1

SUGARCANE

HARI SINGH
Sugar Cane

Cut sugar cane

Scientific classification

Kingdom:

Plantae

(unranked): Monocots

(unranked): Commelinids

Order:

Poales

Family:

Poaceae

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Andropogoneae

Genus:

Saccharum
L.

Selected species

Saccharum arundinaceum
Saccharum bengalense[verification needed]
Saccharum edule
Saccharum munja[verification needed]
Saccharum officinarum
Saccharum procerum
Saccharum ravennae
Saccharum robustum
Saccharum sinense
Saccharum spontaneum
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species (depending on which taxonomic system is used) of tall perennial grasses of the
genus Saccharum (familyPoaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia,
they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres (six to 19 feet) tall. All
sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids.
Sugarcane belongs to the grass family (Poaceae), an economically important seed plant family that includes maize, wheat,
rice, and sorghum as well as many forage crops. The main product of sugarcane is sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk
internodes. Sucrose, extracted and purified in specialized mill factories, is used as raw material in human food industries or is
fermented to produce ethanol, a low pollution fuel. Ethanol is produced on a large scale by the Brazilian sugarcane industry.
Sugarcane is the world's largest crop.

[1]

In 2010, FAO estimates it was cultivated on about 23.8 million hectares, in more than

90 countries, with a worldwide harvest of 1.69 billion tonnes. Brazil was the largest producer of sugar cane in the world. The
next five major producers, in decreasing amounts of production, were India, China, Thailand, Pakistan and Mexico.
The world demand for sugar is the primary driver of sugarcane agriculture. Cane accounts for 80 percent of sugar produced,
with rest being primarily sourced from sugar beets. Sugarcane predominantly grows in the tropical and subtropical regions,
while sugar beet predominantly grows in colder temperate regions of the world. Other than sugar, products derived from
sugarcane include falernum, molasses, rum, cachaa (a traditional spirit from Brazil), bagasse and ethanol. In some regions,
people use sugarcane reeds to make pens, mats, screens, and thatch. The young unexpanded inflorescence of tebu telor is
eaten raw, steamed or toasted, and prepared in various ways in certain island communities of Indonesia.

[2]

3
It was in India, between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, that the Persians, followed by the Greeks, discovered the famous
reeds that produce honey without bees. They adopted, then spread sugar and sugarcane agriculture.

[3]

A few merchants

began to trade in sugar - a luxury and an expensive spice until the 18th century. Prior to 18th century, cultivation of sugar
cane was largely confined to India. Sugarcane plantations, just like cotton farms, were a major driver of large human
migrations in 19th century and early 20th century, influencing the ethnic mix, political conflicts and cultural evolution of
various Caribbean, South American, Indian Ocean and Pacific island nations.

[4][5]

Description
Sugarcane is a tropical, perennial grass that forms lateral shoots at the base to produce multiple stems, typically three to four
meters high and about five centimeters in diameter. The stems grow into cane stalk, which when mature constitutes
approximately 75% of the entire plant. A mature stalk is typically composed of 1116% fiber, 1216% soluble sugars, 23%
non-sugars, and 6373% water. A sugarcane crop is sensitive to the climate, soil type, irrigation, fertilizers, insects, disease
control, varieties, and the harvest period. The average yield of cane stalk is 60-70 tonnes per hectare per year, however this
figure can vary between 30 and 180 tonnes per hectare depending on knowledge and crop management approach used in
sugarcane cultivation. Sugarcane is a cash crop, but it is also used as livestock fodder.

[6]

Cultivation

Sugarcane field on Madeira

A panoramic view of sugarcane plantations of Brazil, the largest producer of sugarcane in the world.
Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or temperate climate, with a minimum of 60 centimetres (24 in) of annual
moisture. It is one of the mostefficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom. It is a C4 plant, able to convert up to one
percent of incident solar energy into biomass.

[16]

In prime growing regions, such as Puerto

Rico, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru,Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Australia, Ecuador, Cuba, the Philippines, El
Salvador and Hawaii, sugarcane crop can produce over 15 kilograms of cane per square meter of sunshine.

