JJ Bhagat1, CK Dixit2 and Yash Dhruv Sawhney3
1STM Projects Ltd, New Delhi, India
2Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd, Uttar Pradesh, India; chandrakant.dixit@ho.trivenigroup.com
3Winchester College, United Kingdom
The decline in cane yield and sugar content in the subtropical regions of India is an issue of concern for sugarcane growers and the industry alike. This prompted a detailed study on the impact of different sustainable practices on sugarcane cultivation, yielding a list of steps to optimize yield and ensure farmer empowerment. A sample of 100 sugarcane growers from 21 villages in the Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, India, was selected for the study. Four prominent sugarcane varieties, CO-118, CO-15023, COLK-14201 and CO-98014, were identified and subjected to specific cultivation practices, including trench planting, balanced nutrient application, integrated pest and disease management and regulated irrigation. The results were compared with adjacent sugarcane plots that served as a control group. The project plots showed better germination, including the number of tillers and millable canes, and a significant decline in incidence of pests and diseases. These plots had improved resilience to extreme summer temperatures. Adoption of the above practices, including the planting of sugarcane seed sets at a row spacing of 1.22 m with an application of essential nutrients had a marked improvement in sugarcane yield without any noticeable adverse impact on the cost of cultivation. As the sugarcane price to growers in India is based on weight, if the cultural practices outlined here were adopted in a reasonably large number of sugarcane farms, they would drive a significant increase in the income of sugarcane farmers and future sugarcane supplies to the sugar mills.