Sugarcane is one of the most important crops, which is likened by an ant to elephant for it sweetens our delicacies and satisfies our gastronomic delight. Ethiopia having only 5.1 kg per capita consumption of sugar needs to enhance its production so that everyone in the country has enough on their platter. Click here to see pictures
To complement ongoing efforts, a seasoned Indian Plant Breeder, Prof Abdul Qayyum Khan of Arba Minch University through his yearlong project - ‘Evaluation of Sugarcane Varieties for Yield and Quality Characteristics at AMU,’ started in April 2018, is growing different cane varieties in this agro-ecological zone to analyze, train AMU MSc students, recognize, identify their morphological, yield and quality characteristics of different varieties.
Further he said, the project is carried out at AMU Research farm located at 6.04 ̊̊N latitude, 37.36 ̊E with an altitude of 1218 MASL; in this regard, seed of some 30 varieties from Ethiopian Sugarcane Corporation including four varieties from Shara village farmers (Wonji, Habesha, Nech-Habesha and Shelle-Habesha) have been collected and research experiments are underway on 16 Ratoon and 14 plant crops varieties.
Adding further details, he says, we will analyze their comparative performances in terms of yield, quality and other characteristics, etc. Interestingly, of all varieties of plant crop, Wonji is performing better as it has good germination capacity, tilling, fast growth, better thickness, better yield and quality will be analyzed later. Shara farmers are growing them for chewing purpose as it is good natural tonic and has medicinal value while Habesha, Nech-Habesha and Shelle-Habesha are softer and are liked for chewing purpose. Of 12 varieties commercially suitable for sugar production, NCO 334, B 52-298, N 14, etc. are the best.
Unraveling the technicality, he said, in Ethiopia, the space between two rows is kept 1.45 meters, while it’s 90 centimeter in India. Ethiopian varieties are generally thicker and they take 16 months to grow, while in India it takes 12 to 13 months. The minimum maturation period of a variety in Ethiopia is 13 to 14 months.
The above stated 30 varieties under observation are being tested for Plant and Ratoon crops. Plant crops are Co 1001, Co 945, PR 1007, B 57-371, CP 72-2083, Co 842, Co 976, B 49-224, B 53-165, B 49-388, Habesha, Nech-Habesha, Shelle-Habesha and Wongi.
Ratoon crops are comprised of varieties such as B 41 227, DB 228/57, N 14, N 52/219, N Co 334, B 52/298, E 188/56, B 59/212, B 4906, CP 69/105, N 53/216/ Mex 54/245, B 60/267, Co 622, C 86/56 and C 86/165. At present, 12 varieties under commercial cultivation in Ethiopia are N Co 334, B 52/298, N 14, Co 421, M 165/38, DB 377/60, Mex 54/245, B 41227, Co 680, Co 449 and Co 740, he added.
Hinting at broader picture, he said, Ethiopia produces more than 300,000 tons of sugar annually on 37,000 hectares, but it meets demand of only 60% people as per capita sugar consumption in Ethiopia is 5.1 kg, which is very low from African standard (16.3 kg) and world standard (23.7kg); hence there is need to upscale the production in Ethiopia.
Furthermore, in Ethiopia, sugarcane varieties are not developed; they were introduced from countries i.e. Barbados, India, South Africa, Mauritius, Mexico, Guyana and Cuba. In Ethiopia sugarcane is cultivated to produce sugar and by-products like molasses, ethanol, bagasse, filter press mud and also for chewing purpose. It generally matures in 16 to 20 months and five to six ratoon crops are raised in the same field after harvesting of the previous crops, he said.
Ethiopia’s topography being mountainous, sugarcane is produced at places where water is available; therefore, there is need of irrigation to enhance growth, it needs flat lands. Another thing, Ethiopia has no indigenous varieties; it produces sugar from imported varieties from Cuba, Kenya, India, Natal, South Africa and Barbados. But, imperative for breeding is that sugarcane must flower and sets seeds so that different varieties can be hybridized to create progeny and improved ones can be selected.
Emphasizing further he said sugarcane is a photosensitive crop and it flowers in a moderate temperature of 22 °C in day and 18 °C at night with high humidity that helps it to reach to reproductive stage. Interestingly, Arba Minch agro-ecology is apt for flowering and it has to be investigated whether viable pollen is dehisced, which can be used for seed setting.
Hence, we must evaluate different varieties for morphological cane stalk characteristics for identification, distinctiveness, uniformity and stability at appropriate stage for use in breeding. The actual latitude for induction of flowering in cane world-over is 10 °N & °S to 18 °N & °S; and Ethiopia has 6 °N, where some varieties can flower. Nations like Indonesia and India are the pioneer in sugarcane breeding even Ethiopia can reach to this stage provided it should start breeding within the country to be self-reliant in developing improved sugarcane varieties.
He said, quality can be determined by assessing if cane contains Brix in juice percentile (total soluble) around 18-19 %, sucrose 16% and total juice purity of 85%, then the variety can be termed mature.
This ongoing project is likely to be completed by April 2019, often faces challenges like interrupted supply of water, difficulty in getting laborers, lack of security in protecting standing crops, etc. He suggested that AMU should have established research station from where laborers can be obtained and their wages can be deducted from project fund, etc. Due to lack of infrastructure only one or two experiments are being annually conducted, he rued.
The above project has a mandate to maintain all provided sugarcane varieties, they need to be kept in a live herbarium condition and the onus for the same falls on project owners, he added. Prof Khan has two more co-researchers, Amare Girma and Dr Berhanu Lemma. And the project has meager budget of ETB 79,000, which isn’t adequate, they need more fund to complete remaining investigations, it’s learnt.
(Corporate Communication Directorate)