SRA-LGAREC

UPDATES
Published by the SRA-La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center La Granja, La Carlota City Negros Occidental, Philippines ? &?0973-222-810
Vol. 3 No. 6 July 1999

RESPONSE OF PHIL 8943 TO DROUGHT

Moisture stress has always been associated with poor yield especially when prolonged. In 1971, Samuels stated that great reduction in yield of plant growth is more pronounced in water deficit conditions. In times of water shortage, the first distress symptom of a cane plant is the curling up of foliage during the heat of the day. Later, it becomes flaccid and limp. With extended drought, the plant finally dies (King, 1965). However, the cane plant has the capacity to revive if water is applied even after severely wilted for an extended period. Variety is the dominant factor governing the drought resistance of sugarcane. Sugarcane varieties however, differ in their resistance to water stress. Using varieties tolerant to drought is a most practical means of minimizing the effects of prolonged moisture stress. At the Sugar Regulatory Administration Research Station, new varieties developed are routinely subjected to drought resistance tests. Results of these studies serve as a guide to sugarcane farmers on what variety to plant to tide over drought conditions. A greenhouse study to determine the response of Phil 8943 to different levels of water stress was conducted from June 1997 to June 1998. The variety was subjected to 12, 24 and 36 days of water stress at 1, 3, 5 and 7 months after planting (MAP).

Results of the study showed that plant height and number of tillers of Phil 8943 were not affected by water stress regimes at the different months after planting. Leaf length gave comparable results up to harvest while leaf width was significantly affected at 7 MAP. The number of leaves and leaf area were similarly affected at 5 and 7 MAP. The number of dry leaves was the only parameter that gave significant differences from 1 up to 7 MAP. It was generally lowest in number with regular watering, significantly increasing as water stress increased. Only the number of stalks at 5 MAP was affected by the water stress regimes at harvest. The effect of the different water stress regimes on leaf width, number of leaves and leaf area appeared to fade at harvest. This suggests that Phil 8943 recovered from the adverse effects of water stress. Furthermore, leaf length, plant height, refractometer brix, biomass and stalk diameter were not also affected by water stress. Phil 8943 exhibits most of the characteristics of a drought tolerant variety. The sugarcane minimize conditions, an area. inclusion of Phil 8943 among varieties in the farm will help loss due to adverse climatic such as El Nio, that may occur in

SOURCE: Terminal report entitled "Response of Phil 8949 to Drought" by Purita F. Gipanago, presented at the Sugar Regulatory Administration pre-In-House Review, May 6-7, 1999, La Granja, La Carlota City

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