PI 699125) sugarcane (an interspecific hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was released on 10 Apr. 2019 for commercial production in the Louisiana sugar industry. L 12-201 was derived from a cross between the female parent 'L 97-128' and the male parent 'HoCP 96-540'. Early-stage selection through the seedling and two unreplicated clonal stages by researchers at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center culminated in the assignment of a permanent varietal designation in 2012. Thereafter, the experimental variety was further evaluated cooperatively with personnel from the USDA-ARS at Houma and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc., at Thibodaux, LA, through several stages at multiple locations. In the final testing stage, data were collected from 60 replicated, combine-harvested trials at 12 representative light-and heavy-textured soil locations. Averaged across the plant-cane crop, the sucrose content, cane yield, and sugar yield were significantly (P < .05) higher in L 12-201 than in 'L 01-299', the most widely grown cultivar in the Louisiana sugar industry. In the first-and second-ratoon crops, L 12-201 had significantly (P < .05) less cane yield and sugar yield than L 01-299, but sucrose content was not significantly different between L 12-201 and L 01-299. When averaged across the light-textured versus heavy-textured soil locations, no significant differences in performance were found for L 12-201 in any of the traits measured. The new cultivar had a lower stalk population and greater stalk weight compared with L 01-299, especially in the ratoon crops. L 12-201 is a mid-maturing cultivar. Whenever possible, L 12-201 should be harvested before the arrival of subfreezing temperatures because it is among the least cold tolerant cultivars in the industry. L 12-201 is resistant to sorghum mosaic, smut, leaf scald, and ratoon stunt; moderately resistant to brown rust; and susceptible to yellow leaf and the sugarcane borer.

PI 698200) sugarcane (interspecific hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was derived from a cross between HoCP 92-624 as the female and 'LCP 85-384' as the male parent. Early-stage clonal selection by researchers at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center led to the assignment of a permanent cultivar number in 2011. The cultivar was further evaluated cooperatively with scientists from the USDA-ARS and the American Sugar Cane League. L 11-183 was jointly released to the Louisiana sugar industry on 11 May 2018. L 11-183 was released because of its high yield potential compared with 'HoCP 96-540' and 'L 01-299', two of the most widely grown cultivars in Louisiana at the time. In the final testing stage, data were collected from across 12 locations and three crops (plant cane and first and second ratoons) with multiple crop-years within locations. Combined across locations and crops, L 11-183 accumulated 5% more cane yield than HoCP 96-540 but 4% less than L 01-299. Sucrose yield in L 11-183 was comparable to that of L 01-299 but 3% greater than that of HoCP 96-540. The new cultivar is resistant to smut, moderately resistant to leaf scald, Sugarcane yellow leaf virus, and ratoon stunting, moderately susceptible to brown rust and Sugarcane mosaic virus, and susceptible to the sugarcane borer. INTRODUCTIONModern sugarcane cultivars (Saccharum spp.) are derived from interspecific hybridization between two major Saccharum species, namely S. officinarum (2n = 80, x = 10) and S.

L 14-267' (Reg. no. CV-213, PI 701487) sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) was released for commercial production in Louisiana because of its high yield potential and broad-spectrum disease resistance. The final testing stage resulted in data from 62 trials at 12 representative sandy silt (light-textured) and clayey (heavy-textured) soil locations. Cane yield of L 14-267 was comparable to that of 'L 01-299', the most widely grown cultivar in the Louisiana sugar industry, in the plant and first ratoon crops but significantly lower in the second ratoon crop. Sucrose content was significantly higher in L 14-267 than in L 01-299 in the plant and first ratoon crops and was comparable to that of L 01-299 in the second ratoon crop. Sugar yield was significantly higher in L 14-267 than in L 01-299 in the plant crop, comparable in the first ratoon crop but significantly lower in the second ratoon crop. The performance of L 14-267 did not differ significantly between the two soil types for any of the traits. L 14-267 is a mid-to late-season maturing cultivar that appears to respond well to plant growth regulators but poorly to sub-freezing temperatures. L 14-267 displayed broad-spectrum disease resistance, being resistant to mosaic, yellow leaf, smut, and ratoon stunt and moderately resistant to brown rust and leaf scald. L 14-267 is moderately susceptible to the sugarcane borer and the Mexican rice borer. INTRODUCTIONSugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) is a tall perennial grass of tropical origin that is cultivated for its ability to store sucrose in its stalks. Cultivated in more than 100 countries (FAOSTAT, 2020), sugarcane is a crop of great economic significance in many regions of the world and accounts Abbreviations: ASCL, American Sugar Cane League of the U.S.A. Inc.; LSU, Louisiana State University; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

In Louisiana, growers remove sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) residue following green‐cane harvesting by prescribed burning. Divine nightshade [Solanum nigrescens (Mart. & Gal)] and itchgrass [Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton] are problematic weeds in Louisiana sugarcane production. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dry heat and exposure duration on divine nightshade and itchgrass emergence. Divine nightshade and itchgrass seeds were exposed to three temperature levels (100, 150, and 200°C) for seven exposure timings (0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 s). Exposure to 150 and 200°C for 5 to 20 s reduced divine nightshade emergence 6 to 29%. Divine nightshade emergence was not completely inhibited at 200°C for 160 s. However, itchgrass exposed to 150°C for 40 s or longer or to 200°C for 20 s or longer failed to emerge. Results from this study showed itchgrass seed could be controlled with dry heat, but prescribed burns that produced temperatures below 100°C or temperatures greater than 150°C for short durations may not control all divine nightshade seeds. The aforementioned temperature and exposure duration that allowed divine nightshade to survive introduced the potential for divine nightshade to become more abundant. Core Ideas Itchgrass seed exposed to 150°C dry heat for 40 s or more did not emerge. Divine nightshade seed was more tolerant to 150 and 200°C than itchgrass. Dry heat was an effective control strategy for surface deposited weed seeds.

Burning postharvest sugarcane residue is a standard practice to remove extraneous leaf material before spring regrowth. Live-fires were simulated from field-collected postharvest sugarcane residue and seeds of divine nightshade and itchgrass were exposed to dry and moistened postharvest residue (PHR) at four densities (6.1, 12.1, 18.2, and 24.2 Mg ha−1) and a nonburned control. The moisture content of residue exposed to simulated rainfall was 14% more in Experiment 2 than Experiment 1; however, burning PHR with 44% moisture when wind speeds were lower allowed the fire to continue and created a smoldering effect that reduced weed emergence by 23% when compared with burning PHR with 30% moisture during breezy conditions. The moistened 6.1 Mg ha−1 PHR treatment resulted in 53% more divine nightshade and itchgrass emergence when compared with dry 6.1 Mg ha−1 PHR after burning, and greater emergence was attributed to more seed survival for divine nightshade than itchgrass. The PHR moisture condition failed to influence the burn duration; however, the burn duration increased 103% and 56% as the amount of PHR increased from 6.1 to 12.1 Mg ha−1 and 12.1 to 18.2 Mg ha−1, respectively. The combination of high wind speeds and moistened PHR did not enhance the maximum burn temperature near the soil surface, but surface-deposited divine nightshade and itchgrass seeds were susceptible to prolonged exposure times at 100 C. Burning PHR from fields with poor stands or older ratoon, especially when PHR is abundantly wet, will not produce temperatures lethal to divine nightshade and itchgrass seeds. The fluid-filled and fleshy content that comprises divine nightshade fruit protected seed from short durations of high temperatures, but may not insulate seeds long enough when exposed to a smoldering fire.