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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #208484
Title: Evaluation of New Canal Point Sugarcane Clones: 2005-2006 Harvest Season

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item DAVIDSON, R - FLORIDA SUGAR CANE LEAGUE
item Milligan, Scott
item Comstock, Jack
item Edme, Serge
item GILBERT, ROBERT - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA/IFA

Submitted to: Government Publication/Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/9/2007
Publication Date: 9/7/2007
Citation: Glaz, B.S., Davidson, R.W., Milligan, S.B., Comstock, J.C., Edme, S.J., Gilbert, R.A. Evaluation of New Canal Point Sugarcane Clones: 2005-2006 Harvest Season. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. ARS-167. 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, Inc. 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 Florida’s commercial sugarcane fields. This report of results from the 2005-2006 harvest season, identified four promising CP varieties in their first year of expanded testing, seven in their second year, and identified four promising CPCL varieties in their second year of testing in this 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-three replicated experiments were conducted on 15 farms (representing five organic and four sand soils) to evaluate 55 new Canal Point (CP) and 19 new Canal Point and Clewiston (CPCL) clones of sugarcane from the CP 01, CP 00, CP 99, CP 98, 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 previous years’ tests, no new clones were released for commercial production in Florida.