DIVERSIFICATION OF SUGARCANE VARIETIES FOR CATTLE FEED AND SUSTAINABILITY

By H. JORGE, O. SUÁREZ, H. GARCÍA, I. JORGE and L. BENITEZ
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones dela Caña de Azúcar, Habana. Cuba
hector@inica.minaz.cu

Abstract 

THE PAPER reports results of a study of 44 sugarcane genotypes, evaluated as cattle feed, at
13 months of age, in the first ratoon crop, at Villa Clara–Cienfuegos Territorial Sugar Cane
Research Station and the Sancti Spiritus National Breeding Center in Cuba.
Fourteen traits were evaluated by means of multivariate analyses (Principal
Components and Discriminant Function), and also a simulation was conducted of agroecological regionalisation for the allocation of the sugarcane varieties according to the main
limiting factors (drought and poor drainage) on a cattle producing farm.
Results showed that the variables, percentageof stalk fresh weight (% of stalks) and
of tops (% of tops), had high influence in the first principal component, whereas the genetic
disease (smut and rust) resistance had high influence in the second component. It should be
pointed out that the percentage of digestibility of the dry matter showed very little variability,
which indicates a high stability of this trait.
The Discriminant Function Analysis allowed classification of cultivars into three
groups: varieties of low forage value (below 40% digestibility of the dry matter), varieties of
intermediate forage value (between 40–50%) and varieties of high forage value (above 50%
digestibility).

Results allowed the recommendation of 21 new genotypes, characterised by their
resistance to main diseases and their high foragevalue, and nine were superior to the control
My5514, four suitable for waterlogging stress and three for drought stress.
The simulation of the agro-ecological regionalisation enabled spatial location and
modelling for the appropriate establishment of individuals, in agreement to their digestibility,
tolerance to the two environmental stresses (waterlogging and drought) and their disease
resistance.

KEYWORDS: Cattle Feed, Digestibility,
Dry Matter, Soils, Abiotic Stress.

www.issct.org
http://www.issct.org/congress2016.html

Agronomy - Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010