ARS | Publication request: Evaluation of New Canal Point Clones: 2008-2009 Harvest Season

Submitted to: Government Publication/Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: March 5, 2010
Publication Date: July 15, 2010
Citation: Glaz, B.S., Comstock, J.C., Davidson, W.R., Sood, S.G., Edme, S.J., Del Blanco, I.A., Glynn, N.C., Gilbert, R.A., Zhao, D. 2010. Evaluation of New Canal Point Clones: 2008-2009 Harvest Season. United States Department of Agriculture, ARS-171 36P.

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 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 freezes, water deficit, and high water tables. This report of results from the 2008-2009 harvest season identified four promising CP varieties and two promising CPCL varieties in their first year of expanded testing, and one promising CP and one promising CPCL varieties in their second year of testing in this program. In addition, based on data from three years of testing, CPCL 99-4455 was released for commercial production in Florida. The CL in CPCL 99-4455 indicates that this variety was 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 CPCL 99-4455 to USDA-ARS and the clone then underwent further testing in the Canal Point program. With about 388,000 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: Twenty-eight replicated experiments were conducted on 10 farms (representing 4 muck and 3 sand soils) to evaluate 36 new Canal Point (CP) and 26 new Canal Point and Clewiston (CPCL) clones of sugarcane from the CP 04, CP 03, CP 02, CP 01, CPCL 02, CPCL 01, CPCL 00, CPCL 99, 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, and to a lesser extent with CP 72-2086 and CP 78-1628. All three were major sugarcane cultivars in Florida. Each clone was tested for its fiber content and its tolerance to diseases and cold temperatures. Based on results of these and previous years’ tests, one new clone—CPCL 99-4455—was released for commercial production in Florida. The audience for this publication includes growers, geneticists and other researchers, extension agents, and individuals who are interested in sugarcane cultivar development.