4
Sugarcane is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics in areas with plentiful supply of water, for a continuous period of
more than six to seven months each year, either from natural rainfall of through irrigation. The crop does not tolerate
severe frosts. Therefore, most of the world's sugarcane is grown between 22N and 22S, and some up to 33N and
33S.

[17]

When sugarcane crop is found outside this range, such as the Natal region of South Africa, it is normally due to

anomalous climatic conditions in the region such as warm ocean currents that sweep down the coast. In terms of
[18]

altitude, sugarcane crop is found up to 1600 m close to the equator in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Sugarcane can be grown on many different soils ranging from highly fertile well drained mollisols, through heavy
cracking vertisols, infertile acid oxisols, peaty histosols to rocky andisols. Both plentiful sunshine and water supplies
increase cane production. This has made desert countries with good irrigation facilities such as Egypt as one of the
highest yielding sugarcane cultivating regions.

Sugarcane flower on Dominica

Although sugarcanes produce seeds, modern stem cutting has become the most common reproduction method. Each
cutting must contain at least one bud, and the cuttings are sometimes hand-planted. In more technologically advanced
countries like the United States and Australia, billet planting is common. Billets harvested from a mechanical harvester
are planted by a machine which opens and recloses the ground. Once planted, a stand can be harvested several times;
after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called ratoons. Successive harvests give decreasing yields, eventually
justifying replanting. Two to 10 harvests are usually made depending on the type of culture. In a country with a
mechanical agriculture looking for a high production of large fields like in North America, sugar canes are replanted after
2 or 3 harvests to avoid a lowering in yields. In countries with a more traditional type of agriculture with smaller fields and
hand harvesting, like in the French island la Runion, sugar canes are often harvested up to 10 years before replanting.

Sugarcane mechanical harvest inJaboticabal, So Paulo, Brazil

5
Sugarcane is harvested by hand and mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of production, and is
dominant in the developing world. In hand harvesting, the field is first set on fire. The fire burns dry leaves, and kills any
lurking venomous snakes, without harming the stalks and roots. Harvesters then cut the cane just above ground-level
using cane knives or machetes. A skilled harvester can cut 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of sugarcane per hour.
[19]

Mechanical harvesting uses a combine, or sugarcane harvester.

[citation needed]

The Austoft 7000 series, the original modern

harvester design, has now been copied by other companies, including Cameco / John Deere. The machine cuts the cane
at the base of the stalk, strips the leaves, chops the cane into consistent lengths and deposits it into a transporter
following alongside. The harvester then blows the trash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 100 long tons
(100 t) each hour; however, harvested cane must be rapidly processed. Once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar
content, and damage to the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decline. This decline is offset because a
modern chopper harvester can complete the harvest faster and more efficiently than hand cutting and loading. Austoft
also developed a series of hydraulic high-lift infield transporters to work alongside their harvesters to allow even more
rapid transfer of cane to, for example, the nearest railway siding. This mechanical harvesting doesn't require the field to
be set on fire; the remains left in the field by the machine consist of the top of the sugar cane and the dead leaves, which
act as mulch for the next round of planting.
Pests
The cane beetle (also known as cane grub) can substantially reduce crop yield by eating roots; it can be controlled
with imidacloprid (Confidor) or chlorpyrifos (Lorsban). Other important pests are thelarvae of
some butterfly/moth species, including the turnip moth, the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis), the Mexican rice
borer (Eoreuma loftini); leaf-cutting ants, termites, spittlebugs (especiallyMahanarva fimbriolata and Deois flavopicta),
and the beetle Migdolus fryanus. The planthopper insect Eumetopina flavipes acts as a virus vector, which causes the
sugarcane disease ramu stunt.

