Effect of Water Logging on Post-harvest Sugarcane Deterioration

Abstract

Post-harvest sugarcane deterioration is a crucial problem, especially in sub-tropical India, as harvested canes were left in fields before being sent to sugar mills. Among all the factors behind this cane deterioration, environmental conditions are an important problem now-a-days due to changing climate. Water logging condition is one of the most important amongst them. Therefore, the consequences of prolonged water logging on post-harvest quality of sugarcane in comparison to normal grown canes have been examined. Assessement of the quality parameters in juice obtained from sugarcane grown under water logging as well as under normal condition in two months of harvest, viz., November and March along with extraction per cent and cane weight assessment in both the canes was carried out. It was revealed that as the time interval after harvest was increased there was loss in sucrose % in juice in both normal and water logged canes, however, the sucrose losses was relatively higher in waterlogged canes (2.82 and 1.51 units) than in control canes (2.69 and 1.39 units) in month of November and March, respectively. The study showed that after 10 days of harvest, there was loss of 0.5 units and 0.46 units in commercial cane sugars (CCS) %, 0.2 units and 0.13 units in purity coefficient in November and March harvest, respectively, in canes grown under prolonged water logging condition as compared to the normal grown canes. Also, the cane weight and extraction per cent was relatively lesser in waterlogged canes in comparison to normal grown canes. Other parameters, viz., reducing sugars, dextran, soluble acid invertase, titrable acidity index and total microbial load, responsible for these sucrose losses were also evaluated. Percent change in reducing sugars, dextran, soluble acid invertase, titrable acidity index and total microbial load after 10 days of harvest were found to increase in waterlogged canes than in normal grown canes.