Evaluation of Sugarcane Genotypes for Yield and Yield Component

Sugarcane is the major raw material from which sugar is manufactured. Thus, poor yield varieties constituted the greatest hindrance to increase sugar production in the Nigeria. Despite the importance of sugarcane, inadequacy of high yielding cultivars has been one of the major factors influencing the variation in sugarcane yield. Others include lack of adaptation to the ecosystems and susceptibility to major pests and diseases. The chewing cane is mainly chewed in its natural form for its sweet juice, although the local populace often process part of it into various forms of sugar products like brown sugar. However, despite the long history of commercial sugarcane cultivation in Nigeria which dates back to the1950s, the sugar industry remains grossly underdeveloped and the sugar requirement of the country remains largely inadequate from domestic sources, despite favourable agro-climatic and edaphic conditions for the production of sugarcane. This may be due to low level production of industrial cane in the country. More than not sugarcane production can never be improved unless improved and promising varieties and technologies are adopted on a large scale.