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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #76898
Title: SUGARCANE VARIETY CENSUS: FLORIDA 1996

Author
item GLAZ, BARRY

Submitted to: Sugar Y Azucar
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Florida sugarcane farmers produce about 25% of all domestic sugar, more than is produced in any other state. Their cultivars come from a private breeding and selection program of the United States Sugar Corporation (USSC) in Clewiston, Florida and a public program at Canal Point, Florida supported by USDA-ARS, the University of Florida-IFAS, and the Florida Sugar Cane League, Inc. This census informs growers and scientists of the percentage use of sugarcane cultivars grown on more than 1% of the total acreage, and whether or not cultivars are most likely to be used for specific soil types or planting systems. The information that comprised this census was supplied by growers and mill managers. Varieties from the USDA-supported program comprised 73.0% of the total cane acreage. Previous information had shown that about 80% of all Florida sugarcane was grown on organic soils. This updated information showed that about 85% was on organic soils. The census helps scientists choose cultivars, planting systems, and loctions (soil types) for their experiments that best represent current industry trends.

Technical Abstract: The Florida sugarcane industry produces about 25% of all sugar produced in the U.S. Their cultivars come from two sources, a private breeding and selection program of the United States Sugar Corporation in Clewiston, Florida and a public program at Canal Point, Florida supported by USDA-ARS, the University of Florida-IFAS, and the Florida Sugar Cane League, Inc. The purposes of this survey were to account for relative use among commercial sugarcane cultivars, amount of sugarcane grown on muck and sand soils, amount of sugarcane planted in either the fallow or successive system, and use of cultivars by soil type and planting system. This information was requested for all land in Florida on which sugarcane is grown. Most of the information was obtained from sugarcane mills. For a small percentage of the Florida sugarcane acreage, the information was obtained from independent growers. Varieties from the Canal Point breeding and selection program comprised 73.0% of the total cane acreage. The remaining 29.1% was 15.6% of varieties from the Clewiston program and 11.4% of the acreage from varieties which were from the Canal Point or Clewiston programs, but varieties were not specified. CP 80-1827 with 18.2% and CP 72-2086 with 18.0% of the acreage were the two most widely grown varieties.