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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #423315
Research Project: Developing Improved Sugarcane Cultivars using Conventional and Molecular Breeding

Location: Sugarcane Field Station

Title: Genotypic values and genetic gains in sugarcane varieties for sandy soils in Florida, USA

Author
item Coto Arbelo, Orlando
item SANDHU, HARDEV - University Of Florida
item Momotaz, Aliya
item DAVIDSON, WAYNE - Florida Sugar Cane League
item Todd, James
item Corak, Keo

Submitted to: International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/18/2025
Publication Date: 11/20/2025
Citation: Coto Arbelo, O., Sandhu, H., Momotaz, A., Davidson, W., Todd, J.R., Corak, K.E. 2025. Genotypic values and genetic gains in sugarcane varieties for sand soils in Florida, USA. International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Proceedings. 32, 423-431.

Interpretive Summary: Florida is the top sugarcane producing state in the United States. Sugarcane production in Florida has expanded to sand (mineral) soils due to the limited availability of muck (organic) soils. The primary objective of the Canal Point breeding program is to develop cultivars with high cane ield (CY), commercial recoverable sucrose (CRS), high sucrose content, good ratooning ability, and disease resistance to increase Florida growers’ profitability. In the CP program, any muck and sand variety that advances to the fourth clonal stage and flowers is used as a parent and is evaluated for crossing performance and classified as putative good parent. After 10 years of breeding sugarcane for sand soils, the performance for CY and CRS of 56 varieties tested in stage 4 trials was evaluated. Two varieties were identified as high performing varieties for CY, whereas eight were identified as high performing varieties for CRS. The use of these 10 varieties as parents may aid in optimizing crosses in the CP program for sand soils going forward. The enhanced CY and CRS of the varieties tested in stage 4 trials support the decision of starting an independent sugarcane breeding program for Florida sand soils.

Technical Abstract: A sugarcane breeding program for sand soils was started in Florida in 2011. After 10 years of breeding sugarcane for sand soils, breeding values and the trend of genetic gains for cane yield (CY) and commercial recoverable sucrose (CRS) were evaluated. Fifty-six test varieties and three check cultivars planted in three or four sand locations were evaluated based on Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) during plant cane and two ratoon crops. The effect of breeding program (varieties originating from sand or muck soils) on CY and CRS was also evaluated. Twenty-seven test varieties were identified as high performing varieties for CY, whereas 24 test varieties showed higher breeding values for CRS. The analysis identified seven varieties as high performing for both CY and CRS. There were highly significant variety genetic gains up to 4.92 Mg ha-1 and 1.89 kg Mg-1 for CY and CRS respectively. Test varieties originally selected on muck soils showed the highest genetic gains for CY while test varieties selected from seedlings planted on sand soils showed the highest genetic gains for CRS. Results indicated that there was no evidence of a yield plateau for CY and CRS in the CP program for sand soils.