Increasing sugar cane yield
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By Bilal Hassan
AVERAGE production of sugar cane in Pakistan is 22,000 kg per
acre which is below the potential. Agronomic factors like
preparatory tillage, bed preparation, planting techniques
and time, water availability for irrigation, application of
fertilisers, management of ratoon crop, harvesting time,
type of cultivars and plant protection measures
significantly affect its production. These factors also
contribute to the cost of production.
It
is noteworthy that cultivation of sugar cane crop is carried
out for crushing purpose to obtain sugar, gur and other
products. By-products like alcohol used in pharmaceutical
industry, ethanol used as a fuel, bagasse used for
paper-making and chipboard manufacturing and press mud used
as a rich source of organic matter that adds to soil
fertility are derived after cane is crushed.
Fixing cane price remains a matter of great concern for the
government because to encourage farmers to cultivate sugar
cane essential for steady supply to mills, growers should
receive judicious price for their produce. It should be
borne in mind that fixing cane price is a provincial subject
and the provinces have been fixing price in the past and
their recommendations are taken as mandatory.
The provincial cost of production committee has recommended
21 per cent raise in price and recommended a price of Rs76
per 40kg for the next season against this year’s price
Rs60kg. The committee’s recommendations came after careful
calculations of step-wise cost of production.
Total per acre expenditure for cultivating sugar cane worked
out to be Rs34568 against the last year’s Rs32750, an
increase of 5.55 per cent. The calculation of price is based
on average production of 22,000kg per acre. Step-wise cost
of production is as follows:
Preparatory illage: Preparatory tillage includes initial
ploughing with a tractor-mounted mould board plough which is
considered essential and should be done extensively. Use of
a sub-soiler after every 4-5 years improves soil
considerably by breaking the hardpan. This cost is on
increase depending upon number of ploughings employed.
The committee has calculated preparatory tillage cost of
Rs1700 per acre. Last year’s cost was Rs1470. There is an
increase of 15.6 per cent. Increase in cost of preparatory
tillage can be attributed to inflationary trend in the
prices of implements and machines. Other factors that may
affect number of ploughings and hence cost include type of
previous crop whether deep or shallow rooted. More
ploughings are needed to uproot and crush the roots of deep
rooted crops like cotton.
Seed bed preparation: Since sugar cane is a deep-rooted
crop, it requires a well-worked and fully pulverised seed
bed. Fine seed bed can be prepared by ploughing with a
furrow-turning plough to a depth of about 20-25 cm
particularly when soil is clayey. Six to eight subsequent
ploughings followed by planking are enough to achieve a good
pulverised seedbed free of clods and weeds. Therefore, use
of seedbed preparatory implements is extensive. This raises
cost of seedbed preparation compared to other crops. Its
price as per the committee is Rs690, against last year’s
Rs600-- an increase of 15 per cent.
Sowing: There are two planting seasons-- fall and spring.
Plating is one both on dry and wet seed bed depending upon
the soil condition, water availability, planting time, etc.
Double-cut sets are placed end to end in furrows at a depth
of 8-12 cm and covered with 5-6 cm soil. In the dry method,
immediate irrigation is essential, with subsequent
irrigations at short intervals. Planting is done manually
that involves labour. It also adds to cost of production. In
other cane-growing countries, planting is carried out
mechanically.
Seed rate: Optimum plant population depends on appropriate
seed rate and spacing but the growers often ignored them,
which is the key factor in lowering production. The seed
rate and spacing between rows differ with variety. Eight to
nine tones of stripped cane per hectare for thick varieties,
and six to seven tones for medium to thin varieties is
sufficient to produce a desired plant population of about
0.15 million canes/ha. Since growers use local seed of
previous crop, it does not add to cost of production. But
when seed of new cultivar is sown, cost of production
increases. Moreover, inter-cultural practices and earthing
up also raises cost of growing sugar cane.
Irrigation: Sugar cane is a perennial crop and water
requirements on an average varies from 120-160 centimeters
for the spring crop and 200-250 centimeters for the autumn
crop depending upon season, the fertility of soil, and the
variety of cane. Autumn planting requires a higher quantity
of water than spring planting. During the dry period,
sufficient water should be applied at relatively short
intervals to avoid moisture stress.
Toward the end of the growing season, the length of the
intervals should be increased, with irrigation ceasing 25-30
days before harvest to induce normal maturity. Total
expenses on irrigation are, therefore, highest. Compared to
last year’s expenditures incurred on irrigation at Rs2860,
according to the committee, there is about 20 per cent
increase in cost of irrigation. Total cost on irrigation
worked out to be Rs3425 for the next season. Considerable
increase in the cost of irrigation can be attributed to
ever-increasing prices of diesel used to operate tube wells.
Fertilisers: Soil fertility and productivity significantly
affect cane production. It is noteworthy that the nutrient
requirements of sugar cane, especially NPK, are higher than
those of any other commercial crop because of its high dry
matter production per unit area. Moreover, it is an
exhaustive crops like wheat, rice, maize etc. that uptake
huge amount of nutrients. It requires macro as well as micro
nutrients.
Each fertiliser element plays its role in the development
and production of a normal cane crop. Nitrogen is essential
for plant growth; phosphorus for developing roots,
influencing the ripening process and purifying the juice;
potassium for promoting cell activity/growth, increasing
resistance to infection and lodging, and improving sucrose
content. For the next season cost of fertilisers for growing
one acre sugar cane comes to Rs3675 whereas in the last
year’s it was Rs3965 per acre. There is a reduction of
around seven per cent which is attributed to subsidy on
fertilisers.
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Courtesy: The DAWN
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