Sugarcane is a widely grown crop in India, providing employment to over a million people directly or indirectly and contributing significantly to the national exchequer. Let’s explore how to grow sugarcane successfully:
- Agro-Climatic Conditions for Sugarcane:
- Sugarcane thrives in tropical hot and sunny areas.
- The ideal climate for maximum sugar production includes:
- A long, warm growing season with high solar radiation and adequate moisture.
- A fairly dry, sunny, cool, frost-free season for ripening and harvesting.
- Sugarcane is essentially a tropical plant that encounters rainy, winter, and summer seasons during its life cycle.
- Suitable Soil for Sugarcane:
- Conduct soil testing before planting to determine macro and micronutrient requirements.
- Ideal soil characteristics:
- Well-drained, deep, loamy soil with a bulk density of 1.1 to 1.2 g/cm³ (1.3-1.4 g/cm³ in sandy soils).
- Total porosity with an adequate balance between pores of various sizes, exceeding 50%.
- Groundwater table below 1.5 to 2.0 meters from the soil surface.
- Available water holding capacity of 15% or more (15 cm per meter depth of soil).
- Planting Seasons:
- Sugarcane is planted thrice a year in India:
- Autumn Planting (October): Good germination due to temperatures between 25°C and 32°C.
- Spring Planting (February-March): Another favorable temperature period.
- Summer Planting (July): Requires long periods of sunlight, high humidity, and rainfall between 1800 and 2500 mm.
- Sugarcane is planted thrice a year in India:
- Land Preparation:
- Objectives:
- Create suitable conditions for planting.
- Improve soil structure and drainage.
- Methods:
- Ridge and Furrow Method: Raised beds with furrows for planting.
- Flat Bed Method: Level planting beds.
- Rayungan Method: Planting on ridges.
- Trench or Jawa Method: Planting in trenches.
- Objectives:
- Manures and Fertilizers:
- Apply fertilizers based on the type of plantation:
- Adsali Plantation:
- Nitrogen (N): 100 kg/ha
- Phosphorus (P₂O₅): 50 kg/ha
- Potassium (K₂O): 50 kg/ha
- Pre-seasonal Plantation:
- N: 150 kg/ha
- P₂O₅: 75 kg/ha
- K₂O: 75 kg/ha
- Seasonal Plantation:
- N: 200 kg/ha
- P₂O₅: 100 kg/ha
- K₂O: 100 kg/ha
- Adsali Plantation:
- Apply fertilizers based on the type of plantation:
- Harvesting and Yield:
- Harvest when the sugarcane is mature (moisture percentage drops from 83% to 71%).
- Transport and market the harvested sugarcane.
Remember that sugarcane cultivation requires attention to detail, proper care, and adherence to best practices to achieve optimal yields and quality.