Brayden Blanchard

The art and science of plant breeding relies on aligning the right genes for desired traits into a new variety that addresses the needs of farmers. It is a game of probability. The same is true in sugarcane breeding for Louisiana, and the story of variety LCP 85-384 is the modern-day success story of addressing the needs of an industry through variety development. Scientists at the LSU AgCenter recently compiled this story in a publication for the Journal of Plant Registrations, highlighting the extensive contribution of LCP 85-384 to the long-term productivity of the Louisiana sugarcane industry.

Legacy

The full magnitude of LCP 85-384’s impact can only be understood by first considering its development, which dates back to the late 1950s. A resurgence of the mosaic virus in the Louisiana industry after the release of susceptible variety NCo 310 led breeders to look to the wild species of sugarcane, S. spontaneum, for much-needed resistance. By crossing hybrids to this wild species, genes for these resistance traits could be recovered in the offspring, which would then be backcrossed to the hybrid parent a series of times to develop near-commercial varieties for testing. This basic breeding effort conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Sugarcane Research Unit continues today with the same objectives: to incorporate genes for disease resistance, cold tolerance, stubbling ability (the ability of the plant to regrow for multiple harvests from the same root system) and improved yield from the wild species into modern varieties. LCP 85-384 was the first variety to be released as a result of this project in 1993 and quickly grew in popularity among farmers.

LCP 85-384’s performance was unprecedented. Compared to other commercial varieties at the time, smaller stalk diameter and higher stalk populations contributed to higher yields that could be sustained for more stubble crops and greatly increase the profitability for farmers. New methods of evaluating stubbling ability estimate that LCP 85-384 provided a 67.8% increase in sugar yield over the crop cycle and the ability to harvest three to four and sometimes five crops in an extended crop cycle. Its adoption could not have come at a more opportune time. In the mid-1990s, the combine harvester was introduced as an alternative to the soldier harvester, representing a major milestone in sugarcane mechanization. (See Page 19.) With improved genetics and harvesting capabilities, a perfect storm of innovation was created, and farmers took full advantage.

With every improved variety comes a new “high score” to beat, and every subsequent victory is built on previous success. While its impact on commercial production was unprecedented, its impact on the future of sugarcane in Louisiana was not and will not be realized for years to come. Scientists learned from LCP 85-384. It served as a model variety for pure genetics and molecular studies to understand how that ideal package of genes came to be. Important discoveries took place related to how the divisions and combinations of genes are inherited in later breeding generations. We better understood how we could exploit this phenomenon to increase our chances of aligning these favorable genes again in new varieties. We still use LCP 85-384 as an example of how we “got it right” so we can figure out how to continue the progress.

We have since found similar success, much to the credit of LCP 85-384. By simultaneously raising the bar to “beat” LCP 85-384 and using it as a parent in the breeding program, it didn’t take long to develop other commercial varieties that were its direct progeny. HoCP 95-540, L 97-128, L 01-299, L 01-283 and L 11-183 are all first-generation progenies that were released for commercial production in Louisiana. The impact of LCP 85-384 can be translated into the impact these varieties have also had on production. HoCP 96-540 (released in 2003) and L 01-299 (released in 2009) sustained the increasing sugar yield trends after the eventual decline of LCP 85-384 due to brown rust susceptibility in 2004. L 01-299 continues today as the industry-leading variety, planted on 53% of the acreage in 2024. It is favored for many of the same qualities as LCP 85-384, including its high population and impressive stubbling ability. When historical sugar yield increases were compared before versus after the release of LCP 85-384, a 41% increase in the annual rate of gain of sugar yield was realized. In other words, from 1969 until 1995 (the year LCP 85-384 was heavily adopted for production), annual sugar yields had increased on average by 63 pounds of sugar per year. After the adoption of LCP 85-384, that rate of gain increased to an average of 89.2 pounds of sugar per year. Meanwhile, better stubbling ability allowed farmers to keep more of their older stubble crops in production for increased profitability.

