‘HoCP 00‐950’ (Reg. No. CV‐135, PI 654823) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum officinarum L., S. spontaneum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, and S. sinense Roxb. amend. Jeswiet) was selected and evaluated by the USDA‐ARS, working cooperatively with the Louisiana State University AgCenter, and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. It was released to growers in Louisiana in April 2007. In 67 machine‐harvested trials on light‐ and heavy‐textured soils from 2004 to 2007 (plant‐cane through third‐ratoon crop) averaged over nine southern Louisiana locations, HoCP 00‐950 produced 5% more sugar and had 6% higher sugar content than the industry standard, ‘HoCP 96‐540’. In plant‐cane and ratoon‐crop maturity tests harvested in 2007, HoCP 00‐950 had significantly higher sugar content than HoCP 96‐540 across all harvest dates, with 35% higher sugar content at the outset of the harvest season (late September). HoCP 00‐950 is resistant to brown rust (Puccinia melanocephala), smut (Ustilago scitaminea), leaf scald (Xanthomonas albilineans), and mosaic diseases. It is susceptible to the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis) and should not be planted in areas where pesticide use is restricted. The early maturity characteristic of HoCP 00‐950 provides growers with a variety that can produce profitable sugar yields early in the milling season without the need to apply a chemical ripener.

Registration of 'Oklee' Wheat relatively early maturing and produces spikes 1.3 d earlier 'Oklee' is a hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than 2375 and 0.6 d earlier than Oxen (PI 596770), the most (Reg. no. CV-963, PI 634553) developed and released by the widely grown cultivar in Minnesota since the late 1990s. Oklee Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation is a semidwarf cultivar and averages 75 cm, the same height with USDA-ARS in January 2003. It was named after a town as Oxen, and is 3 cm shorter than 2375 in Minnesota trials. in its region of adaptation in northwest Minnesota. Oklee was In 35 Minnesota trials conducted from 1998 through 2002, released on the basis of its high grain yield, high grain volume Oklee yielded 3664 kg ha Ϫ1 compared to 3482 kg ha Ϫ1 for weight, high grain protein content, and early maturity. In addi-2375 and 3825 kg ha Ϫ1 for Oxen. Oklee was evaluated in tion, Oklee has moderate resistance to Fusarium head blight 29 environments in the Uniform Regional Hard Red Spring (FHB, caused primarily by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe). Wheat Nursery in 1998 and 1999 and yielded an average of Oklee was derived from the cross '2375'/SBF0670, made 3456 kg ha Ϫ1 compared to an average of 3470 and 3503 kg by the former Pioneer Hi-Bred spring wheat breeding program ha Ϫ1 produced by the check cultivars, 2375 and Verde (PI in the USA. The cultivar 2375 (PI 601477, syn. Pioneer 2375) 592561, Busch et al., 1996), respectively. Oklee has moderately has the pedigree Olaf//Era/Suqamuxi 68/3/Chris/ND487//Lark strong straw and a lodging rating of 2.3 when scored on a and was widely grown in Minnesota during the mid-1990s due scale of 0 (erect) to 9 (lodged) in 21 environments at which to its moderate resistance to FHB. SBF0670 is an unreleased lodging occurred from 1998 thru 2002. By comparison, the line whose pedigree contains hard red spring lines once promicultivars 2375, Oxen, and Verde had lodging ratings of 3.5, nent in the region including 'Chris' (CItr 13751, Heiner and 2.6, and 2.1, respectively. Johnston, 1967), 'Era' (CItr 13986, Heiner and McVey, 1971), Oklee has moderate resistance to FHB in misted, inoculated and 'Butte'. field nurseries, similar to the resistance of 2375. In 11 FHB The F 2 population producing Oklee was selected for leaf nurseries from 1998 through 2001, Oklee averaged 23.6% disrust (caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks.) and stem rust (caused eased spikelets, 16.7% visually scabby kernels (VSK), and by Puccinia graminis Pers.: Pers.) resistance in a field planting 8.8 mg kg Ϫ1 of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). The at St. Paul in 1993. The F 3 generation was advanced by single cultivar 2375 averaged 22.7% diseased spikelets, 17.5% VSK, seed descent in a greenhouse. The selection resulting in Oklee and 9.8 mg kg Ϫ1 DON. In the same trials, the resistant check was selected from a single plant in an F 4 headrow in 1994 and 'BacUp' (PI 596533, Busch et al., 1998) and the susceptible this seed was increased in a winter nursery in Arizona during check ...

