DD Henriquez, LP Medina, MF Figueroa, JV Diaz, AC Diaz Romero, DD Costilla, AC Ghio and S Ostengo
Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC), Las Talitas, Tucumán, R. Argentina; dhenriquez@eeaoc.org.ar
The Sugarcane Breeding Program of the Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (SCBP-EEAOC) is focused on the development of TUC varieties with high yield of cane and sucrose, early maturation, and resistance to the main diseases prevalent in Tucumán, Argentina. Since the 1970s, the SCBP-EEAOC has surveyed the distribution of sugarcane varieties in the cultivation area of Tucumán, the main sugar-producing region in Argentina. The variety LCP 85-384, released in the country in 1999, was first recorded in the varietal survey of 2001/2002, covering 13.5% of the sugarcane area in the province; this area rapidly grew to 83.1% of the sugarcane area in 2013/2014. This poses a serious risk from a phytosanitary perspective, compromising the sustainability of the production system. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of the release of new varieties by SCBP-EEAOC on the diversification of the sugarcane area in Tucumán over the past decade. Data were taken from varietal surveys from 2014 to 2023. LCP 85-384 showed a persistent decline after a peak in 2013/2014 to 62.5% of the cultivated area in 2022/2023. This decrease was due to an increase in the adoption of TUC varieties, which occupied 12.5%, 22.1%, and 30.4% of the cane area in 2016/2017, 2019/2020, and 2022/2023, respectively. TUC 95-10 was the second-most cultivated variety, reaching 10.3%, 18.0%, and 17.1% of the cultivated area, respectively, displacing TUCCP 77-42 from second place. TUC 03-12 achieved 7.3% of the sugarcane area in 2022/2023, becoming the third-most cultivated variety in Tucumán. SCBP-EEAOC has contributed to increasing varietal diversification through the release of TUC varieties, which helps mitigate the prevalence of a single cultivar in the sugarcane region of Tucumán.