Energy cane in various stages of propagation are wintering in green houses.

U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Agricultural Research Service ARS Sugarcane Research Unit greenhouses are used to gerninate and grow energy cane from seed sections to full size varieities of sugar cane at the Ardoyne Farm facility; here scientists developed and released a new high-fiber variety of sugarcane, or energy cane, Ho 06-9002, in Houma, LA, and continue their research on December 13, 2021. Sugarcane is one of the most efficient producers of biomass of all plant species and can be used as a renewable fuel. The new variety has a high fiber content, excellent regrowth ability over 4 to 5 years, is cold-tolerant, has a high stalk population, and produces excellent biomass yields. Ho 06-9002 showed no symptoms of brown rust or smut when exposed to high levels of natural inoculum. Mosaic disease, caused by either sugarcane mosaic virus or sorghum mosaic virus, was not observed in the variety under natural field conditions. Its most significant attribute is cold tolerance and the ability to yield high biomass in non-traditional sugarcane growing regions.

The ongoing studies are conducted in cooperation with the Department of Energy; university extensions, and industry organizations.

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ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/houma-la/sugarcane-research/

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.