Sugarcane Morphological, Photosynthetic, and Growth Responses to Water-Table Depth

Abstract

ABSTRACT High water tables threaten the sustainability of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), the primary crop of Florida's Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of water-table depth on morphological characters, single-leaf net photosynthetic rate (Ps), and growth of sugarcane. In pot studies, single stools of sugarcane cultivar CP 80-1743 were grown at eight equally spaced water-table depths from 5 to 33 cm (2 to 13 in). Large-tiller number of CP 80-1743 increased by 0.2 for each cm (0.4 in) increase of water-table depth, and stalk diameter increased as water-table depth increased from 5 through 23 cm (2 through 9 in). In lysimeter studies, responses of two genotypes to periodic floods and several water-table depths were compared. Yields of genotype CP 95-1429 were not affected by water-table depth and CP 95-1429 had similar stalk numbers and diameters across water-depth treatments. Yields of genotype CP 95-1376 increased as water-table depth increased, and stalk numbers and diameters of CP 95-1376 also increased as water-table depth increased. Quantifying large tiller number and stalk diameter in sugarcane should facilitate identification of genotypes and agronomic practices with improved tolerance to shallow water-tables.