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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #379972
Research Project: Identification of Resistant Germplasm and Markers Associated with Resistance to Major Diseases of Sugarcane

Location: Sugarcane Field Station

Title: Characteristics of sugarcane cultivars adopted for commercial cultivation in Florida

Author
item SANDHU, HARDEV - University Of Florida
item DAVIDSON, WAYNE - Florida Sugarcane League
item Zhao, Duli
item Sood, Sushma
item BALTAZAR, MIGUEL - Florida Sugarcane League

Submitted to: American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/22/2020
Publication Date: 6/16/2020
Citation: Sandhu, H., Davidson, W.R., Zhao, D., Sood, S.G., Baltazar, M. 2020. Characteristics of Sugarcane Cultivars Adopted for Commercial Cultivation in Florida. American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. 83(1):2-3.

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: The success of the collaborative sugarcane cultivar development program in Florida is not only in developing several new high yielding and disease resistant cultivars but also in a high rate of adoption of these cultivars in Florida and beyond. It is important to know the characteristics of the cultivars that are adopted by the growers for commercial cultivation. We analyzed the agronomic performance and rust data (collected in stage 4 trials) of twelve sugarcane cultivars that were adopted commercially as principal cultivars (on at least 1% of total sugarcane acreage) on muck and/or sand soils in Florida in last 10 years. On an average, tons of cane per acre (TCA), sugar per ton of cane (S/T), tons of sugar per acre (TSA) and economic index (EI) or profitability in these adopted cultivars were 17, 0.4, 17, and 19% higher than the commercial checks, respectively. Ten out of these twelve cultivars (83%) were completely or moderately resistant to brown rust (caused by Puccinia melanocephala H. & P. Sydow). Seven out of twelve cultivars (58%) were completely or moderately resistant to orange rust (caused by Puccinia kuehnii E. J. Butler). There was none to low flowering in ten cultivars (83%) and freeze tolerance was good to excellent in four cultivars (33%). Overall, the sugarcane cultivars that were adopted for commercial production were mostly higher in TCA and profitability, had good rust resistance and had lower chances of flowering at maturity. However, there was almost no improvement in sugar concentration and most of these cultivars had low freeze tolerance.