Assessment of somaclonal variation in sugarcane

A study was conducted from 2006 to 2008 to assess the variability arising from callus regeneration and its vegetative transmission in a subtropical variety of sugarcane, CoJ 64. Qualitative and quantitative characters were evaluated in the field at maturity in each of the 3 years at the same location. The frequencies of variants were compared to those found in the original variety. The tissue culture process resulted in increased morphological variability among the produced somaclones. Their variability was manifested according to the data for stalk diameter, length, internodes, millable canes, leaf length, width and sucrose characters. The variation among the somaclones was confirmed in the three consecutive years. Key words: Callus regeneration, vegetative transmission, sugarcane.