[20]

Pathogens
Numerous pathogens infect sugarcane, such as sugarcane grassy shoot disease caused by Phytoplasma, whiptail
disease or sugarcane smut, pokkah boeng caused by Fusarium moniliforme, andred rot disease caused
by Colletotrichum falcatum. Viral diseases affecting sugarcane include sugarcane mosaic virus, maize streak virus,
and sugarcane yellow leaf virus.
Nitrogen fixation
Some sugarcane varieties are known to be capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in association with the
[21]

bacterium Glucoacetobacter diazotrophicus.

Unlike legumes and other nitrogen fixing plants which form root

nodules in the soil in association with bacteria, G. diazotrophicus lives within the intercellular spaces of the sugarcane's
stem.

[22][23]

Processing

Sugar Crystals: brown (left), white.

Sugarcane processing produces cane sugar (sucrose) from sugarcane. Other products of the processing include
bagasse, molasses, and filtercake.
Bagasse, the residual dry fiber of the cane after cane juice has been extracted, is used for several purposes:

fuel for the boilers and kilns,

production of paper, paperboard products and reconstituted panelboard,

agricultural mulch, and

as a raw material for production of chemicals.

[24]

Santa Elisa sugarcane processing plant in Sertozinho, one of the largest and oldest in Brazil
The primary use of bagasse and bagasse residue is as a fuel source for the boilers in the generation of process steam in
sugar plants. Dried filtercake is used as an animal feed supplement, fertilizer, and source of sugarcane wax. Molasses is
produced in two forms: blackstrap that is not edible, and a syrup that is edible. Blackstrap molasses is used primarily as
an animal feed additive but also is used to produce ethanol, compressed yeast, citric acid, and rum. Edible molasses
syrups are often blends with maple syrup, invert sugars, or corn syrup.

Evaporator with baffled pan and foam dipper for making ribbon cane syrup
Traditionally, sugarcane processing requires two stages. Mills extract raw sugar from freshly harvested cane, and
sometimes bleach it to make "mill white" sugar for local consumption. Refineries, often located nearer to consumers in
North America, Europe, and Japan, then produce refined white sugar, which is 99 percentsucrose. These two stages are

7
slowly merging. Increasing affluence in the sugar-producing tropics increased demand for refined sugar products, driving
a trend toward combined milling and refining.
Refining
Sugar refining further purifies the raw sugar. It is first mixed with heavy syrup and then centrifuged in a process called
"affination". Its purpose is to wash away the sugar crystals' outer coating, which is less pure than the crystal interior. The
remaining sugar is then dissolved to make a syrup, about 60 percent solids by weight.
The sugar solution is clarified by the addition of phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide, which combine to
precipitatecalcium phosphate. The calcium phosphate particles entrap some impurities and absorb others, and then float
to the top of the tank, where they can be skimmed off. An alternative to this "phosphatation" technique is "carbonatation",
which is similar, but uses carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide to produce a calcium carbonate precipitate.
After filtering any remaining solids, the clarified syrup is decolorized by filtration through activated carbon. Bone char is
traditionally used in this role.

[25]

Some remaining color-forming impurities adsorb to the carbon. The purified syrup is then

concentrated to supersaturation and repeatedly crystallized in a vacuum, to produce white refined sugar. As in a sugar
mill, the sugar crystals are separated from the molasses by centrifuging. Additional sugar is recovered by blending the
remaining syrup with the washings from affination and again crystallizing to produce brown sugar. When no more sugar
can be economically recovered, the final molasses still contains 2030 percent sucrose and 1525 percent glucose and
fructose.
To produce granulated sugar, in which individual grains do not clump, sugar must be dried, first by heating in a rotary
dryer, and then by blowing cool air through it for several days.
Ribbon cane syrup
Ribbon cane is a subtropical type that was once widely grown in the southern United States, as far north as
coastal North Carolina. The juice was extracted with horse or mule-powered crushers; the juice was boiled, like maple
syrup, in a flat pan, and then used in the syrup form as a food sweetener. It is not currently a commercial crop, but a few
growers find ready sales for their product

[citation needed]

Pollution from sugarcane processing

Particulate matter, combustion products, and volatile organic compounds are the primary pollutants emitted during the
sugarcane processing.

