Sugarcane Part-4

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.)

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1-Irrigation

Sugarcane is a perennial crop and on average basis water requirement varies 47-63 inches for spring crop and 80 to 98 inches for the autumn crop on seasonal basis, soil fertility and cane variety. The whole world adopted Center Pivot irrigation systems but in Pakistan it is introduced just before few years. Now in our country Centre Pivot irrigation systems is introduced on large farms scale. 

Autumn planting crop requires more water requirement than the spring planting crop. During dry period, water availability should be sufficient with short intervals to prevent the crop from moisture stress. 

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Irrigation Schedule 

The aim of efficient irrigation scheduling program is to "provide information on right timing and optimum application of water quantity to optimize crop yield with the use of maximum water use efficiency and with all this to ensure the minimum damage to the soil".

• Irrigation schedule is the process which is responsible for water application that when and how water should be applied to the crop field.
• Make use of water and energy efficiently.
• Its purpose is to maximize water use efficiency with the exact amount of water needed to the crop field to meet the soil moisture to the desired level.

Sugarcane crop should be prevents from over irrigation because over irrigation is just a wastage of water , loss of Nitrogen with deep percolation serious deterioration of soil from water logging and salinity. Sugarcane irrigation must be with care and with proper scheduling, particularly in the months of summer. Cane crop should be planted after estimating and planning of water availability. The main concern of cane growers should be with high yield per year without imparting soil productivity.

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2-IPM (Integrated pest management)

 There is a great role of insect pests in reducing the sugarcane yield and crop growth. The main and dangerous sugarcane insect pests are sugarcane top borer, stem borer, Gurdaspur borer, army worm, white ant which feeds inside the cane and becomes the reason of less germination. Sugarcane Pyrilla is the most destructive foliage sucking pest. Whitefly, mealy bug and black bugs are also cause damage to the crop. These all pests can cause reduction in yield 10 - 35 % according to pest attack. In some cases with high and severe attack of insect pests there could be maximum damage 80 - 85 percent reduction in crop yield. 

 These losses in sugarcane can only be reduced by proper protection and precautionary measure to the cane crop from insect pests with scientifically IPM Program throughout the year. Pesticides are applied with cultural practices when needed in combination, resistant varieties and introduction and conservation of natural enemies. Pesticides will be important for IPM Program and will always play important role in this program. The main difference of these pesticides are that these products are used selectively and judiciously. 

In some cases we  can use as alternate of these pesticides like Farm Yard Manure application when it is fully rotten, it reduces the termite attack to the crop. Removal of trash is important or could be burnt as trash should not kept in the field for longer time. Always harvest the crop as lower as you can (near to soil surface). Light Trap use always helps in controlling the borer attack killing their adults. Earthing up during May- June will help in controlling the Gurdaspur borer as the adults will not be able to come out of the ridges of the soil. In case of severe attack of any insect , then re-sowing is necessary and do not keep that plot as a Ratoon crop. Although you can use pesticides and insecticides but insect pests could be controlled with the help of biological measures. Cotesia flayips is an essential larval parasitoid of sugarcane borer. Eggs of its female lays into the larva of the borer and after hatching , its larva feed inside the borer larva. Adult parasitoid attack more borer larvae in the field. 

Trichogramma chilonis destroy the eggs of the sugarcane borers. Its female lays eggs into the eggs of borers. Parasitoid larvae feed in the host eggs and is helpful in destruction of borers. Epi-pyropes is helpful in sugarcane pyrilla distruction. Stethorus punctillum is helpful in mites destruction. These parasitoids are mass multiplies in the laboratory and then release them in the cane fields.  

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Insecticide application to control Sugarcane insects

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3-Diseases of Sugarcane

• Whip Smut

It is the most common disease of sugarcane crop which is caused by Ustilago scitaminea. The black whip like appearance which is like coiled or curved shoots shown, which will  be the affected cane. It is covered with a thin silvery membrane containing masses of chlamydospores of the fungus. Infected plants should be removed from the fields and should be burnt. Avoid ratooning of these diseased affected crop. For the control of sugarcane disease, use healthy and disease free and preferably plant disease resistant varieties. Treat the seed with fungicides before planting . The diseased plant should be removed from the fields and should be buried or burnt. Disease free, good quality seed increases yield by 10-15 %. 

Sugarcane whip smut disease

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• Red Rot

Lesions of red bright color appears at first in the center of the leaves and it looks like color is changing of the upper parts of the leaves. Leaves wilting starts to downwards. Usually we can notice third or the fourth leaf from the top appears as affected and drying from the tip of the leaf starts. The pith becomes red and turns into brown later. In severe cases it damage the whole stool. When the infected leaf of canes spilt then there is feel of alcoholic smell due to the fermentation and reddened areas shows.

Red Rot disease

Note;

To control these disease use recommended fungicide at the time of sowing like doze of fungicide spray "Topsin M70WP" from the distributor "Arysta" with the recommended doze of 200 gram/100 liter of water and "Derosal 500SC" from distributor "Bayer Crop Science" with the recommended doze of 200cc/100 liter of water, it should also be applied at the time of sowing. 

4-Ratoon Crop Management  

Proper management of the ratoon crop is necessary if you wants to get higher returns, it also gives you more than this if the crop is properly managed with the field operations and inputs. The main and important thing is that ratoon crop requires 30 to 40 percent higher fertilizers than the new crop. In the last days of first month to the start of the third month March is the better time for the crop to take as ratoon crop. When the planning of ratoon crop begin then properly cut the cane at the ground level. As compared to the newly planted crop the sugar recovery in ratoon crop is higher and better and it also matures earlier than the newly sowing crop. The main concern is that the ratoon crop has to be managed with more efforts and care. The fertilizers routine application should be in a proper way, first apply all the phosphorous and potassium fertilizer with the addition of one third of nitrogen fertilizer with the second irrigation. Furrows should be ploughed at the initial level when the sugarcane height is low just because fertilizer should be mix up well with the soil and water availability to the roots is easy and also to remove the compaction of the soil, So that there should be proper availability of the nutrients to the crop. The gaps where there is no germination of plants somewhere there should be filling with the seed, weeds controlling measurements should be applied at proper time, and insect, pest and diseases should be properly controlled. The other remaining nitrogenous fertilizers should be applied into two equal splits during April and May. 

Sugarcane Ratoon crop management

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5- Harvesting Sugarcane

First of all stop the irrigation of the crop at least one month before the harvesting. And do not leave the harvested crop in the field for the long time. If in such a condition because of some reason you are leaving in the field then cover the entire crop properly with the trash to protect the direct contact with the sunlight. Different varieties acts differently in different condition and also harvested on the variety maturity period. The harvesting of early maturity varieties started during November, mid season varieties during December and the late maturing varieties during January. The crop harvested during February-March which gives good ratoon crop.

Sugarcane harvesting

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Harvesting should be done when the crop is matured and ripened. The early varieties and the ratoon crop should be harvested at the start of harvesting. The harvesting of cane should be close to the surface as the maximum weight and sugar content should be achieved by cutting the maximum portion of the stem close to the surface which is very valuable. Sugarcane can be harvested with the Harvester or manually by the labor. The harvested sugarcane should be transported to the mill as soon as possible after harvesting otherwise the cane weight and sucrose will be lost. Harvester is used at the broad level farming and the small land holders use labor for the sugarcane harvesting. In both cases harvesting should be precise for the ratoon crop. 

sugarcane manual harvesting.

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