Does straw mulch partial-removal from soil interfere in yield and industrial quality sugarcane? A long term study
•The amount of straw in the soil surface influences yield of sugarcane.•Maintenance 50% of straw is enough to increase 47% of yield and not alter the sugarcane industrial quality.•Burning straw sugarcane prior to harvest reduces crop yield by 49%.•Total or 75% of straw removal from the field reduce...
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Published in: | Industrial crops and products Vol. 111; pp. 573 - 578 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Journal Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier B.V
01-01-2018
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | •The amount of straw in the soil surface influences yield of sugarcane.•Maintenance 50% of straw is enough to increase 47% of yield and not alter the sugarcane industrial quality.•Burning straw sugarcane prior to harvest reduces crop yield by 49%.•Total or 75% of straw removal from the field reduce the sugarcane yield by about 47%.•50% of straw can be removed from the field for industry without affecting crop yield.
Sugarcane straw mulch left in the field after its mechanical harvest has become very valuable raw material for second generation ethanol and bioelectricity production. However, little information is available on how much straw mulch is needed to be left in the field so that agricultural productivity is not affected and high sustainability is provided for the bioenergy production system. The objective of this work was to evaluate the productivity and industrial quality of sugarcane after five years of cultivation when different amount of straw mulch is removed from the field. The experiment was installed in clay texture Eutroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol). Six treatments were evaluated: 0%, 25% (5tha−1), 50% (10tha−1), 75% (15tha−1), 100% (20tha−1) of straw mulch and burnt cane harvesting (where 100% of the straw mulch was burned). Evaluated parameters included sugarcane productivity (tons/hectare) and its industrial quality (Pol, soluble solids (°Brix), apparent purity and total sugars (TS)). Productivity was calculated at the end of the cycle whereas industrial quality parameters were evaluated during three phases i.e. 180, 240 and 350days after cutting (DAC). Straw mulch of 50 and 75% were statistically at par with each other but resulted in higher sugarcane production with 47% more productivity as compared to 0 and 25% of straw mulch as well as burned cane harvesting. Straw mulch didn’t affect the industrial quality; however, higher sugar production was supported by higher agricultural productivity, under low moisture condition. It is possible to remove 50% of straw mulch from the field for the production of second generation ethanol or bioelectricity, without any damage to the crop. |
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ISSN: | 0926-6690 1872-633X |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.11.026 |