{{Short description|Several species of grass used for sugar production}} {{Other uses|Sugarcane (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} [[File:Saccharum officinarum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-125.jpg|thumb|''[[Saccharum officinarum]]'']]
'''Sugarcane''' or '''sugar cane''' is a species of tall, [[perennial]] grass (in the genus ''[[Saccharum]]'', tribe [[Andropogoneae]]) that is used for [[sugar]] [[Sugar industry|production]]. The plants are 2–7 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in [[sucrose]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Papini-Terzi |first1=Flávia S. |last2=Rocha |first2=Flávia R. |last3=Vêncio |first3=Ricardo ZN |last4=Felix |first4=Juliana M. |last5=Branco |first5=Diana S. |last6=Waclawovsky |first6=Alessandro J. |last7=Del Bem |first7=Luiz EV |last8=Lembke |first8=Carolina G. |last9=Costa |first9=Maximiller DL|last10=Nishiyama|first10=Milton Y. |last11=Vicentini |first11=Renato |date=21 March 2009 |title=Sugarcane genes associated with sucrose content |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=120 |doi=10.1186/1471-2164-10-120 |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=2666766 |pmid=19302712 |doi-access=free }}</ref> which accumulates in the [[Plant stem|stalk internodes]]. Sugarcanes belong to the grass family, [[Poaceae]], an economically important [[flowering plant]] family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and [[sorghum]], and many [[forage]] crops. It is native to [[New Guinea]].<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |work=Plants of the World Online |title=''Saccharum officinarum'' L. |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:419977-1 |access-date=14 December 2024 |archive-date=14 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214192104/https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:419977-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Sugarcane was an ancient crop of the [[Austronesian people|Austronesian]] and [[Indigenous people of New Guinea|Papuan people]]. The best evidence available today points to the New Guinea area as the site of the original domestication of ''[[Saccharum officinarum]]''.<ref>John N. Warner, “Sugar Cane: An Indigenous Papuan Cultigen.” ''Ethnology'', vol. 1, no. 4, 1962, pp. 405–11.</ref> It was introduced to [[Polynesia]], [[Island Melanesia]], and [[Madagascar]] in prehistoric times via Austronesian sailors. It was also introduced by Austronesian sailors to India and then to Southern China by 500 BC, via trade. The [[Persians]] and Greeks found "that reeds in India yield honey without bees", as said by [[Strabo]], between the sixth and fourth centuries BC<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bannister |first=Richard |date=1890 |title=Journal of the Society for Arts, Vol. 38, no. 1978 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41328016 |journal=The Journal of the Society of Arts |volume=38 |issue=1978 |pages=973–996 |issn=2049-7865}}</ref>. They adopted and then spread sugarcane agriculture.<ref name=agrisugar1>{{cite web |title=Agribusiness Handbook: Sugar beet white sugar |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations |year=2009 |url=http://www.eastagri.org/publications/pub_docs/4_Sugar_web.pdf |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905234431/http://www.eastagri.org/publications/pub_docs/4_Sugar_web.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By the eighth century, sugar was considered a luxurious and expensive spice from India, and merchant trading spread its use across the Mediterranean and North Africa. In the 18th century, sugarcane plantations began in the Caribbean, South American, Indian Ocean, and Pacific island nations. The need for sugar crop laborers became a major driver of large migrations, some people voluntarily accepting [[indentured servitude]]<ref name="nationalarchives1">{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Indian indentured labourers |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/indian-indentured-labourers/#2-who-were-the-indian-indentured-labourers |publisher=The National Archives, Government of the United Kingdom |access-date=15 April 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920160423/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/indian-indentured-labourers/#2-who-were-the-indian-indentured-labourers |url-status=live }}</ref> and others forcibly imported as [[Slavery|slaves]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History |author=Mintz, Sidney |isbn=978-0-14-009233-2 |year=1986 |publisher=Penguin |url=https://archive.org/details/sweetnesspowerpl00mint }}</ref>
