How can sugarcane cultivation achieve high yields?

Sugarcane is a temperate and tropical crop and the raw material for making sucrose. At present, China offers strong support for sugarcane cultivation, so the sugarcane market is good and enthusiasm in the market is high. So what is the secret to high-yield sugarcane cultivation?

1. Site selection and land preparation

In the process of sugarcane cultivation, the requirements for the soil environment are very high. Generally, in the process of sugarcane cultivation, fertile land with convenient drainage and irrigation, sufficient sunlight and shelter from the wind is mostly chosen, as this is beneficial to the growth of sugarcane and also promotes an increase in sugarcane yield and quality, thereby increasing the economic benefits of growers.

Sugarcane cultivation adopts the method of deep ploughing. Use a rotary tiller to crush the soil of the entire land as well as the original sugarcane stubble; use a high-horsepower tractor for deep ploughing, and generally the depth needs to reach 50cm; then use a rotary tiller to crush the soil again, so that the soil to be planted with sugarcane becomes sufficiently loose and finely broken up. Leveling of sloping land is carried out according to contour lines at equal heights, to prevent soil and nutrients from being lost due to rainwater erosion.

2. Apply sufficient base fertilizer

Base fertilizer should be mainly organic fertilizers such as compost, ash and manure fertilizer and farmyard manure, combined with phosphate fertilizer and an appropriate amount of quick-acting nitrogen and potassium fertilizer. The application rate of base fertilizer generally accounts for 60%-70% of the total fertilizer application. Organic fertilizer is generally applied at 1500-2500 kg per mu, calcium at about 30 kg per mu, and potassium fertilizer at 10-15 kg; if fertilizer is sufficient, more can be applied. Applying more organic fertilizer as base fertilizer has a very good effect on increasing yield and improving the soil.

As for the application method, if there is plenty of fertilizer, use half of it before sowing, apply it in the planting furrow and mix it evenly with the soil before planting, and use the other half to cover the seed cane. If there is less fertilizer, it should be used to cover the seed after planting. In order to better give play to the role of base fertilizer, mix the organic fertilizer evenly with phosphate fertilizer before application, and pour on diluted human excrement water for composting and decomposition, then mix in potassium fertilizer evenly just before use. Phosphate and potassium fertilizers are mainly applied as base fertilizer, because they move little in the soil and need to be close to the roots to be easily absorbed. Phosphate fertilizer has a great influence on the tillering of sugarcane seedlings, and the potassium absorbed by sugarcane plants in the early stage can be transferred to growth in the middle and late stages, so phosphate and potassium fertilizers should be emphasized for early application.

3. Seed selection

In the process of sugarcane cultivation, seed selection is generally carried out according to the water and fertilizer conditions of the soil. For planting on dry sloping land, Taitang No. 22 is generally chosen, while for some land with relatively good water and fertilizer conditions, Yuetang 93/159 or Yuetang 00/236 is chosen for planting. Moreover, in the process of seed selection, the tail stem about 40cm below the egg-yolk part is generally selected as the seed cane. This is mainly because tail-stem seed cane has fewer diseases and insect pests, good bud vitality, and is not easy to rot under drought or low temperature; sugarcane emerges early, evenly and strongly, and it is easy to obtain high yields.

4. Seed cane treatment

Sun-drying seeds: Sun-drying seeds is only suitable for fresh tip seedlings with relatively high water content. The purpose is to increase the temperature of the seed cane, accelerate the activity of enzymes in the seed cane, and strengthen the water absorption capacity of the seed cane. (Method: Strip off the old leaf sheaths, leave the tender leaf sheaths, then spread them flat on the ground and dry them in the sun for half a day.)

1. Cutting the seed

Use a sharp knife to cut the cane into sections of two buds each; the cut should be flat and straight, without splitting. As for the sprouting ability of sugarcane buds, the fully developed buds at the tip are the strongest, those in the middle are next, and those at the base are the weakest. At present, tip sections are mostly used as seed in production. As for the number of buds per cane section, two-bud seed is best, because two-bud seedlings have a complete internode and both ends contact the soil during planting, giving strong water absorption capacity, easy germination and uniform sprouting. For parts that are too tender at the top or have dense nodes, 3-5 buds can be used as one section. In areas often encountering drought when planting, 3-bud sections can be used, so that the middle bud or top bud can develop into a seedling. Single-bud seedlings are generally not used in production because of the large cut surface and susceptibility to pineapple disease; they are used only when accelerating the propagation of improved varieties.

2. Soaking the seed

For soaking the seed in clear water, soak the seed cane in flowing clear water for 2-3 days (if there is no flowing water, it can be soaked in clear water, but the water must be changed frequently). Compared with not soaking, soaking generally speeds up germination by 3-5 days.

3. Soaking the seed in limewater

Use 2% fresh limewater (100 kg of clear water to 2 kg of high-quality lime) to soak the seed. The time depends on how old and tender the seed cane is and on the air temperature: tip seedlings are soaked for 12-20 hours, and older middle and lower cane stems are soaked for 24-48 hours. When the temperature is high (above 25°C), the soaking time can be shorter; when the temperature is low, the soaking time can be longer. Soaking the seed in limewater is more effective than soaking in clear water.

4. Disinfection

After the seed cane is cut, the cut surface is easily invaded by pineapple disease and red rot pathogens, causing bud rot and seed rot, so disinfection is needed. For disinfection, use 50% carbendazim, benlate or thiophanate, 100 grams diluted in 100 kg of water, and soak the seed for 10 minutes, or 50% amobam 50 grams diluted in 200 kg of water, and soak the seed for 5 minutes; the control effects are all very significant.

