Yield, Quality and Disease Resistance of Sugarcane Clones: A Field Evaluation

Evaluation and identification of sugarcane clones for different maturity groups is of paramount importance in sugarcane cultivation to get higher recoveries in sugar mills. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of early maturing sugarcane clones for red rot resistance, cane yield, CCS yield, and their contributing traits in order to idendify the superior clones. Observation on germination per cent, number of tillers (x1000/ha), number of millable cane (x1000/ha), stalk length (cm), stalk diameter (cm), single cane weight (kg), cane yield (t/ha), brix per cent, sucrose (%), purity (%), extraction CCS (%), and sugar yield (t/ha). From the results, it could be concluded that the early maturing clone, CoC 15336, was found to be the best among the test clones for sucrose per cent and sugar yield with resistance to red rot disease. Another clone, CoC 15340, was the next-best entry, with higher cane yield, CCS yield, and sucrose percent compared to the better standards. As a result, clones CoC 15338 and CoC 15336 were identified as the best promising entries and could be forwarded for further yield evaluation trials for release as a new sugarcane variety suitable for East Coast Zone of India.