[24]

Combustion products include nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), CO2, and sulfur

oxides (SOX). Potential emission sources include the sugar granulators, sugar conveying and packaging equipment,
bulk loadout operations, boilers, granular carbon and char regeneration kilns, regenerated adsorbent transport systems,
kilns and handling equipment (at some facilities), carbonation tanks, multi-effect evaporator stations, and vacuum boiling
pans. Modern pollution prevention technologies are capable of addressing all of these potential pollutants.
Production

Worldwide sugarcane production

[not in citation given]

(note: source verification, in February 2012, suggests cane yields

above are off by an order of magnitude)

Cane ethanol
Ethanol fuel

A fuel pump in Brazil, offering cane ethanol (A) and gasoline (G).
Ethanol is generally available as a byproduct of sugar production. It can be used as a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and
is widely used in cars in Brazil. It is an alternative to gasoline, and may become the primary product of sugarcane
processing, rather than sugar.
In Brazil, gasoline is required to contain at least 22 percent bioethanol.

[29]

This bioethanol is sourced from Brazil's large

sugarcane crop.
The production of ethanol from sugar cane is more energy efficient than from corn or sugar beets or palm/vegetable oils,
particularly if cane bagasse is used to produce heat and power for the process. Furthermore, if biofuels are used for crop
production and transport, the fossil energy input needed for each ethanol energy unit can be very low. EIA estimates that
with an integrated sugar cane to ethanol technology, the well-to-wheels CO2 emissions can be 90 percent lower than
conventional gasoline.

[29]

[30]

A textbook on renewable energy

describes the energy transformation:

Presently, 75 tons of raw sugar cane are produced annually per hectare in Brazil. The cane delivered to the
processing plant is called burned and cropped (b&c), and represents 77% of the mass of the raw cane. The

9
reason for this reduction is that the stalks are separated from the leaves (which are burned and whose ashes are
left in the field as fertilizer), and from the roots that remain in the ground to sprout for the next crop. Average
cane production is, therefore, 58 tons of b&c per hectare per year.
Each ton of b&c yields 740 kg of juice (135 kg of sucrose and 605 kg of water) and 260 kg of moist bagasse (130
kg of dry bagasse). Since the higher heating value of sucrose is 16.5 MJ/kg, and that of the bagasse is 19.2
MJ/kg, the total heating value of a ton of b&c is 4.7 GJ of which 2.2 GJ come from the sucrose and 2.5 from the
bagasse.
Per hectare per year, the biomass produced corresponds to 0.27 TJ. This is equivalent to 0.86 W per square
meter. Assuming an average insolation of 225 W per square meter, the photosynthetic efficiency of sugar cane is
0.38%.
The 135 kg of sucrose found in 1 ton of b&c are transformed into 70 litres of ethanol with a combustion energy of
1.7 GJ. The practical sucrose-ethanol conversion efficiency is, therefore, 76% (compare with the theoretical
97%).
One hectare of sugar cane yields 4,000 litres of ethanol per year (without any additional energy input, because
the bagasse produced exceeds the amount needed to distill the final product). This, however, does not include
the energy used in tilling, transportation, and so on. Thus, the solar energy-to-ethanol conversion efficiency is
0.13%.
Bagasse applications
Sugarcane is a major crop in many countries. It is one of the plants with the highest bioconversion efficiency. Sugarcane
crop is able to efficiently fix solar energy, yielding some 55 tonnes of dry matter per hectare of land annually. After
harvest, the crop produces sugar juice and bagasse, the fibrous dry matter. This dry matter is biomass with potential as
fuel for energy production.
Sugarcane bagasse is a potentially abundant source of energy for large producers of sugarcane, countries such as
Brazil, India and China. According to one report, with use of latest technologies, bagasse produced annually in Brazil has
the potential of meeting 20 percent of Brazils energy consumption by 2020.

