MAKING CROSSES FOR THE SUGARCANE BREEDING PROGRAM IN LOUISIANA

Goals / Objectives
To identify sugarcane cultivars that are tolerant and productive at high water tables; to make crosses among water tolerant cultivars and to select and evaluate resultant selections at the high water tables; and to evaluate the dynamics of water movement in the water table plots.

Project Methods
Import new selections from Louisiana on a yearly basis for incorporation into the breeding program. Parental clones will be grown under conditions to maximize flowering. Date of flowering will be mainipulated by use of varied growing conditions, plants grown in cans and field plots; the use of light treatment to: 1) induce flowering in lateor non-flowering clones and 2) to delay flowering in early flowering clones; and movement of plants grown in cans to the railcart system to insure pollen development in plants to be used as male parents. The effect of pollen loading (the ratio of the number of female tassels/male tassel) will be studied to optimize seed set. The effect of method of maintaining male tassels (air layers vs solution) during pollination will be evaluated. Parental clones will be inoculated with the RSD bacterium, grown for a year and evaluated with TBIA.

Progress 04/01/01 to 03/31/06

Outputs
Progress Report 4d Progress report. This serves to document research conducted under a trust fund that ARS has with the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 6625-13210-002- 00D Sugarcane Germplasm Enhancement and Diversification to Develop Sustainable Agricultural Systems. In the 2005/2006 crossing season we made 294 crosses using 353 female tassels to produce 88,807 seed for the Louisiana ARS breeding program in Houma. An additional 224 crosses using 247 female tassels to produce an estimated 59,823 seed were made and shared with either the ARS Florida program or the Texas A&M breeding program. Included are seed produced for the sugarcane borer resistance recurrent selection program. This relates to Objective 1 of the parent project Develop breeding methods related to manipulation and synchronization of flowering and storage of pollen to produce seed with a wide range of diversity for use in breeding programs in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and California.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

Kimbeng, C.A., W.H. White, J.D. Miller, and B.L. Legendre. 2003. Sugar Journal vol 66(No.1) p.30.

Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05

Outputs
4d Progress report. This serves to document research conducted under a trust fund that ARS has with the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 6625-13210-002- 00D Sugarcane Germplasm Enhancement and Diversification to Develop Sustainable Agricultural Systems. There were 1404 female tassels set in 514 crosses that produced an estimated 816,955 seeds for the ARS breeding program at Houma, LA. Included are seed produced for the routine breeding program and for the recurrent selection program for resistance to the sugarcane borer. This relates to Objective 1 of the parent project Develop breeding methods related to manipulation and synchronization of flowering and storage of pollen to produce seed with a wide range of diversity for use in breeding programs in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and California.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

Kimbeng, C.A., W.H. White, J.D. Miller, and B.L. Legendre. 2003. Sugar Journal vol 66(No.1) p.30.

Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03

Outputs
4. What were the most significant accomplishments this past year? This project is a trust fund with the American Sugarcane League, Inc. and supports research conducted in CRIS 6625-13210-002-00D on Sugarcane Germplasm Enhancement and Diversification to Develop Sustainable Agricultural Systems. There were 1753 female tassels set in 542 crosses that produced an estimated 1,125,985 seed for the ARS breeding program at Houma, Louisiana. Included are seed produced for the routine breeding program and those for the recurrent selection program for resistance to the sugarcane borer. A cultivar, HoCP 96-540 will be released to growers in the fall of 2003.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

Kimbeng, C.A., W.H. White, J.D. Miller, and B.L. Legendre. 2003. Sugar Journal vol 66(No.1) p.30.