Abstract
Louisiana processed 11.7 million mt of sugarcane in 2016, producing 1.47 million mt of raw sugar and an estimated 3.5 million mt of bagasse. Sugarcane bagasse is the fibrous material remaining after removing the sucrose, water, and other impurities (filter mud) from the millable sugarcane. Typically, Louisiana sugarcane mills burn a portion of the bagasse to heat boilers to steam power the mill for grinding and sugar processing. The balance of the bagasse is stored at the sugar mill where it accumulates in immense piles. Research was conducted in 2015 and 2016 to investigate the use of sugarcane bagasse as a natural mulch for vegetable production. The field experiment compared sugarcane bagasse mulch, black plastic mulch, and no mulch (control) for suitable mulching treatments for squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) production. The black plastic mulch produced significantly greater marketable fruits/plant, fruit number, and total yield (kg/ha) across years compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch. The sugarcane bagasse mulch and the no mulch control were not significantly different for these same parameters. Black plastic also produced heaver fruit (g/fruit) than the sugarcane bagasse mulch and the control in 2015. The black plastic mulch produced greater yields due to the greater cumulative growing degree days (CGDD) received compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch and no mulch control. The sugarcane bagasse mulch tended to mitigate temperature extremes by serving as a soil insulator. Future research should investigate the potential deleterious impact, if any, of the sugarcane bagasse on soil microbes, C/N ratio, soil pH, and allelopathy, which might adversely influence cucurbit growth.
Highlights
1.1 Sugarcane Bagasse UsesIn 2016, Louisiana sugarcane farmers harvested 11.7 million mt millable sugarcane from 163,000 ha, producing 1.47 million mt of raw sugar and an estimated 3.5 million mt of bagasse (American Sugar Cane League, 2017)
The black plastic mulch produced significantly greater marketable fruit/plant, fruit number, and total yield across years compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch (Table 3)
The greater yields produced by the black plastic mulch were likely larger due to the greater cumulative growing degree days (CGDD) and daily average degree days (DADD) compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch and no mulch control, which resulted from greater absorption and retention of heat units during the growing season (Table 2) (NeSmith, 1997; NeSmith & Hoogenboom, 1994)
Summary
1.1 Sugarcane Bagasse UsesIn 2016, Louisiana sugarcane farmers harvested 11.7 million mt millable sugarcane from 163,000 ha, producing 1.47 million mt of raw sugar and an estimated 3.5 million mt of bagasse (American Sugar Cane League, 2017). Bagasse is the fibrous by-products produced when removing the sugar, water, and other superfluous materials from the millable sugarcane. W. Drummond, 1996; Martin et al, 2007; Pandey et al, 2000; Sales & Lima, 2010). There is current and past interest in using the bagasse a source for value added products (i.e. pigments, enzymes, amino acids, and drugs) (Pandey et al, 2000). The most common use for the bagasse by the sugarcane industry is as an energy source (thermal conversion and ethanol) (Badger, 2002; Kilicaslan et al, 1999; Martin et al, 2007; Peng et al, 2009; Sun & Cheng, 2002)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
