Sugarcane in the EAA Curtis Rainbolt Belle Glade, FL

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Sugarcane in the EAA Curtis RainboltBelle
Glade, FL
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Everglades Agricultural Area

• Consists of about 500,000 acres of land on the
  southern and eastern shores of Lake Okeechobee
• Approximately 80 is sugarcane and the remainder
  is mostly vegetables, sod, and rice
• Total sugar acreages are 450,000
• Primarily grown on muck soils, but some is grown
  on sandy soils

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Muck Soils

• Formed over a period of 5,000 years from
  decaying remains of saw grass and other marsh
  plants under flooded conditions
• Soil organic matter contents are high, typically
  ranging between 80 to 90
• Depths range from 6 in to over 4 ft
• Histosols range from 0.5 to over 3.5 total N,
  with EAA histosols averaging 2-4 N (Porter and
  Sanchez, 1994).

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Subsidence

• Drainage of soils resulted in oxidation and
  mineralization of large quantities of organic N
• Microbial oxidation has been reported to be
  responsible for 50 to 75 of the subsidence
• The reported subsidence rates for EAA Histosols
  range from 0.13 to 1.71 inches/yr
• Influenced by soil type, carbon content, water
  table level, bulk density, and temperature
• Other factors (compaction, erosion) contribute

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In 1924 a 9ft post was driven into the bedrock at
the EREC
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Taxonomy

• Sugarcane is a giant grass (Poaceae)
• Tribe Adropogoneae
• Genus, species Saccharum officinarum L.
• Saccharum officinarum L. is the so called noble
  cane with long, thick, heavy, juicy, and sweet
  stalks
• Other species include S. barberi, S. robustum,
  S. sinese, and spontaneum
• Commercial clones are typically 3-part hybrids

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Growth and Development

• The EAA is well suited for sugarcane growth
• Grows well in the summer period of warm
  temperatures and high rainfall
• Matures, ripens, and is easily harvested during
  the cool, dry winters
• The lake provides a winter warming effect
• It is also well adapted to the photoperiod and
  light intensity

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Temperature Requirements

• Grows slowly at temperatures above 70 F
• Ambient temperature above 80 F are ideal
• Prolonged temperatures above 90 F and water
  stress can slow growth
• Very sensitive to cold, few buds will survive
  temperatures below 27 F

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General Agronomy

• Sugarcane is perennial that is harvested annually
• The first year is referred to as plant cane and
  the successive years are ratoon or stubble crops
• Typically replanted every 3 to 5 years
• Grown on 5 ft row spacing

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Planting

• Vegetative pieces are planted
• Sugarcane cultivars are clones of a single plant
  produced from seed
• Typically planted from late September through
  December/January
• Fields that are planted earlier are more actively
  growing and consequently more susceptible to
  frost damage
• Traditionally planted by hand with large crews

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• Furrows are opened (6-8 inches deep) and two
  stalks of cane are laid side by side
• Workers follow with knives and cut the cane into
  shorter pieces to stimulate germination and allow
  it to lay flat in the row
• Insecticides are placed into the furrow
• The cane is covered with soil and in 2-3 weeks
  shoots emerge

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Mechanical Planting

• Currently 50 of the cane is mechanically
  planted
• Modified harvesters cut the cane into billets
• Billets are loaded into a mechanical planter and
  metered out
• Shorter seed pieces are more susceptible to
  disease
• Damage to eyes (buds) requires higher seeding
  rates

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Fertility

• Soil tests are used by all (BMP requirement)
• Sugarcane requires all essential elements and
  yields are typically improved with added Si
• Prior to planting fertilizer is placed in furrow
• N is typically not needed on muck soils
• Excessive N can reduce sucrose contents
• P tend to be deficient, particularly in ratoon
  crops
• K is the element most deficient for sugarcane
  production in the EAA

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Water Management

• Sugarcane requires substantial amounts of water
  to produce high yields
• Fields are irrigated by sub-irrigation (seepage
  irrigation) and open ditch drainage
• Sub-irrigation is defined as supplying water to
  the crop root zones by controlling the water
  table
• A water table is established above an existing
  water table or above a restrictive (impermeable)
  soil layer by pumping water into open ditches

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• Lowering ditch water levels allows water to flow
  out of the soil profile back into the ditches.
• South Florida lends itself to water table
  management because of its flat land, relatively
  high soil hydraulic conductivity underlain by a
  restrictive layer, and large quantities of
  available water
• Pump stations are used to remove excess water
  following rainfall events

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Weed Control

• Weeds are controlled primarily through the use of
  pre- and post- emergence herbicides and
  cultivation
• Warm season grasses tend to be the most
  troublesome
• Sugarcane is very competitive and can out compete
  most weeds once the canopy closes

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Disease Management

• Disease issues in sugarcane are handled primarily
  through planting of resistant or tolerant
  cultivars
• A collaborative breeding effort between the
  USDA-ARS at Canal Pt. and the University of
  Florida works to continuously develop new high
  quality disease resistant cultivars

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Cultivar Selection

• A variety release committee comprised of growers
  and researchers meets and votes on which
  cultivars are released from the breeding program
• Selection criteria include disease resistance,
  yield (tonnage), sucrose content, ratooning
  ability, freeze tolerance, growth habit and
  characteristics, fiber content, and others

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Harvest

• Harvest occurs from October to March
• If there are no freezes yields are highest after
  January
• Because of milling limitations some fields must
  be harvest prior to optimum dates
• Fields are burned immediately prior to harvest to
  remove dead leaves and reduce the amount of trash
  delivered to the mill

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• A 40 acre field typically requires 20 minutes to
  burn
• Burning is strictly regulated based on air
  quality and wind directions
• Prior to the mid 80s a majority of cane was hand
  harvested
• Labor issues and costs resulted in shift to 100
  mechanical harvesting by 1993
• The cane is deposited from the harvester into
  wagons that are hauled to ramps and dumped in
  highway trailers or rail cars

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