By: Abdulhafeez T. Oyewole
Sugarcane, which is known as Ireke in Yoruba, is perennial grass primarily cultivated for its juice from which sugar is processed. It belongs to the grass family, Poaceae, an economically important flowering plant family that include maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and many forage crops, grown specifically for grazing by livestock or harvested to help make up seasonal shortfalls between feed demand and supply.
The sugarcane plant produces a number of stalks (or better still stems) that reach 2 to 6 metres (6 to 20 feet) high. The tough, semi-woody stalks of sugarcane are up to 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, with leafy nodes (or bumps/swellings) and a moist internal pith (nucleus) containing 15-20% sucrose-sugar.
The sugar concentration is highest just before the plant flowers, so this is when harvesting occurs. The plants are propagated by cuttings placed into the ground, but a single planting can last several harvest rotations.
Sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial (i.e. giant) grass that thrives in a warm, moist climate, storing sugar in its stalk or stem. According to findings, Sugarcane first grew in Asia, but after the year 700 people started planting it in Africa and southern Europe. Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane in the world. It was the world’s largest crop by production quantity in 2012.
Sugarcane plantation undergoes four stages:- Four phenology phases characterize the phenological stages of sugarcane, namely, germination (up to 40 days after planting), tillering (up to 120 days after planting), grand growth (up to 270 days after planting), and ripening phase or maturity.
Nitrogen is important for high yields. It fuels crop growth and development, leading to strong tillering. Phosphorus is particularly important for root development, early shoot growth and tillering, maximizing early productivity and increasing internode length.
There are both black and green sugarcane. Black sugarcane is different from regular sugarcane; it is soft and sweet in comparison to the regular one, which is mostly used in preparing juice and sugar or jaggery. It also has a comparatively thicker & bigger stem.
Its use ranges from consumption to production of some important elements in life. For instance, Sugar is made from sugar cane. And humans consume sugar. Likewise, Sucrose, a bye product of sugarcane, extracted and purified in specialized mill factories, is used as raw material in human food industries or is fermented to produce ethanol: a psychoactive recreational drug, and the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks.
Sugarcane does not expire. Sugarcane grows at the same speed on either dirt and sand.