5. Germination promotion

Because the temperature in early spring is low, seed cane takes a long time to germinate. Using the germination promotion method can speed up the sprouting of sugarcane buds, make sprouting uniform and increase the germination rate. For varieties with a relatively low germination rate, the effect is especially significant. The principle of germination promotion is to promote until the buds swell slightly while the roots do not germinate or germinate very little. At present, two methods are generally used in production: pile storage for heat preservation and compost fermentation for heat generation.

5. Sugarcane planting methods

Planting time: Sugarcane begins to take root at 10°C and begins to germinate at 13°C. Therefore, planting can begin when the soil temperature is stably above 10°C. Generally, timely early planting prolongs the growth period and gives a relatively high yield.

Planting method: When planting, the seedlings should be placed flat against the mud with the buds facing the sides, and the phenomena of "bridging" and "sky-and-earth buds" must not occur. Arrange in double rows in a zigzag pattern, with a small row spacing of about 15 cm; the distance between the top ends of two seed cane sections depends on the length of the internodes of the seed cane and how much is planted.

6. Field management

1. Checking seedlings and filling gaps

Wherever there is a gap in the seedlings or a missing row of more than 40 cm, replanting must be done. For the source of replanted sugarcane seedlings, the method of raising reserve seedlings can be used: that is, while planting, raise seedlings at the edge of the field for replanting, or use film or bag-and-pot seedlings for replanting. Reserve seedlings generally account for about 5% of the planting amount. Replanting is best carried out when the sugarcane seedlings have 3-4 leaves, choosing after rain or when the soil moisture is relatively good for transplanting and filling gaps, and water them with settling water.

2. Applying seedling-promoting fertilizer

When the sugarcane seedlings have two leaves and one heart, apply 5-8 kg of urea per mu; it is best to apply 500-2000 kg of decomposed human manure and urine per mu, taking care to apply more to weak seedlings, so as to achieve uniform and strong seedlings. If the base fertilizer lacks phosphate and potassium fertilizer, it is suitable to apply them as a supplement at this time, followed by light earthing up.

3. Intertillage and weeding

During the seedling stage, the aboveground part grows slowly, and with the wide row spacing, weeds easily grow, so intertillage and weeding should be carried out 1-2 times in time, preferably when the weeds have 3-4 leaves. In order to reduce the workload, chemical herbicides can also be applied.

4. Preventing drought and waterlogging

If drought occurs during the seedling stage, timely irrigation with running water or watering to combat drought should be carried out where conditions permit. Intertillage and loosening the soil after rain is also an effective method to preserve water and combat drought. If sugarcane fields accumulate water, the seed stems are easily infected by pineapple disease before emergence, causing seed rot and bud rot. After emergence, the root system develops poorly, the sugarcane seedlings turn yellow, and the roots may even rot and die. Therefore, drainage to prevent waterlogging is essential.

5. Intercropping green manure

Sugarcane has wide row spacing and closes its canopy late, so green manure can be intercropped early and used for green manuring during the elongation stage. This can not only improve the soil and build up soil fertility, but also inhibit weed growth, prevent drought and preserve water, and is conducive to increasing sugarcane yield. Suitable green manure crops should be chosen for intercropping to reduce competition with sugarcane for sunlight. Because sugarcane is relatively sensitive to sunlight, if shaded in the early stage, the seedlings will be weak and tillering will decrease significantly. Generally, green manure that is short-growing, upright, has a short growth period, rots easily after green manuring, contains relatively more nutrients and has high stem and leaf yield is better; among these, leguminous green manure is better, such as mung bean and soybean.

6. Disease and pest control

Sugarcane pests are mainly damage from sugarcane borers, sugarcane beetles, thrips and woolly aphids. When topdressing and earthing up at the peak tillering stage, apply 4-5 kg of carbofuran per mu. To control woolly aphids, promptly eliminate the early centers of infestation; spraying with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate diluted 800-1000 times with water can also control pests such as thrips.

7. Harvesting and storage

1. Harvest

The cutting and harvesting of sugarcane must be carried out in a planned way, so as to ensure that the cane is fresh. Cutting and harvesting should be reasonably arranged according to different sugarcane varieties, planting periods and maturity periods. Make sure autumn-planted sugarcane and ratoon sugarcane are harvested first, and winter- and spring-planted sugarcane later; sugarcane not kept for ratooning is harvested first, and sugarcane kept for ratooning later; dry land is harvested first, and riverbank land and paddy fields later.

As for the harvest method, low cutting with a small hoe is recommended. If high earthing up has been done and the sugarcane is to be kept for ratooning, the thick soil layer should be appropriately reduced, and the stubble left by low cutting should be about 10-15 cm; if the sugarcane is not kept for ratooning, the entire cane stump can be dug up, then the cane roots, soil and cane leaves removed, and it can be cut off about 10 cm below the growing point of the cane tip, stacked neatly, and tied into bundles with bamboo splits. Low cutting with a small hoe not only has high work efficiency, but also does not split the cane stump, which is beneficial for ratoon sprouting, and can also yield an extra 150-200 kg of cane per mu.

2. Storage

Generally, tip seedlings are used as seed; the growing point should be cut off, leaving tip seedlings about 70 cm long, with leaves removed and sheaths retained to protect the buds, then tied into bundles by head and tail, with the lower ends arranged neatly. Choose a cool, moist place facing south and facing away from the north, level the surface soil and loosen it with a hoe, place the seed cane upright, closely and neatly arranged, with each pile about 1000-1500 kg. The lower part contacts the moist loose soil on the ground, and broken soil is used around to cover about 1/3 of the height of the seed cane, and broken soil is scattered into the gaps between the cane clusters, with cane leaves covering the top, and clods of mud pressed on top to prevent the wind from scattering them; this can be kept for one to two months. This method is called the open-field storage method.