Selection of New Sugarcane Genotypes for Sandy Soils in Florida with Enhanced Sucrose Content

The selection of sugarcane genotypes with high sucrose content and good ratooning ability (RA) is an important objective of the Canal Point breeding program to improve the current profitability levels of the Florida sugarcane industry. In this study, thirteen test sugarcane genotypes and three checks were evaluated in three sand locations, Pahokee Produce Inc. (PP), Townsite farm (TS), and Lykes Brothers Inc. (PF), during three crop cycles (plant cane, first ratoon, and second ratoon). Multi-environment best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) were highly significant for commercially recoverable sucrose (CRS) and not significant for cane yield (CY) among genotypes. The ANOVA based on the RA values produced significant genotypic effects but a reduced RA diversity among the genotypes. The simultaneous selection for BLUP_CRS, BLUP_CY yield, and RA identified CP 14-4165 and CP 13-2340 as the most outstanding genotypes. The BLUP_GGE biplots method showed that the PP location was the most discriminative for BLUP_CY, whereas the TS was the ideal location. For BLUP_CRS, the three locations had similar abilities to discriminate genotypes and were positively and strongly correlated. The which-won-where graph indicated that CP 13-2340 showed the highest BLUP_CRS levels in TS and PP locations, while CP 14-4165 and CP 14-4588 were the top genotypes in the PF location. The results suggest that selecting genotypes with high CRS values is possible without compromising the genotype discrimination for CY. CP 14-4165 and CP 13-2340 are resistant to most diseases and genetically diverse.