A METHOD OF IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF SUGAR CANE VARIETIES, AND ITS APPLICATION TO TYPES GROWN IN PORTO RICO

Abstract

The number of varieties of sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) is increasing rapidly, and for this reason it is desirable to have a method of describing and identifying them. In some cases the points of difference are easily seen, but usually this is not so. This may be due to any of the following reasons: first, that there is a wide range of variation within the varieties, so that, as a consequence, the type is not represented in a single stalk, or in a single plant; second, that a large number of varieties tends to make the differences between some of them very slight; and third, that the differences are quantitative variations of characters common to all, and not the addition of definite new characters. The distinguishing marks are not always found on all the stalks. The type is in many cases difficult to determine, and although two varieties grown side by side may be seen to be distinctly different, it is not always easy to state wherein the differences lie.