How to Grow Cane

Growing of Sugar Cane

There are sugar cane plantations and the land is prepared by ploughing before cane can be grown. Small portion of canes planted are called “setts”, these then grow roots and new shoots from “eye” in the sett. The plants are then sprayed with water and fertilizer. Each sett can produce up to 7 crops and the process takes about 11 to 18 months before the canes produced enough sugar to be harvested. Special machinery is used when harvesting the crops. There is about 12% sugar content in a harvested cane. After harvesting, provided the roots of the crop are intact, the crops have the ability to re-grow in a period of 12 months given the right conditions. New canes are called ratoons. The sugar canes are then sent to a sugar cane mill to be processed into raw sugar. This has to be done in a short period of time as the quality of the crops deteriorates in the warm and damp climate. ugaronline - sugar industry news and prices.