Grown in tropical and subtropical regions, sugarcane is the world's largest crop by production quantity, totalling 1.9 billion [[tonne]]s in 2020, with [[Brazil]] accounting for 40% of the world total. Sugarcane accounts for 79% of sugar produced globally (most of the rest is made from [[sugar beet]]s). About 70% of the sugar produced comes from ''[[Saccharum officinarum]]'' and its hybrids.<ref name="kew2">{{cite web |title=Plants & Fungi: Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane) |publisher=Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew |url=http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Saccharum-officinarum.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604003442/http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Saccharum-officinarum.htm |archive-date=4 June 2012 }}</ref> All sugarcane species can [[plant breeding|interbreed]], and the major commercial [[cultivar]]s are complex [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Analysis of Three Sugarcane Homo/Homeologous Regions Suggests Independent Polyploidization Events of ''Saccharum officinarum'' and ''Saccharum spontaneum'' |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=266–278 |year=2017 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evw293 |pmid=28082603 |pmc=5381655 |last1=Vilela |first1=Mariane de Mendonça |last2=Del-Bem |first2=Luiz-Eduardo |last3=Van Sluys |first3=Marie-Anne |last4=De Setta |first4=Nathalia |last5=Kitajima |first5=João Paulo |last6=Cruz |first6=Guilherme Marcelo Queiroga |last7=Sforça |first7=Danilo Augusto |last8=De Souza |first8=Anete Pereira |last9=Ferreira |first9=Paulo Cavalcanti Gomes|last10=Grativol|first10=Clícia |last11=Cardoso-Silva |first11=Claudio Benicio |last12=Vicentini |first12=Renato |last13=Vincentz |first13=Michel |display-authors=5 }}</ref>
[[White sugar]] is produced from sugarcane in specialized mill factories. Sugarcane [[Reed (plant)|reeds]] are used to make pens, mats, screens, and thatch. The young, unexpanded [[inflorescence|flower head]] of ''[[Saccharum edule]]'' (''duruka'') is eaten raw, steamed, or toasted, and prepared in various ways in Southeast Asia, such as certain island communities of Indonesia as well as in [[Oceania|Oceanic]] countries like [[Fiji]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Consumer Preference for Indigenous Vegetables |year=2009 |publisher=World Agroforestry Centre |url=http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/files/poster/PO0251-10.PDF |access-date=7 February 2012 |archive-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204190308/http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/files/poster/PO0251-10.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Etymology == The term ''sugarcane'' is a combination of two words: "sugar" and "cane". The former ultimately derives from [[Sanskrit]] शर्करा (''śárkarā''). As sugar was traded and spread West, this became سُكَّر (''sukkar'') in [[Arabic]], ''saccharum'' or ''succarum'' in [[Latin]], ''zucchero'' in [[Italian language|Italian]], and eventually ''sucre'' in both [[Middle French]] and [[Middle English]]. The second term "cane" began to be used alongside it as the crop was grown on plantations in the [[Caribbean]]. {{cn|date=December 2025}}
== Characteristics == [[File:World production of primary crops by main commodities.svg|thumb|World production of primary crops by main commodities<ref>{{Cite book |last=FAO |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd4313en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025 |date=2025 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-140174-3 |language=English |doi=10.4060/cd4313en}}</ref>]] Sugarcane, a perennial tropical [[Poaceae|grass]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sugar and Sweeteners {{!}} Economic Research Service |url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/sugar-and-sweeteners/background |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=www.ers.usda.gov}}</ref> exhibits a unique growth pattern characterized by lateral shoots emerging at its base, leading to the development of multiple stems. These stems typically attain a height of 3 to 4 meters (approximately 10 to 13 feet) and possess a diameter of about 5 centimeters (approximately 2 inches). As these stems mature, they evolve into cane stalks, constituting a substantial portion of the entire plant, accounting for roughly 75% of its composition.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
A fully mature cane stalk generally comprises a composition of around 11–16% fiber, 12–16% soluble sugars, 2–3% non-sugar carbohydrates, and 63–73% water content. The successful cultivation of sugarcane hinges on a delicate interplay of several factors, including climatic conditions, soil properties, the selection of specific varieties, and the timing of the harvest.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
In terms of yield, the average production of cane stalk stands at 60–70 tonnes per hectare (equivalent to 24–28 long tons per acre or 27–31 short tons per acre) annually. However, this yield figure is not fixed and can vary significantly, ranging from 30 to 180 tonnes per hectare. This variance is contingent upon the level of knowledge applied and the approach to crop management embraced in the cultivation of sugarcane. Ultimately, the successful cultivation of this valuable crop demands a thoughtful integration of various factors to optimize its growth and productivity.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
