Sugarcane Planting Methods, Timing, and Seedling Pretreatment Measures Explained
The prospects for sugarcane planting are relatively good, but do you know how to plant sugarcane? Would you like to learn about it? Let's take a look together!
1. Pretreatment of Sugarcane Seedlings
To promote rapid and uniform germination of sugarcane seedlings and prevent the occurrence of important diseases, the measures of soaking and disinfecting sugarcane seedlings before planting are called "pretreatment"; the commonly used methods are:
(1) Soaking in clean water: Place selected healthy sugarcane seedlings in a container and soak them in clean water for 12~24 hours to promote germination.
(2) Hot water soaking: Soak the sugarcane seedlings in 52 degrees C hot water for 20 minutes to prevent the occurrence of sugarcane ratoon stunting disease and sugarcane grassy shoot disease.
(3) Chemical soaking: Dilute "Benlate" to a concentration of 0.06~0.1% and soak the sugarcane seedlings for one minute to promote germination and prevent diseases.
(4) Hot air treatment: Use hot air at 54~56 degrees C to treat sugarcane seedlings for 6~8 hours, which has the effect of preventing grassy shoot disease.
(5) Lime water soaking: Soak seeds in 0.10~0.15% lime water for about 24 hours, which can promote sugarcane seedling germination and early growth.
2. Sugarcane Planting
(1) Land preparation:Sugarcane is a deep-rooted crop. For good root extension of newly planted sugarcane and ratoon sugarcane, full absorption of nutrients, and promotion of growth and yield, carrying out sugarcane field land preparation is a necessary step before planting. The methods of sugarcane field land preparation are:
1. Making ridges: Use a tractor with appropriate plows attached to make ridges, with the ridge top semicircular and the ridge bottom forming the planting furrow; if the sugarcane field drains well, build ridges about 10 cm high; in sugarcane fields with high groundwater levels or concerns about water accumulation during the rainy season, high ridges of more than 20 cm should be built.
2. Opening longitudinal, transverse, and perimeter ditches: To facilitate field drainage, dig a transverse ditch at regular intervals perpendicular to the planting furrow (20 m for dry fields, half of that for paddy fields), with a depth 7~10 cm deeper than the planting furrow. Parallel to the ridges, set a longitudinal ditch every 40~60 ridges, with a depth 5 cm deeper than the transverse ditch. Around each sugarcane field, a perimeter ditch should be dug, with a depth about 5 cm deeper than the longitudinal ditch.
3. Loosening the planting furrow soil: After making ridges, use a subsoiler or small toothed harrow to loosen the planting furrow soil, creating a good planting bed.
(2) Applying base fertilizer
Sugarcane plants are tall and have a long growth period, requiring more nutrients than ordinary crops; in addition to applying 20,000~30,000 kg of organic fertilizer per hectare, chemical fertilizers are also needed: nitrogen (N) 200~250 kg, phosphate (P2O5) 50~100 kg, potassium (K2O) 75~200 kg; among these, the full amount of phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, and 1/5~1/3 of the nitrogen fertilizer, are applied 10~15 cm below the seedlings during ridge making as base fertilizer.
(3) Planting
1. Planting periodSugarcane can be planted throughout the year, and depending on the planting period, it can be divided into:
(1) Extra-early planting---planted between January and August
(2) Autumn planting---planted between August and September
(3) Late autumn planting---planted between October and November
(4) Spring planting---planted between December and April of the following year
2. Planting methods
Due to differences in sugarcane field cultivation environments, the methods of planting sugarcane seedlings in the planting furrow can be divided into:
(1) Flat planting method—suitable for sugarcane fields with sufficient moisture and good irrigation and drainage; place the sugarcane seedling with its tip facing south and buds on both sides, plant flat in the planting furrow, then cover with a thin layer of soil, so that both front and back buds of the seedling can germinate, increasing the number of millable stalks.
(2) Diagonal insertion method—suitable for areas that are arid and lacking water, excessively humid, or where pests and diseases occur severely; insert two-bud seedlings diagonally at no more than 45 degrees, with the lower bud pressed into the soil and the upper bud exposed above the soil surface; this ensures that each sugarcane seedling has one bud germinate.
3. Planting density
Sugarcane planting density is commonly known as the cultivation row and plant spacing. It often varies due to variety characteristics, soil fertility, planting period, and mechanical operations; generally speaking, early-maturing or low-tillering varieties, poor soil, and spring planting are all suitable for close planting; while late-maturing or high-tillering varieties, fertile soil, or irrigated conditions are suitable for sparse planting.
In Taiwan, China, successive experimental studies on various sugarcane varieties and spring and autumn planted sugarcane have proven that the most appropriate row and plant spacing pairings for sugarcane are 1.2550.40m and 1.3750.36m; and 20,000 double-bud seedlings per hectare can yield the highest sugarcane stalk yield. In recent years, due to the lack of rural labor, in order to match the specifications and operations of sugarcane machinery, row spacing has been moderately widened, and currently most sugarcane fields are planted with a row spacing of 1.30~1.37m.
