Research
Genetic Variation and Heritability for Juice Quality and Yield Traits in Selection of Sugarcane Genotypes under Irrigation at Early Stage in Ferké 2 Sugar Estate of Northern Ivory Coast
Genetic relationships between important attributes in studying sugarcane populations through breeding and direct selection, are crucial to understand how changes made by selecting one character may cause changes in others. The study aimed to determine the best yielding sugarcane genotypes tested at early selection stage under sprinkler irrigation, in comparison with a check variety (R579). The experiment was designed following a randomized complete block (RCB), with 30 cane genotypes in three replications. Each plot consisted of five dual rows of ten meters, with 0.5 and 1.90 m of inter-row spacing, i.e. 95 m² per plot and nearly 6,000 m² for the whole experiment. It was carried out on a commercial sugarcane plantation of Ferké 2, in northern Ivory Coast, over two seasons (plant cane and first ratoon) as an early-season crop from, November 29, 2018 to October 26, 2020. In each micro-plot, different agro-morphological traits were collected at harvest from three central dual rows. The study showed that most relevant traits in genotype clustering were related to juice quality (recoverable sucrose, sucrose content, purity), yields and some yield components like single stalk height, and single stalk weight. Based on sugar yields, three genotypes over-classing the check variety (R579), namely RCI14/128, RCI11/112, and RCI11/190, were determined for the late selection stage, with 16.4, 15.8 and 15.0 t sugar/ha, respectively. Their cane yields reached 151.5, 164.2 and 132.6 t/ha, respectively, compared to 146.1 t/ha for the check, and belong to two clusters genotypes over six determined. Except for juice purity and cane fiber content, all agro-morphological traits investigated could explain the genetic variation of sugarcane genotypes tested, with stem borer infestation rate, cane and sugar yields, and number of tillers/ha as the most relevant traits in this regard.