Sugarcane is a [[cash crop]], but it is also used as livestock fodder.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perez |first=Rena |title=Feeding pigs in the tropics |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3647e/W3647E00.htm |year=1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221075536/http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3647e/W3647E00.htm |archive-date=21 February 2018 |chapter=Chapter 3: Sugar cane |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=2 September 2018 }}</ref> The sugarcane genome is one of the most complex plant genomes known, mostly due to interspecific hybridization and polyploidization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vicentini |first1=R. |last2=Del Bem |first2=L. E. V. |last3=Van Sluys |first3=M. A. |last4=Nogueira |first4=F. T. S. |last5=Vincentz |first5=M. |date=1 June 2012 |title=Gene Content Analysis of Sugarcane Public ESTs Reveals Thousands of Missing Coding-Genes and an Unexpected Pool of Grasses Conserved ncRNAs |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12042-012-9103-z |journal=Tropical Plant Biology |language=en |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=199–205 |doi=10.1007/s12042-012-9103-z |bibcode=2012TroPB...5..199V |s2cid=2986185 |issn=1935-9764 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vilela |first1=Mariane de Mendonça |last2=Del Bem |first2=Luiz Eduardo |last3=Van Sluys |first3=Marie-Anne |last4=de Setta |first4=Nathalia |last5=Kitajima |first5=João Paulo |last6=Cruz |first6=Guilherme Marcelo Queiroga |last7=Sforça |first7=Danilo Augusto |last8=de Souza |first8=Anete Pereira |last9=Ferreira |first9=Paulo Cavalcanti Gomes|last10=Grativol|first10=Clícia |last11=Cardoso-Silva |first11=Claudio Benicio |date=1 February 2017 |title=Analysis of Three Sugarcane Homo/Homeologous Regions Suggests Independent Polyploidization Events of ''Saccharum officinarum'' and ''Saccharum spontaneum'' |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw293 |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=266–278 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evw293 |pmid=28082603 |pmc=5381655 |issn=1759-6653 }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" style="line-height:130%"> File:Cut sugarcane.jpg|Cut sugarcane File:Sugarcane canopy.jpg|Sugarcane canopy </gallery>
== History == {{See also|Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia|History of sugar}} The two centers of domestication for sugarcane are one for ''[[Saccharum officinarum]]'' by [[Indigenous people of New Guinea|Papuans]] in New Guinea and another for ''[[Saccharum sinense]]'' by Austronesians in [[Taiwan]] and southern China. Papuans and Austronesians originally primarily used sugarcane as food for domesticated pigs. The spread of both ''S. officinarum'' and ''S. sinense'' is closely linked to the migrations of the [[Austronesian peoples]]. ''[[Saccharum barberi]]'' was cultivated in India only after the introduction of ''S. officinarum''.<ref name="Daniels1993">{{cite journal |last1=Daniels |first1=John |last2=Daniels |first2=Christian |title=Sugarcane in Prehistory |journal=Archaeology in Oceania |date=April 1993 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.1993.tb00309.x }}</ref><ref name="Paterson2012" />
[[File:Map showing centers of origin of Saccharum officinarum in New Guinea, S. sinensis in China, and S. barberi in India.png|right|upright=1.75|thumb|Map showing centers of origin of ''[[Saccharum officinarum]]'' in New Guinea, ''[[Saccharum sinense|S. sinensis]]'' in southern China and Taiwan, and ''[[Saccharum barberi|S. barberi]]'' in India; dotted arrows represent Austronesian introductions<ref name="danielsmenzies1996" />]]
''S. officinarum'' was first domesticated in New Guinea and the islands east of the [[Wallace Line]] by Papuans, where it is the modern [[center of diversity]]. Beginning around 6,000 [[Before Present|BP]], several strains were [[Selective breeding|selectively bred]] from the native ''[[Saccharum robustum]]''. From New Guinea, it spread westwards to [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] after contact with Austronesians, where it hybridized with ''[[Saccharum spontaneum]]''.<ref name="Paterson2012">{{cite book |first1=Andrew H. |last1=Paterson |first2=Paul H. |last2=Moore |first3=Tew |last3=Tom L. |editor1-first=Andrew H. |editor1-last=Paterson |title=Genomics of the Saccharinae |chapter=The Gene Pool of ''Saccharum'' Species and Their Improvement |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2012 |pages=43–72 |isbn=978-1-4419-5947-8 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F282fp_IMI8C&pg=PA54 }}</ref>
