Uttar Pradesh approves four sugarcane varieties to raise yields

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved four new sugarcane varieties for cultivation, saying they could increase both sugarcane and sugar production, The Hindu reported. The varieties were considered by the Seed Cane and Sugarcane Variety Approval Sub-Committee, which included officials, scientists from the Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research in Shahjahanpur and researchers from the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research in Lucknow. Ministhy S., Uttar Pradesh’s cane commissioner and managing director of the State Sugar Corporation, said the approved early-maturing varieties performed better in yield and sugar recovery.

Data presented to the committee concerned the yield and sugar content of varieties proposed by the state research council. One of the varieties, CoS.23232, recorded an average plant-crop yield of 95.56 tonnes per hectare. According to the figures cited by the state, that was 9.44% higher than the standard variety Co.0238.

The government also said CoS.23232 is resistant to red rot disease and performs well as a ratoon crop. The authorities said the new variety was approved because it was considered superior to Co.0238 on yield and sugar recovery. Abhishek Anand, additional cane commissioner and director of the research council, said an early-maturing variety developed by the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research was also considered.

The committee additionally decided that six older varieties were unsuitable because they were unpopular and occupied negligible cultivation areas. They will be phased out over the next two years. The state said the new varieties would give farmers a wider selection and could improve yields, sugar recovery and farm incomes.

It also said sugar mills would benefit from higher recovery. The report did not provide the names or trial results of all four newly approved varieties, nor did it quantify their expected effect on total production.