U.P. Releases Four New Sugarcane Varieties, Expects Higher Production

The Uttar Pradesh government said four new sugarcane varieties have been released for cultivation, with the move expected to raise both sugarcane and sugar production.

The government said the approved varieties are early-maturing and offer better yield and sugar recovery.

New varieties cleared after review

The decision followed a recent meeting of the Seed Cane and Sugarcane Variety Approval Sub-Committee, where the release of new sugarcane varieties was discussed.

The meeting was attended by sub-committee officials, the Director of the Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research, scientists from the UP Council of Sugarcane Research in Shahjahanpur and scientists from the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research in Lucknow.

Data on the yield and sugar content of varieties proposed by the U.P. Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, were presented during the meeting.

Ministhy S., Uttar Pradesh Cane Commissioner and Managing Director of State Sugar Corporation Limited, told The Hindu that the data showed strong performance from the early-maturing variety CoS.23232.

The average yield of the plant crop for CoS.23232 was 95.56 tons/hectare, according to the data cited by Ministhy S.

This was 9.44% higher than the yield of the standard variety Co.0238.

Ministhy S. also said CoS.23232 is resistant to Red Rot disease and has good ratoon performance.

Following deliberations, the variety was taken up for cultivation after being found superior to the popular variety Co.0238 on both yield and sugar recovery.

IISR variety also considered

Abhishek Anand, Additional Cane Commissioner and Director of UPCSR, said the sub-committee also considered the release of an early-maturing sugarcane variety developed by the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research in Lucknow.

The approval process therefore included varieties developed by the Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, as well as an early-maturing variety developed by the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow.

The government said the newly approved varieties would provide alternatives to farmers and contribute to higher sugarcane and sugar production.

Six older varieties to be phased out

The sub-committee also decided to declare six older sugarcane varieties unsuitable, keeping farmers’ interests in mind.

The decision was based on their unpopularity and negligible cultivation area, according to the account of the meeting.

These six varieties will be phased out over the next two years.

With the approval of high-yielding and high-sugar-recovery varieties, farmers will have a wider basket of varieties for cultivation, Abhishek Anand said.

He said the change would lead to increased sugarcane yield and greater economic prosperity for farmers in the state, while the sugar industry would also benefit from improved sugar recovery.

The Director of UPCSR said the move would boost sugarcane farmers’ income and go a long way towards doubling farmers’ income.

He described the decision as a testament to the progress and research carried out by scientists at UPCSR Shahjahanpur.

Source: The Hindu