CORRELATION AND PATH ANALYSIS IN MID-LATE MATURING SUGARCANE CLONES FOR SUGAR YIELD AND ITS ATTRIBUTING TRAITS

An investigation was undertaken to identify thirteen mid-late maturing sugarcane clones in Randomized Block Design with three replications during 2018-19 at Research Farm RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar, to study the correlation and path analysis for sugar yield and its attributing traits.A total of twenty observations were recorded on yield and yield attributing characters.The correlation coefficient analysis revealed that germination % at 45 days, number of shoots at 240 days, no. of milliable canes at harvest, cane height at harvest, pol % in juice at 12 months, purity % at 12 months, CCS % at 12 months, brix at 12 months, single cane weight, extraction %, and pol % in cane showed a highly significant and positive correlation with CCS t/ha (sugar yield).Path coefficient analysis revealed that the trait Pol % in cane showed a high and positive direct effect on sugar yield, followed by brix % at the 12-month stage, fiber % at harvest, CCS % at 12 months, and brix% at 10 months, while Pol % in juice at 12 months exhibited a maximum negative direct effect on sugar yield followed by pol % in juice at t h e 10-month stage, CCS % at t h e 10-month stage.Cane yield and sugar yield are regarded as complex characteristics that are influenced by many components or contributing traits, both positive and negative.Generally, direct selection for cane and sugar yield is ineffective due to low heritability.It is desirable to select indirectly for improvement in cane and sugar yield through other characters.