[31]

Electricity production
A number of countries, in particular those devoid of any fossil fuel, have implemented energy conservation and efficiency
measures so as to minimise cogenerated energy (steam and electricity) utilised in cane processing and to export excess
electricity to the grid. Current technologies, such as those in use in Mauritius, produce over 100 KWh per tonne of
bagasse. With a world harvest of over 1 billion tonnes of sugar cane stock per year, the global potential is over 100,000
GWh.

[32]

In Africa alone, a potential for around 10,000 GWh of supplemental electricity exists from this annually

renewable resource, if bagasse to electricity plants were installed there and they simply achieved the conversion
efficiency already achieved in Mauritius.

[33]

This would meet a significant portion of rural electricity needs, and between 1

to 5 percent of overall electricity demand in Africa.

10
More recent cogeneration technology plants are being designed to produce from 200 to over 300 KWh per tonne of
bagasse.

[34][35]

Sugarcane crops are seasonal. This requires that the supply of bagasse would peak just after harvest, and plants would
need to manage the storage of biogasse.
Natural gas production
An alternate application of bagasse is in producing clean burning fuels.
Sugarcane as food

Cane juice[36]

Nutritional value per serving

Serving size

Energy

28.35 grams

111.13 kJ (26.56 kcal)

Carbohydrates

27.51 g

- Sugars

26.98 g

Protein

0.27 g

Calcium

11.23 mg (1%)

Iron

0.37 mg (3%)

Potassium

41.96 mg (1%)

Sodium

17.01 mg (1%)

Percentages are relative to US recommendationsfor

adults.

[31]

11

Plantae

(): Monocots
(): Commelinids
: Poales

12
: Poaceae
: Panicoideae
: Andropogoneae
: Saccharum
.

Saccharum arundinaceum
Saccharum bengalense [ ]
Saccharum edule
[ ]

Saccharum procerum
Saccharum ravennae
Saccharum robustum
Saccharum sinense

Saccharum ( Poaceae, Andropogoneae) 37 (

) .
, , jointed,
, ( 19 ) .
, cultivars .

(Poaceae) , , , ,
. sucrose, internodes . Sucrose,

, ,
. .

. [1] 2010 , 23.8 , 1,69

90 ,. .
, , , , .

. 80

beets sourced , . subtropical ,

. falernum, , , Cachaca

( ), . , , , ,
. tebu telor unexpanded , , toasted

[2].

, , " ," ,

, , . [3] 18

. 18 , . , 19

20 , , ,
, . [4 ] [5]
Contents []
1
2
19 2.1

3

3.1

13
3.2
3.3
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
5
6
7

8
9
10

11
[ ]
, ,
. , 75% .
11-16% , 12-16% , 2-3% - , 63-73% .
, , , , , , , .
60-70 , 30 180

. ,
[6].
[ ]
.
( ), () ()
[7]
[8]
barberi edule officinarum , [8] 5,000
, .

. , , , , , Andalusia
. 10 , ,

[7] Andalusians ,

17 19 .

. , . ,
.

, hotter . .
. , . , "teache,

. , .
hogsheads ( ) shoveled , .

14
1800

.
Hispaniola ( ). , ,

. ,
, " , , ,
. () ,

, . ,
. , ,
, , , , .
[ ] 19

19 . " , .
. .

,
19 20 [9].
1833 , .

. , ,
. . . [10] [11]
, [12] ,
. - ,

.
1836 .

, inhumanely

. . :

. .
, ,
.

, . ,

, ,
, ,

. ,
: [9].

, ethnically

, [13] , 10 50 .

, , , , , , , , , ,
, , , , Croix, , , [9] [14]
.

. , , XLVI 1860
,

. [15]

, , , .

. ,
.

15
[ ]

Madeira
panoramic , .

60 (24 )

. photosynthesizers . C4 ,
[16] , , , , , , , , ,
. , , , 15
.
subtropics ,
, . frosts . ,

22 N 22 , 33 33 [17]
, ,

. , 1600 ,
[18].

mollisols , vertisols , oxisols, andisols

histosols .

. .

sugarcanes , .

, . ,

. billets recloses .
, , , , ratoons
.

