Mérida Rodríguez-Regal, Carlos Lamela-Felipe, Elier Pérez-Herrera, Regla Zaida Enrique-Estévez, Yaquelin Puchades-Izaguirre and Yudith Viñas-Quintero
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Caña de Azúcar (INICA), Carretera CUJAE, Km 1 ½, Boyeros, Habana, Cuba; merida.rodriguez@inica.azcuba.cu; merida.rregal@gmail.com
Sugarcane is a fundamental C4 crop in many regions of the world, valued not only for its economic contribution but also for its significance in biofuel production and other derivatives. This crop encounters considerable challenges stemming from climate variability, which adversely impacts both its productivity and yield. A viable strategy to mitigate the effects of climate variability is the strategic identification of optimal cultivation areas. This necessitates a detailed examination of the physical and geographical attributes of each region, including soil composition, topography, local climate conditions, and water resource availability. By pinpointing the most conducive areas for sugarcane cultivation, agricultural management practices can be tailored for greater effectiveness. The aim of this study was to update the agroclimatic zoning for sugarcane cultivation in Cuba. Essential bioclimatic factors influencing crop growth were identified, followed by a matrix analysis that incorporated expert evaluations of these factors’ significance. A comprehensive database was developed, encompassing soil, climate, and updated cadastral data, which facilitated the integration of different variables and the assessment of different zoning scenarios using the Pareto method, with a representativeness threshold exceeding 80%. The delineation of agroclimatic zones was achieved through cartographic representations of primary climatological scenarios, derived from the interpolation of cane and soil data. Consequently, 10 distinct agroclimatic zones were identified, with zones 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 being the most representative.