Evaluation of the effect of AVG in sugarcane ripening and application in crop management

• Grant number: 13/03901-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: April 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo de Almeida Silva
• Grantee: Gabriela Fernandes Egas da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sugarcane is highlighted among other crops in the national and international scenarios as being a versatile raw material, used in the production of sugar, ethanol, and bioenergy. Its unique ability to accumulate high sucrose concentrations in the stalk has turned it into a model in the study of the source-sink relationship. In the ripening stage, one of the most critical crop phases in economic terms, the plant reaches its maximum potential of sucrose accumulation. Therefore, the management of ripening, when it cannot occur naturally, with plant growth regulators or ripeners is strongly recommended. These products, when applied early in the season, can anticipate the harvest and secure the supply of raw material with good quality to industrialization. Although the application of ripeners, such as ethephon (precursor of the hormone ethylene), is a common practice among millers to accelerate ripening or inhibit flowering, no growth regulators to delay ripening has been described so far for sugarcane. In fruit and ornamental crops the use of AVG (aminoethoxy vinyl glycine hydrochloride), an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis, is usual in pre-and post-harvest to slow ripening and facilitate harvesting and transportation to consumer markets. In this context, this project aims to assess both the effects of AVG on agronomical and technological parameters of an early-ripening cultivar of sugarcane and its applicability as a tool in harvest management. The correlation of those parameters in relation to sucrose content, flowering, and effects of ethephon, an antagonist product, will allow a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in sugarcane ripening, as well as, in the source-sink relationship. We also expect indirectly to contribute to cultivars management in mills and in sugarcane breeding programs. (AU)