Sugarcane

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Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is a plant in the grass family (Gramineae) that is cultivated to produce table sugar (sucrose), molasses, rum, and ethanol. Historically, sugarcane was produced with slave labor. In modern times, it is still often linked to exploitative labor practices. For more information, see the article on Sugarcane Labor Practices.

Cultivation

"Sugar cane is grown in more than a hundred countries under temperate, subtropical and tropical conditions. The sugar cane is basically a crop of tropical climates, with yields affected significantly by temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. The optimum mean daily temperature range is 14 to 35°C. Likewise, relative humidity ranging between 55 – 85% at grand growth period favors stalk development. The optimal solar radiation requirement is 18 – 36 MJ/m2 (Total annual: 6350 MJ/m2). Stalk growth increases when daylight is in the range of 10 – 14 hours. Sugar cane can be grouped into three varieties: early, mid-late and late. Varieties resistant to several pests and diseases have also been developed in major sugar cane growing regions across the subtropical and tropical world.
"Sugar cane requires a well-drained, well-aerated, porous soil with pH of 6.5. Compacted soils (> 1.6 to 1.7 g/cm3) affect root penetration, water and nutrient uptake. The crop is moderately sensitive to soil salinity. The planting pattern is dual or paired row and spacing adopted (1.4m + 0.4m) is 0.15m under drip irrigated conditions, while sowing depth is generally 10cm. The crop is grown by vegetative propagation and requires 40,000 two-bud1 or 30,000 three-bud setts2 per hectare in order to maintain a desired millable stalk population target of 130,000/ha."[1]

Production Statistics

In 2009, the top sugar cane producing countries (ranked by quantity of sugar cane, not sugar itself) were as follows:[2]

  • 1. Brazil: 671,395,000 metric tons
  • 2. India: 285,029,000 metric tons
  • 3. China: 116,251,272 metric tons
  • 4. Thailand: 66,816,400 metric tons
  • 5. Pakistan: 50,045,400 metric tons
  • 6. Mexico: 49,492,700 metric tons
  • 7. Colombia: 38,500,000 metric tons
  • 8. Australia: 31,456,900 metric tons
  • 9. Argentina: 29,950,000 metric tons
  • 10. United States: 27.456,000 metric tons
  • 11. Indonesia: 26,500,000 metric tons
  • 12. Philippines: 22,932,800 metric tons
  • 13. South Africa: 20,500,000 metric tons
  • 14. Guatemala: 18,391,700 metric tons
  • 15. Egypt: 17,000,000 metric tons
  • 16. Viet Nam: 15,246,400 metric tons
  • 17. Cuba: 14,900,000 metric tons
  • 18. Peru: 10,100,100 metric tons
  • 19. Venezuela: 9,500,000 metric tons
  • 20. Myanmar: 8,500,000 metric tons

One estimate, which is likely slightly out of date, found that 1450 million metric tons of sugarcane are grown annually on 22 million hectares world wide. At that time, Brazil and India together accounted for nearly 60% of the global production.[3]

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch articles

References

  1. ↑ Sugarcane, Netafim, Accessed December 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ FAOSTAT, Inquiry of top sugarcane producing countries by quantity in 2009, Accessed December 13, 2011.
  3. ↑ Sugarcane, Netafim, Accessed December 13, 2011.

External Resources

External Articles

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