New sugarcane cultivars to start harvesting in the Ofelina Panama sugarmill

Abstract

Efficient production in the sugar industry requires the use of cultivars with high sucrose content. The objective of the work was to characterize the agronomic response of 70 new sugarcane cultivars ( Saccharum spp.) introduced in the clonal stage of selection and initial period of the sugar harvest in the Ofelina sugarmill (La Estrella SA, CALESA, Republic of Panama). The characters evaluated were the refractometric brix, number of stems m -1 , t cane ha -1 , incidence of harmful agents, flowering, thickness and height of the stem. A randomized block design with three repetitions was used. Analysis of random effect variances was performed to estimate the genetic and environmental components, fixed and to establish the differences among cultivars. With the individuals selected, a cluster analysis was performed. The difference among the groups formed was verified with another analysis of variances of fixed effects and the Tukey test. Inheritance, Genetic Coefficient of Variation (CGV) and standard error for each variable evaluated were also estimated. It was shown that the genetic variance was greater than that of the error, except in the diameter, which confirms the importance of the genetic component at this stage of selection. The CGV was higher for agricultural performance variables in the 2011 and 2010 selection, the Brix was comparable to the height and higher than the diameter. It were selected 38 new cultivars that were recommended for the final stage of selection.

Keywords

• characters
• genetics
• selection
• variability
• yield