Sugarcane is the best converter of sun energy and CO₂ into energy, food, and fiber.
 

	To discover where sugarcane is grown and how sugarcane use spread around the world.
	To understand the climatic and edaphic requirements for cane production.
	To understand the methods of sugarcane planting and management.
	To become familiar with the role of sugarcane in a cropping system.

Sugarcane excels over all other plants as a converter of sun's energy and CO₂ into energy, food, and fiber. Cane supplies the majority of the world's refined sugar. Sugarcane's center of origin is found in the Melanesian Islands in the South Pacific. Cane has been cultivated in India for thousands of years.

Sugarcane is a tropical crop, usually grown within 30⁰ latitude of the equator. Cane grows for 8-24 months, depending on the climate. This long growing season is part of the reason no crop excels cane in the production of energy/ha. Sugarcane prefers frost-free warm climates and is at a disadvantage if cool weather limits the long growing season.

Sugarcane is planted vegetatively (a one meter piece of cane is laid end to end in the row) with the plants forming on the nodes of the old cane. The first planting is called plant cane. Where the climate is favorable, a second crop (ratoon crop) will grow from the cut cane. Although this crop doesn't yield as well as plant cane (1st crop), the savings in planting labor make it profitable.

Cane is usually grown as a monoculture crop, needing 1200 mm (40") of rainfall and needs good drainage. However, with drainage will grow in loams, clay loams, muck and peat soils. Labor is a major cost of producing cane. In much of the world, cane is handled by hand and involves extensive labor.
 

1. World

• Excels over all other plants as a converter of sun's energy and CO₂ into energy food and fiber.
• Supplies majority of world's refined sugar
• Harvested on 24.2 million acres with yield 580 million mt or 232T/A.

1976 Utilization Data Domestic beet 3.7 million mt Domestic cane 2.7 million mt Foreign cane 4.0 million mt

Description

1. Vegetative

• Tall perennial grass. Bears many tillers
• Culms bunched in Astools@ of 5-50
• 2-5 cm thick - green, yellow, purple, red
• 5 meter or more tall (15')
• Short internodes (5-7 cm)
• Nodes - have growth ring, root band, bud or "eye"
• Leaves - look like corn
• Sheath folds around culm, protects eye

• Inflorescence open, much branched panicle called "arrow."
• Seldom produces seed in continental U. S. except FL
• SOP, panicles don't appear for 12-24 mo after planting - after shorter summer days in tropics. At flowering, stalk stops growing
• Fruit ring (1.5 mm long)
• Seed - low viability - only of importance to breeders - cane vegetatively propagated.

1. Derived from endogenous wild species on Melanesian Islands. Arose by selection of wild canes in New Guinea.

2. Carried by man as stem cuttings, modified by natural hybridization with other wild grasses. 3. Cultivated India thousands of years.

4. Crude sugar in China, 1760 B.C.

5. Refined white sugar - Persia 760 A.D.

6. Columbus introduced to W. hemisphere on second voyage to Santo Domingo, 1493.

7. Introduction to LA 1751, first granulated sugar, 1795.

8. Most early production by Noble Cane susceptible to Mosaic, Red Rot, Root Rot.

• By 1926, 300,000 T/yr, down to 47,000 T/year
• Breeding at Canal Point, FL
• Incorporated disease resistance of S. spontaneum and S. barberi into S. officinarum by backcrossing
• Increased by vegetative propagation

1. Mosaic - aphid transmitted.

• Causes leaf molting, stunting
• Control - resistant varieties

• Gives longitudinal redding of internode internal tissue, dark red lesions on midribs
• Causes poor stands, destruction of stored seed cane, invasion of sucrose in mature cane
• Control - use resistant varieties

• Attacks growing point - gives dead heart kills taps of older plants, causes lodging. Reduces yield, contributes to decay of seed cane
• Control - insecticide, resistant varieties

