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Stalk Number in Sugarcane in Spaced and Competitive Plantings 1
Author(s) -
Lyrene P. M.,
Miller J. D.,
James N. I.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1977.0011183x001700030006x
Subject(s) - biology , stalk , saccharum , randomized block design , sowing , confidence interval , horticulture , botany , agronomy , zoology , mathematics , statistics
Twenty random F 1 sugarcane ( Saccharum sp. ) clones from three crosses were grown as spaced stools in a 21‐replication, randomized block experiment. They were also planted at the commercial planting rate in competitive tests with eight replications. The objective was to examine, for a series of genotypes, the relationship between stalk numbers in spaced stools and competitive plots. For the 20 clones, there was a positive correlation (0.69) between mean stalk number per stool and mean stalk number per competitive plot. The 20 clones were more variable in the spaced‐stool test than in the competitive test, with clonal means ranging from 4.90 to 14.72 stalks per stool in the spaced test (5% confidence interval ± 1.18) but only from 108.7 to 162.9 stalks per 7 m 2 plot (5% confidence interval ± 15.2) in the competitive test. It appears possible to select, in the single‐stool stage, clones that will produce high stalk populations in commercial plantings. However, to provide adequate precision, the spaced stool test must be replicated.