MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF GROWTH AND YIELD PARAMETERS OF INDUSTRIAL SUGAR CANE IN HUMID TROPICAL AGRO-ECOLOGICAL BELT OF NIGERIA

A field experiment was conducted during the 2021 and 2022 cropping seasons at the Research Farm of Ibrahim Babangida College of Agriculture, Obubra, located in the tropical rainforest belt of Nigeria (Latitude 6°04'N, Longitude 8°21'E, and an altitude of about 1,570m above sea level). The study aimed to evaluate the morphological analysis of growth and yield parameters of industrial sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in Nigeria's humid tropical agro-ecological belt. Twelve industrial sugarcane varieties: OG- 11, B61208, AKWA-005, CO1001, KN-10, CP-65-357, OY-10, BD3745, EBON-006, HAT4, and Triton were laid out in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Flower initiation and arrow formation occurred in CO1001, OG-11, OY-10, CP65- 357, DB3745, and AKWA-005 between 150 and 230 days after planting (DAP). AKWA-005, OY- 10, DB3745, and OG-11 produced more pollen grains than CO1001 and CP65-357. A cane yield of 60.9 t/ha was obtained in CO1001, significantly higher than in EBON-006, CP65-357, and other genotypes. The Brix scale (°Bx) readings were 15.96, 16.47, and 15.32 for DB3745, B61208, and CP65-357, respectively. Similarly, indices clustered CO1001, EBON-006, DB3745, CP65-357, B61208, and AKWA-005 together. Therefore, CO1001, CP65-357, EBON- 006, DB3745, B61208, and AKWA-005 are valuable for sugarcane breeding and, with their greater yield capacity, are recommended for sugarcane cultivation in the humid tropical agroecological zone of Nigeria.