TITLE:
Correlation and Path Coefficient Analyses in Sugarcane Genotypes of Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Esayas Tena, Firew Mekbib, Amsalu Ayana
KEYWORDS:
Cane Yield, Morphological Characters, Sugar Quality, Sugar Yield
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.7 No.10,
July
29,
2016
ABSTRACT: To study the relations
of certain morphological and sugar quality characters with sugarcane yield, an experiment was
conducted at Wonji and Metehara Sugar Estates, Ethiopia between March 2012 and October 2013. The experiment,
comprising of 400 sugarcane genotypes
of which 174 were local that
were collected from different regional states of Ethiopia and 226
introduced, was laid out in partial balanced lattice design with two
replications. Data was collected on
cane yield and its components, sugar yield and sugar quality traits. ANOVA,
correlation and path coefficient analysis were done. Analysis of variance revealed significant
differences (P (r = 0.832), single cane weight (r = 0.528), stalk height (r = 0.517) and sugar yield (r = 0.987). There was also positive significant (P = 0.05)
correlation of tiller count and cane diameter with cane yield. Path analysis
revealed the highest positive direct effect of millable cane number (0.812) on cane yield followed by single cane weight (0.682) and pol percent (0.550). However, stalk diameter and brix percent had
considerable negative direct effects and indirect positive effects through
single cane weight on cane yield. Therefore, in view of their significant
positive association with cane yield, indirect effects of stalk diameter and brix percent via single cane weight should be considered during selection.
Genotypes should be selected on the basis of millable cane number, single cane
weight and pol percent for getting higher cane and sugar yield.