,
. 10 .

, canes 2 3
replanted . ,
, canes 10 .
Jaboticabal, ,
. , .

, . ,

,. machetes .
500 (1100 ) [ ] .

, [19] Austoft 7000

,
, Cameco / Deere . ,

, .
. 100 (100 ) , , .
, accelerates

16
.
. Austoft ,

,

.
,
,
.
[ ]
( ) , ()
imidacloprid chlorpyrifos (Lorsban) . , , spittlebugs (
Mahanarva fimbriolata Deois flavopicta, , (Diatraea saccharalis),
(Eoreuma loftini) , / ), Migdolus fryanus. planthopper
Eumetopina flavipes , [20].
[ ]

Phytoplasma , whiptail ,
pokkah boeng Fusarium moniliforme, Colletotrichum falcatum .
, , .
[ ]
Glucoacetobacter diazotrophicus

. [21] ,
diazotrophicus [22] [23]
[ ]
:
: () , .

hauls
(sucrose) . , , filtercake .
, , : [24]
,

, panelboard ,
,

.
Sertozinho ,

.
filtercake , , . Blackstrap ,
: . Blackstrap additive ,

, , , .

17
, , .

, . ,
" . , ,
, , 99 sucrose . .
, .
[ ]

. "affination"

Centrifuged. , . ,
60 .

,
. , ,
. "phosphatation" "carbonatation", ,
.
, decolorized .
[25] .
, . , centrifuging
. affination crystallizing

. , 20-30 sucrose 15-25

fructose .

, ,
.
[ ]
subtropical
, . , , ,
, . ,
[ ].
[ ]

, , [24] .
(NOx), (CO), 2, (sox) .
granulators, , loadout , , ,
, ( ), , -

, . .
[ ]

[ ] ( : , 2012 ,

18
)
- 2009 [1]

()

672,157,000
285,029,000
116,251,272
66,816,400
50,045,400
49,492,700
38,500,000
32,500,000
30,284,000

29,000,000
1743068525 ,

= , F = * = / - / , =
= (, );

:
: :

2010 719,157,000 . [1] 277,750,000 ,

111,454,000 .

2010 70.7 [1] 125.5

.

, 1983
, 280 ,

236-280 [26] 27]

, , .
, , , [28].

(gasohol) ,
. , ,
, .
[ ]
:
, () (D).
.
, . ,
, .
, 22 , bioethanol . [29] bioethanol
sourced .
beets / ,

. ,
, .

, CO2

19
90 . [29]

[30] :

, 75 .
( ), 77% .
( ) ,
. , , 58 .

740 (sucrose 135 605 ) ( 130 ) 260

. sucrose 16.5 .. / , 19.2 .. / ,

4.7 2.2 sucrose 2.5 .

, 0.27 TJ . 0.86 . 225

, 0.38% .
1 sucrose 135 70 1.7 .
sucrose , , 76% ( 97%
).

( , )

4,000 . , , tilling , , . ,
0.13% .
[ ]
. bioconversion .
, 55 . ,
, . .

, , . ,

, 2020 20
[31].

, ,

cogenerated ( )
. ,, 100 kWh .
1 , 100,000 GWh . [32] ,

10,000 GWh ,
[33]
, 1 5 .

200 300 kWh .

[34] [35]
. , biogasse
.

[31].
[ ]
[36]

28.35

20
111.13 (26.56 )
27.51
- 26.98
0.27

11.23 (1%)
0.37 (3%)
41.96 (1%)
17.01 (1%)
.
Caipirinha, Cachaa .
,
.

, , :
:

: , ,
usacha rass, guarab, guarapa, guarapo, , aseer asab, ganna sharbat, mosto , caldo ,
(ra ).

, : Cachaa

, gud , ,
. dries caramelization
. , .

Panela: sucrose fructose ,

, :

: Rapadura refinings, , (
) .

: . Cachaca .
Falernum: ,

: , fructose ,
supplanted [ ]
:
Sayur nganten trubuk (Saccharum edule) :

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