Looking Ahead

We continue to raise the bar with newly released varieties that are contributing to greater yields and longer crop cycles. LCP 85-384 is far from finished making its impact. It is still the leading variety in Tucumán, Argentina, where the climate is similar to south Louisiana. It was reported to make up around 67% of the acreage there in 2020. At the LSU AgCenter, it has been used over 1,000 times in crossing. It is the parent of over 100 other parent varieties, the grandparent of over 223 parents and the great-grandparent of over 60 parents. It has produced 13 commercial varieties as either a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent. Of the parents currently used in the breeding program, 78% are highly related to LCP 85-384. Its legacy will live on for decades, and generations of sugarcane varieties will only build on the progress that has been made so far.

By exploiting LCP 85-384 as a parent and understanding its genetic composition, we can better identify what genes cause the traits that we are after and target those genes more precisely in crossing and selection. New approaches in precision breeding allow us to select varieties not just based on how they perform in variety trials, but by what genes they may have in common with the wild-type species, LCP 85-384 or any other variety for which we have genetic information. In this game of probabilities, it will give the breeders the best chance to create and identify the best packages of genes in more improved varieties.

It’s often in the past that plant breeders and researchers find optimism for the future. While it is exciting to recount the full magnitude of the impact of LCP 85-384, it is more exciting to learn where our progress can lead. Plant breeding stories like this one give hope for generations of a sustainable food supply and the security of livelihoods in the agricultural sector. In Louisiana, where sugarcane is so embedded in the history and culture of the region, it means an ambitious outlook for the future of our sweet way of life.

The legacy of LCP 85-384 continues today as a Louisiana sugarcane variety that keeps on giving.

Brayden Blanchard is an assistant professor of sugarcane breeding and quantitative genetics at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel.

This article appears in the summer 2025 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

What is in a name? What does the name LCP 85-384 mean?

The letters and numbers that compose a sugarcane cultivar name may seem like a dense secret code. However, this form of variety designation is well known among producers and scientists, and the code tells a great deal about that cultivar’s origin.

The letters in the cultivar name denote the research facilities that are the sources of the cultivar. For LCP 85-384, the L indicates that the variety was selected at the LSU AgCenter sugarcane breeding program at the Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel from the offspring of a cross made at Canal Point in Florida, which accounts for the CP in the name. Canal Point is the location of a cooperative sugarcane development program among the USDA-ARS, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Florida Sugar Cane League.

Then, two numbers represent the year the variety was selected. In this case, 85 signifies 1985. The numbers after the hyphen — 384 — are unique numbers assigned to varieties that year.

Kyle Peveto

The introduction of the combine harvester

Brayden Blanchard

At a time when farmers were growing more cane than ever before, the combine harvester solved major challenges in the harvestability of the crop compared to the previously popular soldier harvester. The soldier harvester relied on erect stalk growth to cut the stalks at the base and stack them on top of the beds. Loaders with hydraulic grapples would then collect the stalks and load them into wagons for transport to the mills. However, lodging, or the tendency for stalks to fall over due to strong winds, was a typical challenge and became more common as newer varieties like LCP 85-384 had more height and higher stalk populations. Thicker leaf canopies that accompanied high-population varieties also tended to choke and disrupt the functionality of the soldier harvester, causing in-field delays and breakdowns. The combine could more reliably contain the stalks on top of the bed, direct them into the base cutters and efficiently manage the unwanted leaf residue that accompanied the stalks. By cutting the stalks into smaller, more manageable pieces and loading them directly into adjacent wagons with an elevator, it eliminated the need for the loader and could fit more biomass of sugarcane into wagons and trucks for more efficient transport.

Sugarcane variety LCP 85-384 led to greater production for Louisiana producers, and it continues to affect sugarcane production as it is a parent or grandparent of many popular varieties planted today. LSU AgCenter file photo

Annual proportion of crop age (plant-cane through third ratoon and older) from 1994 to 2021.

Improved ratoon ability of LCP 85-384 and its ability to pass on those traits to later generations of varieties has allowed growers to keep older sugarcane crops on their farms, reducing planting costs and increasing profitability.