Variation in the flowering behaviour of Saccharum spontaneum L. world collection at Coimbatore

Abstract

An assessment of the influence of weather parameters on flowering of 1459 world germplasm collections of Saccharum spontaneum L. collected over a century (1916-2016) and maintained in the field germplasm at Coimbatore during 2017 to 2019 flowering seasons was undertaken. The collections were from 23 states of India and exotic regions belonging to various latitudes. Accessions from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu recorded profuse flowering along with Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha and Tripura accessions in all the three seasons even though they are latitudinally displaced. Inherent limited latitudinal tolerance was noticed in these clones. Maximum number of accessions was found to be in flowering during October month irrespective of the planting date. Statistical analysis has been carried out by calculating correlation coefficients between different pairs of weather parameters and t- test for finding out the significance. Relative humidity in the forenoon as well in the afternoon had a significant positive correlation and solar radiation had a highly negative correlation on flowering. Rainfall and rainy days had positive correlation on flowering during season I of flowering. Ideal temperature condition for S. spontaneum panicle development and pollen fertility under Coimbatore condition was found to be 30° C during day and 22° C at night. Utilization of these new flowering accessions and late flowering germplasm in the future breeding programme will enhance the commercial cultivars in sugarcane and aid in the development of improved varieties.

Keywords

• sugarcane; saccharum spontaneum; germplasm accessions; flowering behaviour; environmental factors; pollen fertility.