Organic Sugarcane Research Articles

Nutritional State and Productivity of Organic Sugarcane in Goias, Brazil

In order to study the effect of use organic agriculture avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers and emphasizes the use of organic inputs to provide nutrients to the plants. This study had as aim to evaluate the effect of organic management time on nutrition and productivity of sugarcane. The nutrition levels and the productivity of sugarcane plantations were evaluated in areas cultivated for two, six and ten years in the organic production system compared with a sugarcane plantation cultivated for ten years in the conventional system. The sugarcane organic production system enhanced the nutrition levels of the plants and raised the crops productivity. After ten years of organic cultivation, there was an increase of 43, 42.8 and 32% in the leaf contents of potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), respectively, in relation to the conventional production system and an increase of 209% in the sugarcane productivity. The management of the fertilizers inputs used in the sugarcane organic production system is adequate for the plants nutrition, with positive result on the crops productivity. The effects are more visible after six and ten years of management in the organic production system. In the organic production system, after ten and six years, it could be suggested that the productivity was 209 and 98% higher in comparison to the productivity of the cane cultivated under the conventional system, areas Org.10 and Org.6, respectively.

Effects of Surface Properties of Organic Matters on Cation Adsorption in Solution Phase

Organic substances have been commonly added to mine tailings to improve physical and chemical conditions and facilitate plant establishment. Apart from their nutritional benefits, aggregation and physical improvements may be resulted from organo-mineral interactions between their functional groups and cations of variable charges on mineral surfaces. Organic matters (OM), e.g., woodchips (WC) and sugarcane residue (SR), were initially evaluated for their affinities for Cu2+, Ca2+, and Fe3+ in relation to their surface properties at constant or different pH conditions in aqueous phase, before examining the formation of organo-mineral association in solid phase. Results indicated that WC and SR had different adsorption kinetics for these cations. Their surface negative charges indicated by zeta potentials were positively related to the adsorption capacities. 13C NMR analysis of the OM before and after adsorption revealed that carboxylic and phenolic groups were the major contributors to cation adsorption in solution. SR was found to have more carboxylic groups and thus had higher cation exchange capacity than WC. Therefore, organic materials with high density of functional anion groups on the surfaces may be advantageous when stimulating organo-mineral interactions in mine tailings which are rich in primary and secondary minerals with positively charged surfaces. The organo-mineral association between the OM and base metal mine tailings will be examined in the solid phase in a follow-up experiment.

Influence of the number of distillations on the composition of organic sugarcane spirit

Sugarcane spirit is the most consumed distilled beverage in Brazil. Currently the manufacturing industries are trying to widen their market and attract new consumers, and thus it has become necessary to elevate the product to national and international quality standards. This study's aim was to determine the influence of subsequent distillations on the composition of organic sugarcane spirit. From mono-distilled organic sugarcane spirit, bi-, tri-, tetra- and penta-distilled sugarcane spirits were obtained, and analysed for the following: relative density, alcoholic degree, volatile acidity, pH, copper, methanol, aldehydes, furfural, esters, ethyl carbamate and higher alcohols. The most relevant results were reductions of 69.57% volatile acidity, 98.4% copper, 40.9% methanol, 71.5% aldehydes, 100% esters, 100% ethyl carbamate and 32.2% higher alcohols in the penta-distilled sugarcane spirit, as compared with the mono-distilled. It was concluded that subsequent distillations would put sugarcane spirit in line with the international standards for distilled beverages. Copyright © 2013 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

A lab-scale study of constructed wetlands with sugarcane bagasse and sand media for the treatment of textile wastewater

This paper reports the pollutant removal efficiencies of two lab-scale hybrid wetland systems treating a textile wastewater. The two systems had identical configurations, each consisting of a vertical flow (VF) and a horizontal flow (HF) wetland that were filled with organic sugarcane bagasse and sylhet sand as the main media. The systems were operated under high hydraulic loading (HL) (566–5660mm/d), and inorganic nitrogen (254–508gN/m2d) and organics loadings (9840–19680g COD/m2d and 2154–4307g BOD5/m2d). Simultaneous removals of BOD5 (74–79%) and ammonia (59–66%) were obtained in the first stage VF wetlands, demonstrating the efficiency of the media for oxygen transfer to cope with the high pollutant loads. The organic carbon (C) content of sugarcane bagasse facilitated denitrification in the VF wetlands. Second stage HF wetlands provided efficient color removal under predominantly anaerobic condition. Overall, the wetland systems showed stable removal performances under high, and unsteady, pollutant loadings.

Atividade enzimática do solo sob sistema de produção orgânica e convencional na cultura da cana-de-açúcar em Goiás

This work aimed to evaluate the activity of enzymes related with the carbon cycle, P mineralization and total enzymatic activity of soil cultivated with certified organic sugarcane with and without soil tillage, organic sugarcane under certification, conventional sugarcane with and without residue burning and a remaining area of Cerrado in Goiatuba, GO, Brazil. Soil samples were collected in March (summer) and in September (winter) 2009 from 0-10 cm depth for analysis of organic matter, pH, P, granulometry, total enzymatic activity, ?-glucosidase and acid phosphatase. Data were subjected to descriptive and multivariate analyses. The certified organic management of sugarcane without soil tillage had higher levels of ?-glucosidase activity, indicating increased cycling of organic matter in relation to other systems. The highest values of acid phosphatase were observed in the samples collected from the remaining area of Cerrado in the summer, followed by the certified organic management without soil tillage. Lower total enzymatic activity was observed in the management involving residue burning before the crop harvest. The remaining soil of Cerrado, followed by the certified area with organic management of sugarcane without soil tillage presented the best indicators of soil quality.

Evaluation of Soil Quality Indicators in Sugarcane Management in Sandy Loam Soil

An important factor for the sustainability of soils highly susceptible to degradation is the use of monitoring tools that promptly and realistically reflect changes imposed on soil by different cropping systems. To select soil quality indicator variables in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) production areas that fulfill the criteria of sensitivity to management practices and between-season consistency in the management discrimination, ten composite soil samples (0–10 cm) were collected in July 2005 (rainy season) and again in March 2006 (dry season) from areas under cultivation of organic sugarcane (OS), green sugarcane (GS), burned sugarcane (BS) and from an adjacent native forest (NF) area at Usina Triunfo, Boca da Mata, Alagoas, Brazil. Microbial biomass-C (MBC), total organic C (TOC), soil enzyme activity expressed as the rate of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis, mean weight diameter of water-stable soil aggregates (MWD), and percentage of water-stable macroaggregates (PWSA) were analyzed. Although MBC and TOC were higher in NF than in the cultivated areas, no differences were observed in these C pools between the three sugarcane systems. The response of FDA to the site management was dependent on the sampling time. In the rainy period, the activity followed the order: NF > OS > GS > BS, whereas in the dry season, only NF differed from the other treatments. Irrespective of the sampling time, MWD and PWSA decreased in the order NF > OS = GS > BS. The variables MWD and PWSA are quite sensitive for discriminating between site management histories regardless the sampling season.

The Organic Sugarcane Farming in Maharashtra: Present Performance and Future Challenges

Organic farming is a holistic farming system that promotes, improves and sustains the health of agro-ecosystem related to biodiversity, nutrient bio cycles, soil microbial and bio-chemical activities. Organic farming emphasizes management practices involving substantial use of organic manures, green manuring and management of pests and diseases through use of non-synthetic pesticides and practices. Thus, organic farming avoids the use of harmful, chemicals and promotes the use of renewable organic resources to improve and maintain the soil productivity and to manage the crop pests and diseases.