The second domestication center is southern China and Taiwan, where ''S. sinense'' was a primary [[cultigen]] of the Austronesian peoples. Words for sugarcane are reconstructed as ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Austronesian/təbuS|*təbuS]]'' or ''*CebuS'' in [[Proto-Austronesian]], which became ''*tebuh'' in [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]]. It was one of the [[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia|original major crops]] of the Austronesian peoples from at least 5,500 BP. Introduction of the sweeter ''S. officinarum'' may have gradually replaced it throughout its cultivated range in maritime Southeast Asia.<ref name="Blust1984">{{cite journal |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |title=The Austronesian Homeland: A Linguistic Perspective |journal=Asian Perspectives |date=1984–1985 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=44–67 |hdl=10125/16918 }}</ref><ref name="Spriggs2011">{{cite journal |last1=Spriggs |first1=Matthew |title=Archaeology and the Austronesian expansion: where are we now? |journal=Antiquity |date=2 January 2015 |volume=85 |issue=328 |pages=510–528 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00067910 |s2cid=162491927 }}</ref><ref name="danielsmenzies1996">{{cite book |editor1-first=Joseph |editor1-last=Needham |first1=Christian |last1=Daniels |first2=Nicholas K. |last2=Menzies |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 3, Agro-Industries and Forestry |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |pages=177–185 |isbn=978-0-521-41999-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzqPvHlFkV4C&pg=PR8 }}</ref><ref name="Aljanabi">{{cite book |first1=Salah M. |last1=Aljanabi |editor1-first=M. Raafat |editor1-last=El-Gewely |title=Biotechnology Annual Review |volume=4 |chapter=Genetics, phylogenetics, and comparative genetics of ''Saccharum'' L., a polysomic polyploid Poales: Andropogoneae |publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. |year=1998 |pages=285–320 |isbn=978-0-444-82971-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXuUuIp18n0C&pg=PA285 }}</ref><ref name="Baldick2013">{{cite book |first1=Julian |last1=Baldick |title=Ancient Religions of the Austronesian World: From Australasia to Taiwan |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2013 |page=2 |isbn=978-0-85773-357-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7U6oBAAAQBAJ&pg=PP6 }}</ref> [[File:Spread sugarcane.JPG|thumb|upright=1.25|left|The westward diffusion of sugarcane in pre-Islamic times (shown in red), in the medieval [[Muslim world]] (green), and in the 15th century by the Portuguese on the Madeira archipelago, and by the Spanish on the Canary Islands archipelago (islands west of Africa, circled by violet lines)<ref name="Watson" />|alt=Map showing sugar cane India as the origin of the westward spread, followed by small areas in Africa, and then smaller areas on Atlantic Islands west of Africa]] From Insular Southeast Asia, ''S. officinarum'' was spread eastward into [[Polynesia]] and [[Micronesia]] by Austronesian voyagers as a [[canoe plant]] by around 3,500 BP. It was also spread westward and northward by around 3,000 BP to China and India by Austronesian traders, where it further hybridized with ''S. sinense'' and ''S. barberi''. From there, it spread further into western Eurasia and the [[Mediterranean]].<ref name="Paterson2012" /><ref name="danielsmenzies1996" />
The earliest known production of crystalline sugar began in northern India. The earliest evidence of sugar production comes from ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts.<ref>Watt, George (1893), ''The Economic Products of India'', W. H. Allen & Co., Vol 6, Part II, pp. 29–30</ref><ref>Hill, J.A. (1902), ''The Anglo-American Encyclopedia'', Vol. 7, p. 725</ref><ref>Luckey, Thomas D. (1973) ''CRC Handbook of Food Additives'', 2nd edition, Furia, Thomas E. (ed.) Vol. 1, Ch. 1. p. 7. {{ISBN|978-0849305429 }}</ref><ref>Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2004) ''Encyclopedia of Kitchen History'', [[Routledge]], pp. 145–146. {{ISBN|978-1579583804 }}</ref> Around the eighth century, Muslim and [[Arab]] traders introduced sugar from [[medieval India]] to the other parts of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in the Mediterranean, [[Mesopotamia]], [[Egypt]], North Africa, and [[Andalusia]]. By the 10th century, sources state that every village in Mesopotamia grew sugarcane.<ref name = Watson>Watson, Andrew (1983). ''Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. pp. 26–27. {{ISBN|9780521247115 }}</ref> It was among the early crops brought to the Americas by the Spanish, mainly Andalusians, from their fields in the [[Canary Islands]], and the Portuguese from their fields in the [[Madeira Islands]]. An article on sugarcane cultivation in Spain is included in [[Ibn al-'Awwam]]'s 12th-century ''Book on Agriculture''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ibn al-'Awwam |first=Yaḥyá |author-link=Ibn al-'Awwam |title=Le livre de l'agriculture d'Ibn-al-Awam (kitab-al-felahah) |year=1864 |location=Paris |publisher=A. Franck |translator=J.-J. Clement-Mullet |pages=365–367 (ch. 7 – Article 47) |url=https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n14/mode/2up |language=fr |oclc=780050566}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n468/mode/2up 365]–367 (Article XLVII)</ref>
The first chemically refined sugar appeared on the scene in India about 2,500 years ago. From there, the technique spread east towards China, and west towards Persia and the early Islamic worlds, eventually reaching the Mediterranean in the 13th century. Cyprus and Sicily became important centers for sugar production.
