Farmers Encouraged to Adopt Improved Sugarcane Varieties at Field Day Organised by ICAR-SBI, Coimbatore

19 March 2026, Coimbatore

A Field Day highlighting the newly released mid-late maturing sugarcane variety ‘Co 18009’ was organized by ICAR–Sugarcane Breeding Institute in collaboration with Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd. at Kanjappalli village in Annur Taluk of Coimbatore.

Addressing farmers and extension officials, Dr P. Govindaraj, Director, ICAR-SBI, emphasized the importance of adopting improved sugarcane varieties such as Co 18009, Co 11015, and Co 14012. He stated that older varieties often suffer from declining productivity, increased disease susceptibility, and reduced profitability for farmers. Highlighting the growing challenge of labour scarcity, he stressed the need to mechanize nearly 75% of sugarcane cultivation to sustain farm incomes. He also informed that the Institute plans to actively involve farmers in the varietal breeding process. Seed material of Co 18009 and extension literature were distributed to participants during the programme.

S. Shanmugasundaram, Vice-President, Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd., outlined various subsidy schemes offered by the company to support farmers and encouraged the development of more early-maturing, region-specific varieties.

Earlier, the Principal Scientist of ICAR-SBI explained that the Field Day aimed to obtain farmer feedback on the performance of Co 18009, demonstrated in a 1.9-acre plot managed by an enterprising woman farmer. He noted that sugarcane cultivation in Coimbatore district currently spans around 940 acres, with an estimated production of 38,000 tonnes, and expressed optimism that such initiatives would help revive farmers’ interest in the crop.

Participants visited the Frontline Demonstration (FLD) plot cultivated by Smt. Nivedha Duraisamy, who shared her experience with the 11-month-old crop. She highlighted key attributes of the variety, including its non-flowering nature, low spininess, high tillering capacity, greater number of internodes, and high yield potential.

The programme was attended by Dr S. Mohan, Rajan, officials from ICAR-SBI and Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd., representatives from Akashvani, and a large number of farmers.

(Source: ICAR–Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore)