Registration of ‘Ho 00-961’ Sugarcane

'Ho 00-961' (Reg. No. CV-146, PI 659769) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum officinarum L., S. spontaneum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, and S. sinense Roxb. amend. Jeswiet) was selected by the USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit and evaluated cooperatively with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. Ho 00-961 is a progeny of the cross US 94-1 × 'HoCP 91-552' made in 1995 and selected in the first-ratoon seedling crop in 1997. Ho 00-961 is being released as a cultivar with moderately high fiber content, moderately high sugar content, and high total cane yield-important traits for sugarcane to be grown as a biofuel feedstock. In 12 harvested evaluations, Ho 00-961 had an overall mean Brix value of 141 g kg-1 versus 146 g kg-1 for the cultivar standard 'LCP 85-384'. The mean fiber content (stalks processed with tops and leaves) for Ho 00-961 was 186 g kg-1, compared with a fiber content of 164 g kg-1 for the cultivar LCP 85-384. Finally, Ho 00-961 had a total cane yield 14% greater than that of LCP 85-834. Ho 00-961 appears resistant to mosaic (caused by Sugarcane mosaic virus and Sorghum mosaic virus), brown rust (caused by Puccinia melanocephala H. and P. Sydow), and leaf scald [caused by Xanthomonas albilineans (Ashby) Dowson]. Although natural infection of smut (caused by Ustilago scitaminea H. and P. Sydow) was not observed in yield evaluations, Ho 00-961 was susceptible under artificial inoculation. Ho 00-961 is also resistant to the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis F.).