Evaluation of Certain Sugarcane Varieties for Ethanol Production

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted to study the ethanol yielding ability of twenty-three sugarcane varieties during 1987–88 at Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, India. Among the varieties studied, Co 8145 yielded the highest quantity of ethanol (13,619 1/ha) and Co 1305 yielded the lowest (5,579 1/ha). Apart from Co 8145, varieties CoSi 86071, Co 6304, Co 975 and Co 7219 were also found promising which yielded alcohol above 12,000 1/ha. Total sugars had a positive association (r = 0.974**) with fermentable sugars in juice. Ethanol yield per unit volume of juice (actual yield) had a significant positive association with total sugars (r = 0.818**) and fermentable sugars (0.942**) in cane juice. Cane yield had a direct bearing on ethanol yield as evidenced from the highly significant positive correlation between them (r = 0.890**). Hence a variety meant for ethanol production should contain high total and fermentable sugars in juice coupled with high cane yield and juice extraction per cent. These high yielding ethanol varieties viz., Co 8145, Cosi 86071, Co 6304, Co 975 and Co 7219 may be exploited for commercial production of ethanol directly from juice and used as parents for evolving cane varieties meant for ethanol production.