Purpose

Sugarcane varieties are the lifeblood of the Louisiana sugarcane industry. Variety diversification is essential to the survival of the sugarcane industry in Louisiana as well as other sugarcane-producing areas. Diseases such as brown rust are managed primarily through variety diversification; therefore, variety identification is very important for all farming operations. An important aspect of variety identification is to associate the variety with the cultural practice and soil type needed to maximize its production. Not all varieties require the same amounts of pesticides. Applying too much or too little could be a waste of money if they are not needed for the production of a certain variety at maximum levels. Another important reason for sugarcane identification is to verify the purchase and placement of certain varieties from companies that are selling disease-free sugarcane seed cane. This publication is designed to help people identify commercially grown sugarcane varieties in Louisiana.

Variety Recommendation

The following varieties are planted to some extent in Louisiana: HoCP 96-540, L 99-226, HoCP 00-950, L 01-283, L 01-299, L 03-371, HoCP 04-838, Ho 05-961, Ho 07-613, HoCP 09-804, L 11-183, L 12-201 and Ho 12-615.

This publication will help growers identify certain botanical characteristics of the sugarcane plant that are useful in identifying sugarcane varieties. This publication outlines general vegetative characteristics of the sugarcane plant with pictures describing the differences between each of the varieties. These characteristics include stalk wax, leaf sheath wax, leaf sheath margin, leaf sheath hair, dewlap, stalk color, auricle and other distinguishing characteristics.

Variety Identification Descriptors

The variety descriptors used in this pictorial identification guide were established as an aid to anyone interested in identifying the commercial sugarcane varieties of Louisiana. With several commercial sugarcane varieties planted by the sugarcane industry, this pictorial guide is a must for the sugarcane grower to keep track of varieties for good farming records. After briefly studying the guide and practicing the identification of the descriptors, growers should be able to identify every variety more easily. Many different sugarcane botanical descriptors could have been used in this guide, but the complexity of some can be very confusing. The variety descriptors used in this guide are the simplest and easiest of all of the descriptors available for identification.

Many of the descriptors — along with the brief variety synopsis at the top of the page for each variety — have been described in some form in the sugarcane variety registration (published in Crop Science or The Journal of Plant Registrations), notice of variety release publication (Sugar Bulletin) or Sugarcane Production Handbook.

Sugarcane variety descriptors are:

1. Stalk wax — Because all varieties contain stalk wax, the ratings based on this category are light (stalk color highly visible), moderate (stalk color somewhat visible) and extensive (stalk color not visible).
2. Leaf sheath wax — The ratings used to describe the leaf sheath wax are none (no wax visible), light (slight wax visible) and extensive (prominent wax visible).
3. Leaf sheath margin — The outer edge of the leaf sheath where it wraps around the stalk. The leaf sheath margin descriptors are thin or wide along with a color description.
4. Leaf sheath hair (pubescence) — The ratings are based on hair quantity and visibility and consist of none (no hair), light (hair that can be felt but not seen), moderate (hair that can be seen but is not in large quantity) and extensive (hair that can be seen and is in large quantity).
5. Dewlap — The hinge of the leaf blade joint where the leaf blade and the leaf sheath meet. The dewlap also will be described by color shading. The ratings will be the same (same color as leaf), darker (darker color than leaf) and lighter (lighter color than leaf).
6. Stalk color — The stalk color represents internodes from stalks freshly cut (leaves and wax that have just been removed from the internode) because the sun and wax can have an impact on stalk color. Some varieties that express a red or purple color do so because of the exposure of the stalk to the sun. The stalk color may not be the same exact color as the template, but these base colors are a guide for identification.
7. Auricle — The appendages of the leaf sheath located on the opposite side of the ligule. The auricle alternates sides from bottom of the stalk to the top of the stalk. The descriptors for the auricle are short-pointed, medium-pointed, long-pointed, short-rounded, medium-rounded, long-rounded or a tuft of hairs.
8. Distinguishing characteristic — A certain characteristic or group of characteristics that can easily be used to identify the variety. The distinguishing characteristic may or may not be one of the identification descriptors listed above.

Variety Identification Illustration

The following illustration may help to identify where the variety descriptors are located on the sugarcane plant.