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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #196381

Title: Sugarcane yield and morphological responses to long-term flooding.

Author
item GILBERT, R. - UNIV. OF FL, BELLE GLADE
item RAINBOLT, C. - UNIV. OF FL, BELLE GLADE
item Morris, Dolen

Submitted to: American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/25/2006
Publication Date: 6/14/2006
Citation: Gilbert, R.A., Rainbolt, C.R., Morris, D.R. 2006. Silicon fertilizer effects on electrolyte leakage from sugarcane leaf cells after exposure to freezing temperatures[abstract] American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 26:47.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sugarcane in south Florida is often subjected to flooding in the summer months or following hurricanes. While there has been considerable research on the response of sugarcane cultivars to high water tables, there is a lack of information on cultivar morphological adaptation and yield response to long-term flooding. An experiment was established in Belle Glade, FL to examine the effect of a 3-month summer flood (July – September) on the growth and yield of cultivars CP80-1743 and CP72-2086. Harvest samples were taken early, mid- and late-season. Flooding cane in the summer caused sequentially greater yield reductions throughout the harvest season in plant cane. Sucrose yield for flooded cane, compared to the non-flooded control, were 7.8 vs. 11.6 tons sucrose ha-1 early, 9.2 vs. 12.8 tons sucrose ha-1 mid-season and 7.8 vs. 12.3 tons sucrose ha-1 at late harvest. While one of the objectives of the study was to mimic the effect of a hurricane, ironically the hurricanes of 2004 caused all treatments in the first ratoon crop to be flooded making flood treatment comparisons impossible. In the second ratoon crop, flooding significantly reduced sugarcane tonnage and sucrose yield by 54-64% across sampling dates. Yield penalties were caused through reduced tonnage rather than sucrose content. Morphological changes in response to flooding were remarkably similar in the plant cane and second ratoon crops, with flooding leading to significantly greater aerenchyma pipe length and diameter. Both cultivars responded to flooding by producing aboveground adventitious roots at the expense of belowground root biomass. A significant genotype x flood interaction on pipe length and diameter was noted, with CP72-2086 producing constitutive aerenchyma under non-flooded conditions. Our results indicate a severe yield penalty caused by a 3-month summer flood in these cultivars. However, differing genotypic morphological responses to flooding indicate that aerenchyma development up the stalk may be a useful screening tool to identify potentially flood-tolerant genotypes.