Selection of potential sugarcane cultivars for Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The sugarcane crop plays an important economic role in the region of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where it is grown without a great deal of technological assistance and with cultivars not adapted to local edaphic and climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate sugarcane cultivars in regard to agro-industrial yield potential in the southern region of Minas Gerais as well as to study the association between the agronomic and industrial traits in the first cutting. The experiment was conducted in Lavras, MG, where 16 cultivars were recommended for the sugar/ ethanol industry in 4 x 4 quadruple lattice design experiment. The results showed that there was a great deal of genetic variability among the cultivars, which led to the formation of various groups of agro-industrial traits for the genotypes evaluated. The genotypes that exhibited greater fiber content also exhibited lower yield and lower quality of sugarcane raw material. The SP891115, RB925211 and CTC9 cultivars exhibited better performance in regard to the agro-industrial traits of tons of sugarcane per hectare (TSH), Pol, Fiber and total recoverable sugar (TRS), and they may be recommended for commercial growing in Lavras area.