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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #275286
Title: Evaluation of New Canal Point Clones: 2009-2010 Harvest Season

Author
item Glaz, Barry
item DAVIDSON, R WAYNE - Florida Sugarcane League
item Sood, Sushma
item Edme, Serge
item Comstock, Jack
item GILBERT, ROBERT - University Of Florida
item Zhao, Duli
item Glynn, Neil
item DEL BLANCO, ALICAI - Former ARS Employee

Submitted to: Government Publication/Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/4/2011
Publication Date: 11/15/2011
Citation: Glaz, B., R.W. Davidson, S. Sood, S.J. Edmé, J.C. Comstock, R.A. Gilbert, D. Zhao, N.C. Glynn, and I.A. del Blanco. 2011. Evaluation of new Canal Point sugarcane clones. 2009-2010 harvest season. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, ARS-172. 39 pp.

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 disease 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 stresses such as freezes, water deficit, and high water tables. This report of results from the 2009-2010 harvest season identified three promising CP varieties (CP 05-1466, CP 05-1526, and CP 05-1740) and five promising CPCL varieties (CPCL 02-6848, CPCL 02-7610, CPCL 05-1102, CPCL 05-1201, and CPCL 05-1791) in their first year of expanded testing, and three promising CP (CP 04-1566, CP 04-1844, and CP 04-1935) and four promising CPCL (CPCL 95-2287, CPCL 02-0926, CPCL 02-1295, and CPCL 02-2273) varieties in their second year of testing in this program. In addition, based on data from three years of testing, CP 03-1912 and CPCL 00-4111 were 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 00-4111 to USDA-ARS and the clone then underwent further testing in the Canal Point program. With 389,616 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: Thirty replicated experiments were conducted on 11 farms (representing 4 muck and 3 sand soils) to evaluate 27 new Canal Point (CP) and 41 new Canal Point and Clewiston (CPCL) clones of sugarcane from the CP 05, CP 04, CP 03, CP 02, CPCL 05, 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 on muck soils and with CP 78-1628 on sand soils, and to a lesser extent, with CP 72-2086 on both soil types. All three reference clones were major sugarcane cultivars in Florida. Each clone was tested for its fiber content and its tolerance to diseases and freezing temperatures. Based on results of these and previous years’ tests, CPCL 00-4411 was released for commercial production on muck soils and CP 03-1912 was released for commercial production on sand soils in Florida. The audience for this publication includes growers, geneticists and other researchers, extension agents, and individuals who are interested in sugarcane cultivar development.