Registration of ‘Ho 05‐961’ sugarcane

'Ho 05-961' (Reg. no. CV-207, PI 699490) sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum spp.) was evaluated and selected by scientists at the USDA-ARS, working cooperatively with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. It was released to growers in Louisiana in 2012. The cultivar was tested across the crop cycle (plant cane and first and second ratoons) at 11 farm locations and compared with HoCP 96-540, the most widely grown cultivar in Louisiana at that time. The sucrose yield (Mg ha(-1)) of Ho 05-961 was equivalent to HoCP 96-540. Ho 05-961 had sucrose content significantly higher for each crop, indicating moderately early maturity. The cultivar is moderately resistant to smut, brown rust, and leaf scald. HoCP 05-961 is moderately susceptible to sugarcane mosaic caused by Sorghum mosaic virus and orange rust. It is moderately resistant to the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis F., and moderately responsive to glyphosate ripener. The high sucrose content of Ho 05-961 makes it a useful addition to current commercial sugarcane cultivars available for Louisiana.