ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and characteristic of stalks from 25 sugarcane clones in plant-cane and ratoon cultivations. The experiment was conducted in Jaguari, RS, Brazil, during the 2009/2010 (plant cane) and 2010/2011 (ratoon) growing seasons. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 25 × 2 factorial arrangement (25 clones and two growing seasons), with three replications. At the end of each growing season, the length, diameter, and number and productivity of stalks were evaluated. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. The average stalk yield of in the most productive clones with early cycle in plant-cane and ratoon (96.6 and 123.4 t ha-1, respectively) was similar to that obtained with the most productive clones with mid-late cycle (101.5 and 128 t ha-1, respectively). The stalk yield in ratoon exceeded that obtained in the plant-cane in 13 of the 25 clones evaluated. In general, the most productive clones have elevated number and length of stalks, with an observed low variation in stalk diameter of the tested materials. The clones RB965911, RB925345, RB855156, RB987935, RB935744, RB867515, RB975019, RB925268, RB845210, and RB975329 are the most adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of the Depressão Central do Rio Grande do Sul region, with higher stalk yield, with values accumulated in the two growing seasons above 200 t ha-1.
Key words:
Saccharum sp.; parameters culm; production.