About Sugarcane
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) family
Gramineae (Poaceae) is widely grown crop in India. It provides
employment to over a million people directly or indirectly besides
contributing significantly to the national exchequer. Sugarcane growing
countries of the world lay between the latitude 36.7° north and 31.0°
south of the equator extending from tropical to subtropical zones. Sugar
cane originated in New Guinea where it has been known for thousands of
years. Sugar cane plants spread along human migration routes to Asia and
the Indian subcontinent. Here it cross-bred with some wild sugar cane
relatives to produce the commercial sugar cane we know today.
Cultivation of sugarcane in India dates back to
the Vedic period. The earliest mention of sugarcane cultivation is found
in Indian writings of the period 1400 to 1000 B.C. It is now widely
accepted that India is the original home of Saccharum species. Saccharum
barberi and Polynesian group of island especially New Guinea is the
centre of origin of S. officinarum. It belongs to family Gramineae
(Poaceae), class monocotyledons and order glumaceae sub family
panicoidae, tribe Andripogoneae and sub tribe saccharininea. The
cultivated canes belong to two main groups: (a) thin, hardy north Indian
types S.barberi and S.Sinense and (b) thick, juicy noble canes
Saccharum officinarum. Highly prized cane is S. officinarum.
Important regions/ zones for sugarcane cultivation in India
Broadly there are two distinct agro-climatic
regions of sugarcane cultivation in India, viz., tropical and
subtropical. However, five agro-climatic zones have been identified
mainly for the purpose of varietal development. They are (i)North
Western Zone (ii) North Central Zone (iii) North Eastern Zone (iv)
Peninsular Zone (v) Coastal Zone.
Tropical region Shared about 45% and 55% of the
total sugarcane area and production in the country, respectively along
with the average productivity of 77 t/ha (2011-12). Sub-tropical region
accounted for about 55% and 45% of total area and production of
sugarcane with an average productivity about 63 t/ha (2011-12)
Tropical Sugarcane region
The tropical sugarcane region consists of
sugarcane agro climatic zone 4 (peninsular zone) and 5(Coastal zone)
which includes the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Pondicherry and Kerala.
Sub-tropical sugarcane region:
Around 55 per cent of total cane area in the country is in the
sub-tropics. U.P, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab comes under this region.
Crop distribution: Sugarcane
growing countries of the world are lying between the latitude 36.70
north and 31.00 south of the equator extending from tropical to
sub-tropical zones. In India sugarcane is cultivated all over the
country from latitude 80 N to 330 N, except cold hilly areas like
Kashmir valley, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Climatic requirement
Temperature for different critical stages of sugarcane:
The different critical stages are germination, tillering, early growth,
active growth and elongation. Optimum temperature for sprouting
(germination) of stem cuttings is 32° to 38°c. It slows down below 25°,
reaches plateau between 30°-34°. Temperatures above 38° reduce the rate
of photosynthesis and increase respiration. For ripening, however,
relatively low temperatures in the range of 12° to 14° are desirable.
Reduction in yield of sugarcane due to rise in temperature
The sugarcane productivity and juice quality are
profoundly influenced by weather conditions prevailing during the
various crop-growth sub-periods. Sugar recovery is highest when the
weather is dry with low humidity; bright sunshine hours, cooler nights
with wide diurnal variations and very little rainfall during ripening
period. These conditions favour high sugar accumulation. The climatic
conditions like very high temperature or very low temperature
deteriorate the juice quality and thus affecting the sugar quality.
Favourable climate like warm and humid climate favour the insect pests
and diseases, which cause much damage to the quality and yield of its
juice and finally sucrose contents.
Area, production and yield of sugarcane in major growing states
In Tropical zone Maharashtra is the major
sugarcane growing state covering about 9.4 lakh ha area with production
of 61.32 Million ton, whereas the productivity of Tamil Nadu is highest
in tropical zones. Uttar Pradesh is the highest sugarcane producing
State in sub tropical zone having area about 22.77 Lakh ha with the
production of 135.64 Million Ton cane whereas Haryana has highest
productivity of sugarcane in Sub tropical zone.
Major Sugarcane Producing States
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