Sugarcane Field Station : USDA ARS

A Birds-Eye View of the Canal Point ARS Sugarcane Field Station's Facility and Experimental Fields

Seed Maturation in the Crossing House after Crosses Made for Both Florida and Louisiana in Late December - January at Canal Point

Seedlings from True Seed (Fuzz) in Greenhouse in Late March that will be ready for Transplanting in Fields in Early May

Seedling Transplanting in a Field with Organic (Muck) Soil at Canal Point in Early May

Stage 1 Plots of the Canal Point Sugarcane Breeding and Cultivar Development Program with Approximately 9,000 Genotypes Selected from Seedling Fields in January Each Year

Stage 4 and Advancement Plots of the Canal Point Sugarcane Breeding and Cultivar Development Program in One of 10 Locations of Growers’ Fields

Mission

The overall mission of the station is to serve as a national sugarcane crossing unit that supports sugarcane cultivar development programs by providing true seed to ARS sugarcane cultivar development programs at Houma, Louisiana, and Canal Point, Florida and to the Texas A&M University at Weslaco, Texas. The breeding CRIS supports NP 301 by conducting a cultivar development program in Florida and conducting molecular and plant stress physiology research and developmental research on water table regimes that maximize cane yield and minimize soil subsidence. The pathology CRIS supports NP 303 by development and application of improved disease detection and screening techniques for sugarcane diseases with particular emphasis on the newly introduced pathogen, Puccinia kuehnii. Scientists from each CRIS participated in their national program workshop.