Registration of 'Ho 95-988' Sugarcaneand RSD, it is advised that seed cane of this cultivar be free 'Ho 95-988' sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum or nearly free of these diseases at planting. Ho 95-988 does officinarum L., S. robustum Brandes & Jeswiet ex Grassl, S. not appear to be any more susceptible to the Sugarcane yellow spontaneum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, and S. sinense Roxb. amend. leaf virus than current cultivars. Ho 95-988 is susceptible to the Jeswiet) (Reg. no. CV-124, PI 636497) was bred and selected sugarcane borer [Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius)] and should at Houma (Ho), LA. It is a progeny of the cross CP 86-941 ϫ only be grown in areas where insecticides can be applied. Field US 89-12 made in 1990. Ho 95-988 is a product of cooperative observations also suggest that Ho 95-988 is not any more research by USDA-ARS, the Louisiana Agricultural Experisusceptible to herbicides commonly used for the control of ment Station of the Louisiana State University Agricultural problematic weeds than LCP 85-384. Center, and the American Sugar Cane League of the U.S.A.,The following microsatellite markers were produced from Inc. Ho 95-988 was released in the spring of 2004.Ho 95-988: three fragments of SMC334BS (150, 154, and 166 All four grandparents of Ho 95-988 were developed within bp in size), five fragments of SMC336BS (155, 168, 171, 173, a continuing basic breeding program that was initiated in 1965 177 bp), four fragments of MCSA068G08 (179, 182, 185, 202 to broaden the genetic base of sugarcane (Dunckelman and bp), and five fragments of SMC597CS (147, 155, 157, 164, 170 Breaux, 1972). Three of the four grandparents are wild-derivabp). More detailed descriptions of primers and protocols have tive clones, two involving S. spontaneum, and one involving been published (Pan et al., 2003). S. robustum. The fourth grandparent is a BC 2 derivative of Plants of Ho 95-988 will be maintained at the USDA-ARS the Hawaiian cultivar, H 49-3646. Ho 95-988 is not closely Southern Regional Research Center's Sugarcane Research related to any cultivar currently grown in Louisiana.Unit, located at Houma, LA, for 5 yr. Application for protec-Ho 95-988 has a high population of medium-sized stalks tion through plant or utility patents will not be pursued. that turn purple when exposed to sunlight. Compared with T.L. Tew,* D.M. Burner, B.L. Legendre, W.H. White, most other cultivars, the leaves and stalks of Ho 95-988 remain M.P. Grisham, E.O. Dufrene, D.D. Garrison, relatively upright; leaf curvature at the apex is rounded, rather J.C. Veremis, Y.-B. Pan, and E.P. Richard, Jr. than pointed. In contrast to Louisiana's principal cultivar, LCP 85-384 (Milligan et al., 1994), the leaf sheath pubescence of Ho 95-988 is negligible and white wax coating much less apparent.Acknowledgments Auricles are generally absent.The efforts of Dr. Kenneth Gravois, LSU Ag Center, in Stalk number of Ho 95-988 is 90% and stalk weight is 120% supporting the advancement and release of Ho 95-988 on the of LCP 85-384, when averaged across p...

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Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in Louisiana is propagated from vegetative plantings in late summer and early fall as either whole stalks with 4 to 8 nodal buds or as stalk pieces (billets) with 2 to 4 buds. This research was conducted to determine if planting method and planting date affects yields of the varieties currently grown in Louisiana. Billet planting was compared to whole‐stalk planting at three planting dates (August 15, September 15, and October 15) for 2 years with three different varieties (LCP 85‐384, HoCP 85‐845, and HoCP 95‐555). Cane and sugar yields were compared in plant‐cane and first‐ratoon production years. When compared to whole‐stalk planting, cane and sugar yields from billet planting were inconsistent, and no clear trends were observed. Averaged across varieties and planting method, the August planting date had higher cane and sugar yields than the September and October plantings. All varieties responded similarly to billet and whole‐stalk planting. Our data suggest that farmers should attempt to plant the majority of their crop in August to maximize yields and should be aware that billet planting may give inconsistent yields compared with whole‐stalk planting.