1. Growth range - tropical, subtropical within 30^o latitude of equator.

2. Growth time - 8-24 months.

3. Temperature - prefers frost-free warm climate, at least high enough temperatures for 8 months rapid growth.

4. Varieties - tropical varieties adapted to 18-36 mo. growing periods. Subtropical to 9-12 mo.

5. Soil -

• ph 5.8
• Types: loam, clay-loam, muck, peat
• Requires good drainage

Culture

1. Rotations - none.

2. Fertilization - requires high levels.

Soil Type	Location	Fertilizer lb/acre	Other
		Na Pc K
Heavy Clay	Louisiana	190-155b 45 90	Lime if pH < 6.0
Yellowish/Reddish Brown Lateritic	Hawaii	90-155b 45 90
Mineral	Florida	90-155b 33 160
Muck, Peat	Florida	0 20 160	Cu, Zn, B, Mn, 550 lbs./A if pH > 6.5

3. Seedbed preparation - similar to corn in that region.

• LA - soil thrown in beds 1-2' wide. 5 2 - 6' apart with water drainage farrow.
• FL - level culture.
• HI - low beds, deep tillage helpful

• Use whole canes or 2-3' cut sections
• Plant 1-3 continuous rows of cuttings or canes into furrows - new plants grow from node "eyes"
• In Southern U. S. germination 20-30% plant two running stalks + slight gap. If rows 6' apart, takes 2.5 T canes/acre. Tropics - 30% germination 1 million tons or 4% crop saved for seed cane in U. S. 1970-72.
• Furrows fertilized as plant, covered to avoid frost injury (2-8" deep)
• Planting date
• FL, LA (S) - Fall (N) spring
• HI, tropics - year around
• Cultivation - flaming, herbicides
• Harvest - 3 crops taken before field plowed. First crop "plant cane," subsequent crops "stubble" or "aration" crops.
• Crops allowed to grow as late in fall as possible. Harvesting involves stripping or burning off leaves, cutting of tops, stems, loading in truck, most harvest operations mechanical
• Processing - large mill may grind 2 - 4.500 tons/a/d and process 5-10,000 acres /season. Sugarcane must be processed in a few days after harvest to avoid invasion, deterioration.
• . Manufactured products:
• Sugar
• Sirup - milled on 3-roll mills, juice concentrated in heated evaporation pans
• Edible molasses
• By products:
• Blackstrap molasses - alcohol, livestock feed
• Fiber press cake - fertilizer
• Bagasse (stalk residue) 500 lbs. (50% water) T/acre
• Manufacturer of paper, press board, wallboard
• Burned in mills for fuel
• Bagasse ash - fertilizer
• Composition of juice - 75% water; 15 to 20% solids (12-17% sucrose; 2-3% impurities).
• Sugar testers
• Brix hydrometer - gives scale reading that approximates percent total solids
• Refractometer - measures refractive index of liquid (few drops) scale estimates percent total solids.
• Saccharimeter - type of polariscope with percent sugar scale (sucrose)
• Purity of juice in percent = Sucrose Brix X 100
• Misc. 1 ton cane = 170 lbs. Sugar (96 %) Louisiana 200 lbs. Sugar (Florida) 230 lbs. Sugar (Hawaii)

 

Sugarcane is an efficient C-4 cereal. Cane is usually grown as a monoculture crop and cane fields are located in close proximity to a cane plant (or mill). The reason for this is that large harvests of cane contain a significant amount of water and fiber. Shipping is expensive so most mills are within a short distance from the crop. Cane is crushed, the sugar removed, and the residue of cane is often used to fuel the mill. This practice returns little to the land and cane production can be exhausting to the soil resource.
 

	Where did sugarcane originate and how did it spread around the world?
	What climatic and edaphic conditions are best for cane? Where is cane grown?
	Why is sugarcane such an efficient crop?
	What is the difference between plant cane and ratoon cane? Why is ratoon cane profitable?
	Why are cane mills and cane fields in close proximity to each other?