The Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation, Inc. recently released two new high yielding varieties of sugarcane to a number of sugar mill districts. These are: PS 4 (VMC 95-152) and PS 5 (VMC 95-09).

These two varieties were selected by PHILSURIN from over 130,000 seedlings produced by the Victorias Milling Corporation Variety Improvement Project in 1995.

Highly recommended for commercial planting commencing in crop year 2005-2006, both varieties underwent field evaluation for yield, disease resistance and adaptability in 17 sites for Advanced Yield Testing and six sites for the National Cooperative Testing.

"Under our sustained breeding and crop improvement program, we are continuously working on new varieties to add to our recommended pool of commercial high yielding varieties. Through advances in molecular breeding, sugar planters will reap the benefits at higher yielding varieties possessing greater resistance to pests and diseases, as well as needing less fertilizers and pesticides," PHILSURIN executive director Leon Arceo said.

PS 4 is a sweet cane, and is "resistant to downy mildew and moderately resistant to smut," said PHILSURIN senior plant breeder Aurora Barredo.

An offspring of VMC 7616 and VMC 71-39, PS 4 is erect, semi self-detrashing, with a moderate fiber content of between 13 to 14 percent. Its green to yellowish green stalks are large in diameter, and weigh an average of 1.69 kilogram per stalk. It flowers moderately.

With an average yield of 91 tons cane/hectare and 177 LKG/hectare, PS 4 has outyielded the widely grown Phil 80-13 and VMC 86-550 varieties in preliminary yield trial sites (PYT) at Busco in Bukidnon, and Balayan in Batangas. Advanced yield trial (AYT) resulted indicated PS 4 has a higher sugar content than VMC 86-550 in Busco and Tarlac, and Phil 80-13 in Ormoc.

Planters in Batangas, Bogo, Busco, Davao, Ormoc and Tarlac may now avail of PS 4 through their respective Mill District Development Councils (MDDCs).

Moderately waxy with stalks that are yellowish green with a tinge of yellow, PS 5 is a progeny of Q90 polycross. It is a fast growing, reclining cane with a fiber content of 14 to 15 percent. Barredo said that "PS 5 can tolerate drought conditions, and is a good ratooner." Moreover, it has good resistance to smut including the Bogo strain. However, it is, moderately susceptible to downy mildew and mosaic.

The average yield of PS 5 in all the trials was 100 tons cane/hectare and 184 LKG/hectare. Average yield results from PYTs showed PS 5 to be 15 and 11 percent higher in sugar content that VMC 86-550 and Phil 80-13, respectively. AYT results also indicated a higher sugar yield of PS 5 than VMC 86-550.

Planters in Tarlac, Bogo, Capiz, San Carlos and Sonedco in Negros Occidental may now avail of PS 5. Both varieties are undergoing multiplication and propagation.

PHILSURIN recommends PS 4 for planting in lowland to intermediate areas with high to average rainfall. "Double-row planting is recommended," Barredo said. PS 5, on the other hand, is best for upland and dry areas.

A non-stock, non-profit organization established to undertake sugarcane research, development and extension functions, PHILSURIN released seven other high yielding varieties between 1997 and 2002. As of end 2002, PHILSURIN has distributed over 640.52 million seed canes.

"The massive dispersal of these high yielding varieties has played a major role in shoring up Philippine sugar production," Arceo said. Sugar production rose by a hefty 32.6 percent from 1.63 million metric tons in 1999 to 2.35 million metric tons in crop year 2003-2004 - the highest in 20 years.