Phenotypic and genetic path analyses were carried out in order to quantify direct and indirect effects of production components on the variable ton of stalks per hectare (TSH) and mean stalk weight (MSW). Seventeen hybrid families were evaluated on a randomized complete block design with four replicates, at the Centro de Pesquisa e Melhoramento da Cana-de-Açúcar - CECA of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Minas Gerais State. Planting was carried out in January 2000. The following variables were defined as production components: stalk height (SH), stalk diameter (SD) and stalk number (SN). The results indicated that the variables MSW and SN can be used for indirect selection of high yielding families, since they showed positive and high direct effects on TSH. Despite SH and SD showed high correlation with MSW, only SD showed high direct genetic effect on MSW, demonstrating the importance of this variable for indirect selection of families with higher mean stalk weight.
genetic correlations; correlations; path analysis
