TN to get new high-yielding cane variety soon

Coimbatore: The Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) in the city has developed a new variety of sugarcane, which is expected to give better returns in shorter duration. Called Co 11015, the new variety has been found to have about 2% more sucrose content than Co 86032, the variety widely used now. In addition to a higher yield, the new variety also requires only nine months to mature, unlike the existing variety that needs a 12-month period.
Co 11015 is one of the 20 clones tested in the nine sugar mills as part of the sweet bloom project of SBI and South India Sugar Mills Association (SISMA), and it was found the most successful. SBI is likely to release it to farmers in the next three months.
The sweet bloom project was launched by SBI and SISMA in 2016 with an aim of improving sugar recovery for the state of Tamil Nadu. “Two years ago, we planted 20 elite clones of sugarcane in each of the nine mills. We checked their yield, reaction to pests and diseases and sucrose content, to figure out which of the 20 varieties were successful in those respective locations,” said G Hemaprabha, principal scientist at SBI and chief breeder.
Of the 20 varieties, while five varieties showed promise, Co 11015 was found to be the most successful. “It was found to be performing better than the existing, widely cultivated Co 86032 in seven of the nine mills,” Hemaprabha said. “Its sucrose content was more than 17% when harvested at eight months, compared to the existing variety which has only 15% sucrose content. This makes it a shorter duration variety.”
At 12 months, this variety records 20% sucrose content, compared to 18.5% of Co 86032, with an improvement of about 10%. “It also provides 10-15 tonnes more cane per hectare than the existing variety on an average for every harvest,” she said.
A higher sucrose content in the cane is critical for the sugarcane mills. Canes generally mature at 12 months, with peak sucrose content responsible for higher sugar recovery.
“However, most farmers harvest the crop earlier because of drought conditions and water shortage. So, if harvested in eight to 10 months, sugar recovery of Co 86032 is usually around 8%. Data collected show this new variety is expected to offer 9-10% sucrose recovery even if harvested after around eight months,” the scientist said.
Last month, Dr Bakshi Ram, director, SBI, presented the data before SISMA and to the agriculture department. SISMA was impressed with the performance of Co 11015. “The state government, satisfied with the data, has requested us to speed up the submission of a proposal to release the variety in Tamil Nadu. We have submitted the release proposal through Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,” said an SBI official.