Assessment of phyllochron and leaf development indices of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cultivars under southern Khuzestan climatic conditions

Abstract

M. A. Makvandi, M. Meskarbashi, P. Hasibi and H. Hamdi. 2019. Assessment of phyllochron and leaf development indices of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cultivars under southern Khuzestan climatic conditions. Iranian Journal of Crop Sciences. 21(1): 45-61. (In Persian). Assessment of leaf growth, development and phyllochron in sugarcane commercial cultivars is very important for better management of agronomic practices. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in Amir Kabir agro-industrial farm in the south of Khuzestan, Iran in 2015-16 using randomized complete block design three replications. The sugarcane cultivars included CP69-1062, CP57-614, CP73-21. The results showed that phyllochron was cultivar dependent characteristic. The leaf appearnce rate in the CP57-614 cultivar was the highest followed by CP69-1062 and CP73-21 cultivars, respectively. Cultivar CP73-21 had more stable leaf growth and development pattern, but it did not have the same number of leaf and leaf area in comparison with other cultivars. Correlation cofficients showed that the relationashipe between leaf area and leaf number was significant. In cold seasons, autumn and winter, when the temperature dropped, leaf growth and development decreased, and this was more pronounced in cv. CP57-614. Cultivar CP69-1062 produced the highest stem yield, but cv. CP73-21 and cv. CP57-614 had better stem quality properties. Considering the observed differences among sugarcane cultivars, this information of growth stages and leaf development can be useful for crop management of these sugarcane cultivars, and enhance the input use efficiency and crop performance.