Ethnobotanic and genetic diversity of sugarcane in French Polynesia
2024
Vitrac, Marotea | Teai, Taivini | Shili-Touzi, Ines | Butaud, Jean-François | Goebel, François-Régis | Hervouet, Catherine | d'Hont, Angélique | Ecosystèmes Insulaires Océaniens (UMR 241) (EIO) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de la Polynésie Française (UPF)-Institut Louis Malardé [Papeete] (ILM) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) | Ecole Supérieure d’Agro-Développement International (ISTOM) | Auteur indépendant | Consultant en foresterie et botanique polynésienne | Agroécologie et intensification durables des cultures annuelles (UPR AIDA) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad) | Département Performances des systèmes de production et de transformation tropicaux (Cirad-PERSYST) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad) | Amélioration génétique et adaptation des plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales (UMR AGAP) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | Département Systèmes Biologiques (Cirad-BIOS) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad) | The research was supported by both CIRAD and University of French Polynesia.
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Background: In French Polynesia, traditional tō (Saccharum officinarum) have been reexploited in the recent years to produce organic certified rum. Former botanists have described the sugarcane which were spread by Polynesians during their migrations of the Eastern Pacific. One of them, referred by botanists as Otahiti was the main cultivar grown for sugar production until the 1880s.Methods: Between 2013 and 2017, we collected 15 sugarcane accessions in the Society Islands and examined their taxonomic status to establish the correspondence with those described by former botanists. Nine morphological traits were repeatedly measured including stalk colour, tillering, stalk height, stalk diameter, and internode lengths. We also analyzed them using flow cytometry, PCR markers and in one case molecular cytogenetics.Results: The results showed 4 modern hybrids cultivars, 9 traditional S. officinarum and one intergeneric hybrid between S. officinarum and the wild genus Miscanthus floridulus, Tō 'ā'eho. Among the traditional S. officinarum sugarcane cultivars, we suggested that Polynesian sugarcane called Tō ‘irimotu and Tō re’are’a could correspond to Otahiti.Conclusions: The studies of processing characteristics also revealed the high Brix of the Tō 'ā'eho and its potential for producing rum. These types of hybrids support the hypothesis of Pacific being a satellite center of sugarcane diversity.
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