Effect of photoperiod treatments on pollen viability and flowering at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute.

TL;DRAbstract

Sugarcane does not produce viable pollen in South Africa because flowering occurs in winter when temperatures fluctuate below 20°C, the minimum threshold for pollen survival. Photoperiod treatments are required to enhance pollen survival and induce, synchronise and distribute flowering across the pollination season. At the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) six photoperiod treatments are deployed: G1, G2 and G3 in the glasshouse and P1, P2 and P3 in the photoperiod house. In the glasshouse, natural day-length is extended by reducing the rate at which it declines naturally. In the photoperiod house, day-length is reduced by 30 seconds per day and the treatments are started at different times. The aim is to synchronise flowering between G1 and P1, G2 and P3, and G3 and P2. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of photoperiod treatment on ‘pollen viability’ and ‘days until flowering’. Analysis over a five-year period showed that genotypes from the photoper

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