EFFECT OF NUTRITIONAL RESERVES AND POSITION OF THE YEMAS IN THE STEM IN THE QUALITY OF SUGAR CANE PLANTS

Abstract

For the replanting of the sugarcane crop, plants produced from buds of different reserve sizes and from different positions on the stem are used, without up to now an optimum reserve and position size has been determined to obtain a quality plant. Therefore, five treatments were evaluated for nutritional reserve: T1 (short reserve), T2 (without reserve), T3 (half reserve), T4 (long basal reserve) and T5 (long reserve superior) and for the position a design was used 2x3 factorial (two cultivars: MEX69-290 and COLPOSCTMEX05-223 and three yolk positions: basal, middle and apical), the treatments were distributed in a completely randomized arrangement. The buds were sown in unicel vessels with a liter capacity and sifted sand was used as substrate. It was evaluated; emergency percentage, root length and plant height. The results indicate that the use of buds with different positions in the stem is possible to produce seedlings of good quality, since more than 50% of sprouting was obtained in both cultivars. The results on nutrient reserves showed that T3 had the longest root length (36.2 cm) and T1 had the highest plant height (61.4 cm), showing that there is no direct relationship between plant height and root length. To obtain a quality plant it is enough to use short buds or half reserve and any position. For the commercial production of plants, it is recommended to plant in substrates rich in nutrients.