Yield and Ratooning Ability of Thirty Sugar Cane Genotypes

Abstract

AN EXPERIMENT field was conducted at El- Mattana ........Agricultural Research Station, Luxor Governorate, to evaluate the yield and ratooning ability of 30 sugarcane genotypes (clones) along with the check cultivar G.T 54/9 during three different crop cycles; plant cane (PC), first ratoon (FR), and second ratoon (SR) crops during 2011/2013 harvesting seasons. A randomized complete block design with three replicates was used. Results indicated that the evaluated genotypes varied significantly (P = 0.05) within and among crop cycles for stalk length, stalk diameter, stalk density, stalk weight, stalks number, cane yield, Brix, sucrose content, purity, sugar recovery and sugar yield. The evaluated genotypes differed significantly in their ratooning ability (RA) for all studied traits. Over evaluated genotypes, means of stalk diameter, stalk weight, stalk density and cane yield in plant cane were higher than those in the first and second ratoon crops, while means of Brix, sucrose, purity and sugar recovery percentages in the second ratoon were higher than those in plant cane and first ratoon crops.