A Study on Genetic Variability for Cane Yield and Its Component Characters in Mid-Late Clones of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.)

Cultivated sugarcane had developed through the inter-specific hybridization between three species Saccharum officinarum (noble cane) and the wild species, S. spontaneum (native to subtropical to tropical Africa, Asia, and Australasia)and S. robustum (native only to island of New Guinea) resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. Seventeen sugarcane clones were evaluated in randomized block design with three replications at ARS, Perumallapalle, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh to study the variability for cane yield and its component traits. The analysis included key agronomic and quality traits such as germination rate at 30 DAP, tillers at 120 DAP, shoot count at 240 DAP, number of millable canes, number of nodes per cane, cane length, cane diameter, single cane weight, fibre percentage, top leaf weight, juice extraction percentage, brix, sucrose, purity, commercial cane sugar (CCS), reducing sugars, and cane yield at harvest. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in the mean sum of squares for all the characters. The phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV) is greater than the genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) for most of the traits under study. Moderate PCV and GCV values were observed for tillers at 120 DAP followed by a number of millable canes, number of nodes per cane, cane length, juice extraction %, reducing sugars %, CCS yield and cane yield. The characters tillers at 120 DAP, number of nodes per cane, cane length, single cane weight, top leaf weight, juice extraction %, CCS yield, and cane yield showed high heritability coupled with high Genetic Advance as a Percentage of the Mean (GAM) indicating the presence of additive gene action and selection would be effective for these traits. Hence, these traits can be utilized for further selection and genetic improvement of mid-late clones.