Agronomic evaluation of sugarcane mutants for their quantitative and qualitative characters in plant-ratoon system

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken during the year 2020-21 to 2022-23 at the Research & Development farm of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Manjari Bk., Pune, Maharashtra, India with the objective of evaluating and identifying sugarcane mutants with high yield potential, superior juice quality and desirable agronomic traits in both plant and ratoon crops. Thirteen sugarcane mutants 3489, 3990, 4160, 4199, 4209, 4206, 8737, 8733, 8785, 8754, 8457, 8711 and 2543 were evaluated alongside two standard checks: CoM 0265 & Co 86032. Observations were recorded for key agronomic and quality parameters. Mutant 8711 recorded higher tiller population (1.02 lakh/ha) followed by mutant 8457 (0.97 lakh/ha) & mutant 8733 (0.96 lakh/ha), highest NMC recorded by mutant 8733 & 8711 (0.73 lakh/ha & 0.70 lakh/ha), highest yield recorded by mutant 8711 (132.50 t/ha) followed by 8457 (130.66 t/ha) & 8733 (128.29 t/ha). The results revealed that among the tested mutants, 8711, 8457, and 8733 exhibited superior performance in terms of cane yield and CCS yield. Based on their promising performance, these three mutants are recommended for further promotion and evaluation in multi-location trials.