Sugarcane : A Complete guide

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Saccharum officinarum

INTROUDCITON:

Sugar cane is C₄ plant it is a parineal crop. The plant takes 10 to 12 month under Pakistani condition. 18 month under Australian condition and 24 month in Cuba and Brazil condition to complete its life cycle. The plant grows from seed set called as plant crop. It is vegetative plant. Rising of succeeding crop after harvesting first year crop is known as ratoon crop. Sugar cane is very sensitive to cold injury. During frost conversion of sucrose to glucose takes place. The sugar mill are interested in sucrose while the farmer are interested in sugar cane weight. Therefore we need high sugar and high weight variety. It is a true seeded plant. They have five sub species

· Saccharum spontanium

· Saccharum sinensis

· Saccharum Bari beri

· Saccharum robustum

· Saccharum officinarum

 

SOIL REQUIREMENT:

Sugar cane can be grown in low fertile, medium fertile and high fertile soil. It is very essential the sugar cane should be grown in high fertile soil because of parineal crop and produce high biomass.

CLIMATE:

The sugar cane is tropical crop it can tolerate high temperature but the optimum temperature at the time of sowing should not be less than 12 ºC to 18 ºC. The optimum temperature for growth is 30 ºC.

PLANTING SEASON:

There are two seasons:

· Winter season (September sowing)

· Spring season (February to March sowing)

In winter season intercropping takes place for example onion in Sindh and wheat, mustard in Punjab. In February to March only onion can be sown.

LAND PREPARATION:

Sugar cane requires deep tillage. Deep tillage includes Mould board plough and those farmers who do not have tractor they use Sarkar plough made up of wood. There are two types of sowing in sugar cane. Sugar cane is sow in furrow area as it is water-loving plant. Row to row distance is 3-5 ft.

CONTENTS:

Thin variety seed is sown for 60-70 munds per acre. It contains 13-14% fiber & 70% water, 10-11% sugar and 2-3% impurities, 1-2% glucose. We have to evaporate the water than we will get the sugar. Plant to plant distance is 9-12 inches over lapping of sets take place. Buds and leaf grown alternately. Leaf covers the bud to protect it in order to safe the bud from the outer environments. If the bud damages than the growth does not occurs/ takes place.

SEED SELECTION:

Ratoon type crop are not selected. It is better to cut the top portion of crop as top portion contain good amount of glucose and lower portion contain sucrose. Immature seed is better than mature plant seeds. 40,000 to 60,000 sets are grown in 1 acre.

VARIETIES:

· BL-4 Barbados + Lyallpur

· POJ Java variety in Indonesia

· COL In India 113-116 Comibitor + Lyallpur

· BF Barbados + Faisalabad 129

· BF-162

· Thatta-10

· SPSG-26

· CP Canal point

 

GERMINATION RATE:

· Top portion of sugar cane give 70% germination

· Middle portion of sugar cane give 40% germination

· Basal portion contain more salts therefore its germination is 30%

· Covering of sugar cane is called “rind” which contain parenchyma cells it contain sugar content.

· Roots are known as fibrous roots.

· When the stem bends and than the root which arises are known as butterious roots.

· Basal root contain glucose only which help in growth.

· Earthing up (prevents from water logging) should be done in the month of June.

· One bud can arises 40 to 50 sugar cane.

SEED TREATEMENT:

Sugar cane seed in the form of sets can be treated with fungicides or in hot water.

SOIL FERTILITY:

Before land preparation we need good manuring crop. Before seeding or flowering we have to plough the green manuring. After this we have to irrigate the land in order to decompose the green manuring. Before sowing the crop a month ago we have to do manuring 10 to 15 tones per acre should be use a month ago before sowing the crop. Farmyard manuring should be decomposing properly.

FERTILIZER REQUIREMENT:

First we have to satisfy the phosphorous requirement.

· At sowing:

2 bags of DAP or 2 bags of TSP or 5 bags of SSP and 1 bag of SOP or MOP.

· Seedling stage:

It comes after 1 month of sowing. 1 bag of urea when the temperature is high above 20 ºC than 2 bag of A.N is used.

· Tillering stage:

This stage comes after 2 month of sowing 1 bag of urea. After 3 months of tillering 1 bag of urea is used.

IRRIGATION:

In September sowing (autumn) we need 40% to 45% time of irrigation of crops. For February to March sowing we need 30% to 34% times irrigation of crop (spring season). For September irrigation we need 4.5-acre foot water. For February to March irrigation we need 3-acre foot of water.

 

DISEASES:

· Red rot

· Whips smut

· Mossaic virus

· Ratoon stunting disease (RSD)

CONTROL:

· Healthy seed

· Resistance variety

· Crop rotation

INSECT PEST:

· Termite

· Pyrilla

· Milli bug

· Red mites

BORERS OF SUGAR CANE:

· Stem borer

· Top borer

· Pink borer

· Gurdas pur