Co 0238 (Karan-4)
Planted from three-budded setts, not true seed. Once the highest-recovery cane in the north — its red rot resistance has weakened in pockets after a decade in the field, so lean on your cane development council for the current recommendation.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Sugarcane
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- 10–12 months to harvest
- Expected yield
- 900–1,000 q/ha, high sugar recovery
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 2009 · ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Regional Centre, Karnal · cross CoLk 8102 × Co 775, for the North-West subtropical zone
About this variety
Co 0238 (marketed as Karan-4) was bred at ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute's Regional Centre, Karnal, from the cross CoLk 8102 × Co 775, and released in 2009 by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties — a directly-fetched ICAR page confirms this parentage and release history. In AICRP trials across seven locations (2006–08) it outyielded the long-standing North-West Zone check variety CoJ 64 by nearly 20% in cane yield and about 16% in sugar yield, and it went on to dominate the subtropical belt: by 2015–16 it covered roughly a fifth of North India's entire sugarcane area, and one Uttar Pradesh mill recorded a 12.1% sugar recovery in December 2015, reported at the time as the highest ever achieved in subtropical India. It also produces A1-grade, light-yellow jaggery, which helped it spread through gur-producing districts as well as sugar-mill catchments. That dominance came at a cost: within a decade its red rot resistance broke down across large tracts of western and central Uttar Pradesh — this record's own diseaseResistance and note fields already flag that breakdown, and a directly-fetched trade report describes the Uttar Pradesh government convening a review in recent seasons to formally recommend replacement varieties for red-rot-hit acreage. A 2021 Sugar Tech paper (title only, not independently read this pass — its abstract is paywalled) describes the breakdown as driven by a new pathotype named CF13 and frames it as a 'vertifolia effect' — the well-known plant-pathology pattern where a single-gene-resistant variety's own widespread, near-monoculture adoption creates the selection pressure that lets a matching pathogen race evolve and overcome it.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
10–12 months to harvest
Expected yield
900–1,000 q/ha, high sugar recovery
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Ranked first for cane yield among AICRP trial entries at its release, with a documented roughly 20% cane-yield and 16% sugar-yield advantage over the old check variety CoJ 64
- A1-grade, light-yellow jaggery quality gave it a foothold in gur-producing districts as well as sugar-mill catchments
- Record-setting recovery in its prime: a UP mill's 12.1% recovery in December 2015 was reported as the highest ever recorded in subtropical India
Things to consider
- This record's own diseaseResistance and note fields already flag the red rot breakdown accurately — sourced reporting confirms and dates it, rather than contradicting anything here
- A 2021 peer-reviewed paper title identifies the specific mechanism as a new red-rot pathotype (CF13) overcoming Co 0238's resistance — a "vertifolia effect" pattern from widespread near-monoculture planting — though its full text was paywalled and not independently read this pass
- Even after the breakdown, a recent Uttar Pradesh government review (per directly-fetched trade reporting) didn't call for discontinuing Co 0238 outright — it recommended a shortlist of newer alternatives (CoS 19231, CoSe 17451, Co 15023, Co 0118, CoLk 14201, CoLk 15466, CoLk 16202, CoLk 16470, Cos 13235, Cos 17231, Cos 18831) for growers in red-rot-hit tracts to shift toward
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Uttarakhand
Frequently asked questions
Why did Co 0238's red rot resistance break down after being one of India's best varieties?
Its original resistance worked against the red rot races common when it was released in 2009. Widespread, near-monoculture planting across North India created heavy selection pressure, and a new, more virulent pathotype (documented in plant-pathology literature as CF13) evolved to overcome that resistance — a known pattern in plant breeding, not a defect specific to how Co 0238 was bred.
What varieties are officials recommending instead of Co 0238 in red-rot-hit areas?
According to a recent Uttar Pradesh government review reported in trade press, recommended replacements include CoS 19231, CoSe 17451, Co 15023 and Co 0118, plus several CoLk/Cos releases (CoLk 14201, CoLk 15466, CoLk 16202, CoLk 16470, Cos 13235, Cos 17231, Cos 18831) — check with your local cane development council since the shortlist gets reviewed as red rot pressure shifts.
Sourced from: Co 0238 – The Wonder Variety of Sugarcane — ICAR, Uttar Pradesh: "Replacement of Co 0238 sugarcane variety necessary due to red rot disease and yield decline" — ChiniMandi. editorial policy.