils) to evaluate 36 new Canal Point (CP) and 37 new Canal Point and Clewiston (CPCL) clones of sugarcane from the CP 06, CP 05, CP 04, CP 03, CPCL 06, CPCL 05, CPCL 02, CPCL 01, CPCL 00, 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 89-2143 on muck soils and with CP 78-1628 on sand soils, and to a lesser extent, with CP 72-2086 on both soil types. All three reference clones were major sugarcane cultivars in Florida. Each clone was also tested for its tolerance to diseases, freezing temperatures, and its fiber content. Based on results of these and previous years’ tests, CPCL 02-0926 and CPCL 02-1295 were released for commercial production on muck and sand soils, CPCL 00-4411 and CPCL 95-2287 were released for muck soils only, and CP 03-1912, CP 04-1566, CP 04-1844, and CP 04-1935 were released for commercial production on sand soils in Florida. In addition, after further testing, CP 05-1526 and CPCL 02-6848 were released for muck and sand soils, CPCL 05-1102 and CPCL 05-1201 were released for muck soils only, and CPCL 05-1791 was released for sand soils only.