Co 205 interspecific sugarcane hybrid
Caña de azúcar híbrida Co 205
- Date
- 1918 · confidence high
- Place
- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
- Credited to
- C. A. Barber and T. S. Venkatraman
- People
- 👤 Charles Alfred Barber1860–1933
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
First commercial hybrid between noble cane (Saccharum officinarum) and the wild species S. spontaneum, more resistant to the cold and drought of northern India. Its descendants are in the pedigree of almost all modern sugarcane.
In Java, similar 'nobilised' hybrids were developed in parallel (POJ 2878, 1921); credit is shared between both programmes.
What it led to
- expansion of sugarcane cultivation in northern India
- 'Co' varieties exported to dozens of countries