Karnal: Scientists at the Regional Center of the Sugarcane Breeding Institute in Karnal have developed a new sugarcane variety known as CO-17018, also named Karn-17. This new variety is expected to not only increase sugarcane production but also provide sugar mills with better-quality sugar. The variety is specifically designed for the northwestern regions of India, including Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, it is expected to yield good ratoon crops, reports Amar Ujala.
A year ago, the Regional Center in Karnal developed the CO-16030 variety, which was approved by the Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC). Alongside this, scientists were working on another general variety. According to Dr. Ravindra Kumar, Senior Scientist at the Regional Center, there was a growing need for a general variety because early-maturing varieties were becoming more popular in northern India.
Due to the quick maturation and good sugar content, sugar mills prefer to purchase and promote early-maturing varieties. This has resulted in early maturing varieties of sugarcane occupying between 80-90% of the total growing area hence the polarity of crop varieties. To counter this, scientists have been able to work for 13 years to bring in an improved variety known as CO-17018.
While it is a general variety, CO-17018 has better sugarcane yield and sugar recovery, thus being a timely solution to the existing situation. The variety was taken to CVRC for approval and after all the essential trials had been conducted the committee approved it. The team of scientists who worked on developing this variety includes Dr Ravindra Kumar, Dr M.R. Meena, Dr R. Karupeyan, Dr Bakshi Ram, Dr G. Hemaprabha, Dr M.L. Chhabra, Dr Pooja, and Dr B. Parameshwari.
Dr. Ravindra Kumar reported that CO-17018 yielded 91.48 tons per hectare in trials, which is 13.1% higher than CO-767 and 14.2% higher than CO Pant-97222. The juice contains 18.38% sugar, which is 5.12% higher than COA 767. The sugar content in the cane itself is around 13.68%, with a length of 220 cm, a thickness of 2.5 cm, and an average weight of 1.2 kg per cane. This variety is superior in many aspects and is resistant to several diseases, with solid canes that prevent lodging issues in the field.
Dr. Ravindra Kumar, Senior Scientist, Regional Center, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Karnal, said that with approval from the CVRC, the Regional Center is now preparing seeds of this new variety. Farmers will receive seeds for the first time in October, based on availability. They will then be able to cultivate these seeds in their fields. In the coming years, this variety is expected to thrive in fields across northwestern India, particularly in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Delhi.
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