The efficient application of technologies for managing soil, water, and nutrients is essential for crop production. The intensification of agricultural production would have to account for a large portion of the boost. The significance of prudent water, nutrient, and tillage management in the agricultural sector for sustaining agricultural growth and impeding environmental degradation. These production technologies help students, scholars, and farmers to successfully increase their knowledge and update themselves with new crop-growing strategies, ultimately increasing their yield.
Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a tall, perennial grass with jointed, fibrous stalks that can reach 3 to 4 meters in height. Its cultivation began in the Indian subcontinent around 327 BC, and it spread to the rest of the world via trade routes through the Middle East. It eventually arrived in the New World and quickly became a thriving industry. The 36 different species of sugarcane belong to the tribe Andropogoneae and the genus Saccharum of grass plants. It was originally indigenous to Asia’s warm tropical regions, but as soon as early civilizations learned how useful it was, it rapidly expanded. As a result, crossbreeding helps the new civilization increase its sugar production. Among the significant commercial crops grown worldwide.
Sugarcane is the world’s primary source of sugar (80%), as well as a significant cash crop. It is one of the most important crops for earning foreign currency. White sugar, brown sugar (khandsari), and jaggery (gur) are all made from sugar juice. Bagasse and molasses are the primary byproducts of the sugarcane industry. Bagasse is primarily used as a fuel source. It is also used in the manufacture of compressed fiber board paper, plastic, and other products.In India, there are two distinct agro-climatic regions for sugarcane cultivation: tropical and subtropical. The tropical region covers approximately 45% of the country’s land area and accounts for 55% of total sugarcane production. Thus, the subtropical region accounts for 55% of total sugarcane production and accounts for 45% of total area. The country’s average sugarcane yield is around 69.4 t/ha. Sugarcane cultivation and the sugar industry in India play an important role in rural socioeconomic development by mobilizing rural resources and generating higher income and employment opportunities. Sugarcane cultivation, harvesting, and ancillary activities employ approximately 7.5 percent of the rural population, which includes approximately 60 million sugarcane farmers (http://shodhganga.inibnet.ac.in).
Sugarcane Producing regions:
The combined efforts of the AICRP Sugarcane Research Network have resulted in a vertical increase in sugarcane productivity and production in the country.
India is the world’s second largest producer of sugarcane (18.18%) and sugar (15.81%), trailing only Brazil. However, the country is also the world’s largest consumer of sugar (15.93%) and the world’s seventh largest exporter of sugar (2.80%) to 113 countries (2015-16 – April to January). Sugarcane productivity has risen from 48.0 t/ha in 1970-71 to around 70 t/ha in 2015-16. Total cane production has increased from 126 million tonnes in 1970-71 to 341 million tonnes in 2015-16.
Tropical region:
Sugarcane productivity is higher in tropical states (80 t/ha) than in subtropical states (60 t/ha). In the tropical region, sugarcane enjoys more or less ideal climatic conditions for growth and development all year. Maharashtra and the neighboring states of Karnataka, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh have higher sugar recovery rates due to long sunshine hours, cool nights with clear skies, and the area’s favorable latitudinal position. Although biotic and abiotic stresses encountered by sugarcane crops during the tillering and grand growth phases can be critical to sugarcane crop growth and yield.
Sub-Topical regions:
The subtropical region is divided into three sugarcane agro-climatic zones: north-west, north-central, and north-east. Climate extremes such as high and low temperatures, relative humidity, sunshine hours, and wind velocity are common in the North Central Zone states of Uttar Pradesh (U.P), Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab.
The region’s main distinguishing features.
Sugarcane production and productivity in this region are heavily influenced by climatic conditions throughout the year.
Uttar Pradesh has the most sugarcane cultivation land. However, Maharashtra has the highest sugar recovery rate.
Climatic conditions vary depending on the season and sometimes even within the season. Sugarcane crop faces all four seasons of the year. From April to June, the weather is extremely hot and dry.
The rainy season lasts from July to October, accounting for the majority of the rainfall from the south-west monsoon rains. The months of December and January are extremely cold, with temperatures reaching subzero in many places. From November to March, the weather is mild with clear skies. The North West Zone, which includes Haryana, Punjab, Western Rajasthan, and Western Uttar Pradesh, has very low temperatures in December and January, which frequently causes frost.
Temperatures are extremely high in May and June. Because of weather extremes, active sugarcane growth is limited to 4-5 months only. Sugarcane suffers during the monsoon season in the North East Zone, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal due to flooding and water logging. The high prevalence of pests and diseases is a major impediment to increasing sugarcane production. The subtropics have lower cane yields due to a shorter growing season, moisture stress, more pest and disease problems, floods and water logging, and very poor ratoons. This region’s average yield is around 60 tons per hectare.
