Search

..................................

Select Level of Detail

At a Glance

General

Technical

............................

+ Sugar Crops - Sugarcane

............................

Access BioWeb Content

Search

Explore By Topic

Browse Index

............................

BioWeb Glossary

Search

Alphabetical Listing

............................

Contributors Log in

bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Agricultural Resources » Existing Crops » Sugar Crops » Sugarcane

Sugarcane	Printer Friendly

About 46% of the 8.4 million tons (raw value) of sugar produced in the U.S. comes from sugarcane, with remainder derived from sugar beets (USDA-ERS). Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production in the U.S. occurs in the tropical and subtropical regions of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii. Table 1 shows harvested acres and yields of sugarcane in the U.S. for the years 2002 to 2006 (USDA-ERS) and figure 1 shows the distribution of sugarcane production in 2005.                                       In the continental U.S., sugarcane is planted in the fall (beginning in August), extending through September in Louisiana, December in Texas, and January in Florida. The site is typically disked and leveled to ensure good drainage. Sugarcane is propagated from vegetative stalks using either whole stalks (4-8 feet tall) or billets (20-24 inches), generally planted in 6 foot wide rows. An application of fertilizer may be applied at planting (15 lbs N/ac, 45 lbs P2O5/ac, 45 lbs K2O/ac). Weed control involves both chemical and mechanical means (Baucum, 2006; Legendre, 2000; American Sugar Cane League, 2007; Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, 2006; Viator, 2005a).   First harvest occurs in the fall of the year following planting and stands are typically harvested annually for 3 to 5 years before replanting occurs (Baucum, 2006; Legendre, 2000; American Sugar Cane League, 2007; Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, 2006; Viator, 2005a). Sugarcane produced in the U.S. is mechanically harvested using either soldier harvesters (which cut the stalks even with the ground, remove the tops and pile the stalks across the rows) or with combine harvesters (which cut stalks into pieces and load them directly into transport wagons) (American Sugar Cane League). The sugarcane harvest season runs from October through March, depending on location (e.g., through December in Louisiana and longer in Florida).   Only the stalks of sugar cane contain sufficient quantities of sugar (sucrose) for processing. All of the rest of the plant (leaves, tops, roots) are termed trash and represent about 15% of the sugarcane. Since this material interferes with the processing of the stalks, provides a haven for insects and rodents, and results in reduced yields the following year (e.g., from 4.5 to 13.5 metric tons/hectare [2 to 6 tons/ac] in Louisiana), the leafy trash is burned either prior to harvesting the standing sugarcane, or after the green cane has been harvested with a combine harvester. Reduced yields appear to be due to higher soil moisture and lower soil temperatures when the residues are left on the field. However, burning is being increasingly restricted, and alternative residue management methods are needed (Viator, 2005b).   A typical sugarcane stalk weighs about 3 pounds and contains a little more than 0.3 pounds of sugar. Table 1 shows the sugar recovery rate (i.e., pounds of raw sugar produced as a percent of total cane volume), by year and state. Sugar is first produced by squeezing the juice out of the stems. The raw juice is clarified, and impurities and solids removed. The removals (filter cake which is returned to the fields as fertilizer). The clarified juice is thickened, and crystallization of the sugar induced. The sugar crystals are removed and the remaining syrup (molasses) is used in food applications and as livestock feed. Approximately 3 gallons of molasses are produced for every 100 pounds of raw sugar produced (Shapouri, 2006). The raw sugar is then sent to sugar refineries for further processing.    The fibrous plant material that remains after the juice has been squeezed out of the sugarcane stalk is called bagasse. Approximately 0.3 lb of wet bagasse (about 50% moisture) is produced per 1 lb of wet sugarcane. Bagasse is currently used at most sugar mills to produce heat and steam for the operation of the mill. Some plants also use the bagasse to produce the electricity they use and sell the excess to the electrical grid (Baucum, 2006), but the bagasse could potentially be used to produce other bioenergy and bioproducts as well. Efforts are underway to produce new varieties of sugarcane with higher yields and higher fiber content.   There are 5 sugarcane mills in Florida. Companies that grow their own cane and extract the sugar in their own mills produce over 65% of the cane. Grower-owned cooperatives produce 25-30% of the sugarcane; the remainder is grown by independent producers who sell the cane to one of the sugar mills (Baucum, 2006). There are 12 sugarcane mills in Louisiana (American Sugar Cane League, 2007), 2 sugar mills in Hawaii and 1 sugar mill in Texas (Shapouri, 2006). The raw sugar produced in the sugar mills is then sent to sugar refineries for further processing. In 2005, there were 5 U.S. refinery companies operating 8 facilities with a total capacity of 20,350 raw tons (Shapouri, 2006).   From a technical persepective, sugarcane could be used to produce ethanol in the U.S. Brazil, one of the world’s largest fuel ethanol producers, uses sugarcane as its feedstock. The limitations to using sugarcane in the U.S. are primarily two-fold. First, sugarcane is a tropical plant and the varieties available for production in the U.S. are susceptible to frost, limiting the geographic regions where it can currently be produced. Secondly, given existing yields and production practices, farm policy, and sugar content and sugar recovery and processing technologies used in the U.S., it is a higher cost feedstock than corn. The average market price for sugar cane (2003-2005) was $28.90/ton. Given average yields and sugar recovery rates for the years 2003-2005, and the recovery processes used, the average cost of the raw sugar is estimated to range from $0.153/lb to $0.184/lb. The average market price for molasses is about $63.00/ton (Shapouri, 2006).   Sugarcane production is expected to increase slightly over the next decade. The USDA projects a slight decline in harvested sugarcane acres to 842,000 in 2015, but with an increase in yields to 35.1 tons/ac by 2015 (USDA-OCE). The Food and Policy Research Institute projects a slight increase in harvested sugarcane acres to 872,000 in 2015 and an increase in yields to 35.8 tons/ac by 2015 (FAPRI, 2006).

References
American Sugar Cane League (2007), The Louisiana Sugar Industry, www.amscl.org. Baucum, L.E., R.W. Rice, and T. J. Schueneman, April, 2006, An overview of Florida sugarcane, University of Florida, IFAS Extension, SS-AGR-232. Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) (January 2006), FAPRI 2006 U.S. and world agricultural outlook, Iowa State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, FAPRI Staff Report 06-FSR 1. Legendre, Benjamin L., Fred S. Sanders, and Kenneth A. Gravois, 2000, Sugarcane production best management practices, Louisiana State University Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc. (2006). American Sugar Cane League Website. Retrieved from, www.rgvsugar.com Shapouri, H., and M. Salassi, The economic feasibility of ethanol production from sugar in the United States, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, July 2006. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA agricultural baseline projects to 2015, Baseline Report OCE-2006-1, February 2006. Viator, R.P., D.D. Garrison, E.O. Dufrene, Jr., T.L. Tew, and E.P. Richard, Jr., Planting method and timing effects on sugarcane yield, Crop Management, 2005a. Viator, R.P., R.M. Johnson, and E.P. Richard, Jr., Challenges of post-harvest residue retention management in the Louisian sugarcane industry, Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologies, vol. 25, pp. 238-244, 2005b.