Bundaberg and New South Wales have not planted seedling trials for a number of years, instead receiving selected material from the seedlings planted at the SRA Central station. Each year Variety Development Manager Southern, Roy Parfitt plays a key role in the seedlings selected which are later sent south for testing in Southern trials.
At this year’s seedling selection held at SRA Central, the Variety Development team selected 2,917 clones to advance to Clone Assessment Trials (CATs) from 30,820 seedlings derived from 175 families in the 2023 Progeny Assessment Trials (PAT). Thanks to the input from the Southern team for the past three years, the time it takes to make the Central and Southern selections and plant them in the ground has dropped from two and a half weeks to one and a half weeks.
Roy’s input ensures that the Southern program is well catered for by paying particular attention to sugarcane families derived from Southern and NSW parents.
The team uses family data to guide selections, but critical visual traits such as stalk height, thickness, number of stalks, and freedom from disease are used to select individuals from families. Seedling families can vary – some are uniform, others quite diverse.
Each plot in a PAT contains a family of 20 seedlings (siblings), and from strong families, five or more individuals may be advanced to the CAT.
Annual trips to Mackay will continue to support selections and ensure that Southern and NSW genetic material remains well-adapted to regional needs.
For more information: Producing New Sugarcane Varieties
(Above): Harvester driven by Luke Giddy, Field Operations Leader, cuts a row while Nathaniel Edmondson, Field Technician, collects the cut billets in a cane bin haulout, during the seedling selection held at SRA Central.
(Above) Roy Parfitt, Variety Development Manager Southern & NSW (right) works with Ankush Wankhade, Plant Breeder, Variety Development, to select seedlings from the 2023 PATs. (Right): The Variety Development team works together to select the best clones.