In colonial times, sugar formed one side of the [[triangle trade]] of New World raw materials, along with European manufactured goods and African [[Slavery|slaves]]. It was during [[Christopher Columbus]]'s second voyage to the Americas that he first brought sugarcane to the [[Caribbean]] (and the [[New World]]), initially to the island of [[Hispaniola]] (modern-day [[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]). The first sugar harvest happened in Hispaniola in 1501; many sugar mills were constructed in [[Cuba]] and [[Jamaica]] by the 1520s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Benitez-Rojo |first=Antonio |author-link=Antonio Benitez-Rojo |year=1996 |orig-year=1992 |title=The Repeating Island |location=Durham |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-1865-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTYWZnlz0akC |page=93 }}</ref> The [[Portugal|Portuguese]] introduced sugarcane to [[Colonial Brazil|Brazil]]. By 1540, there were 800 [[cane sugar mill]]s in [[Santa Catarina (island)|Santa Catarina Island]] and another 2,000 on the north coast of Brazil, [[Demarara]], and [[Suriname]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}
Sugar, often in the form of molasses, was shipped from the Caribbean to Europe or New England, where it was used to make [[rum]]. The profits from the sale of sugar were then used to purchase manufactured goods, which were then shipped to West Africa, where they were bartered for slaves. The slaves were then brought back to the Caribbean to be sold to sugar planters. The profits from the sale of the slaves were then used to buy more sugar, which was shipped to Europe. Toil in the sugar plantations became a main basis for the [[Atlantic slave trade]], supplying people to work under brutal coercion.{{citation needed|reason=a reliable source would be good at this point |date=December 2024}} [[File:The Mill Yard - Ten Views in the Island of Antigua (1823), plate V - BL.jpg|thumb|Lithograph of sugarcane being ground using a windmill on a [[Sugar plantations in the Caribbean|sugar plantation]] in the British colony of [[Antigua]], 1823]]
[[File:Cane cutters, Jamaica, 1891.jpg|thumb|right|A sugar plantation on the island of [[Jamaica]] in the late 19th century|alt=Black-and-white photograph of sugarcane standing in field]]
The passage of the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|1833 Slavery Abolition Act]] led to the end of slavery through most of the [[British Empire]], and many of the emancipated slaves no longer worked on sugarcane plantations when they had a choice. West Indian planters, therefore, needed new workers, and they found cheap labour in [[Qing dynasty|China]] and India.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lai, Walton |title=Indentured labor, Caribbean sugar: Chinese and Indian migrants to the British West Indies, 1838–1918 |year=1993 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7746-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Vertovik, Steven |editor=Robin Cohen |title=The Cambridge survey of world migration |year=1995 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgesurveyo00robi/page/57 57–68] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-44405-7 }}</ref> The workers were subject to [[Indentured servitude|indenture]], a long-established form of contract, which bound them to unfree labour for a fixed term. The conditions where the indentured servants worked were frequently abysmal, owing to a lack of care among the planters.<ref>{{cite book |title=New System of Slavery |first=Hugh |last=Tinker |year=1993 |isbn=978-1-870518-18-5 |publisher=Hansib Publishing, London }}</ref> The first ships carrying indentured labourers from India left in 1836.<ref name=britain1>{{cite web |title=Forced Labour |year=2010 |publisher=The National Archives, Government of the United Kingdom |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/india/forced.htm |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-date=4 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204015712/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/india/forced.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The migrations to serve sugarcane plantations led to a significant number of ethnic Indians, Southeast Asians, and Chinese people settling in various parts of the world.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Question of Labour: Indentured Immigration Into Trinidad & British Guiana, 1875–1917 |author=Laurence, K |publisher=St Martin's Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-312-12172-3 }}</ref> In some islands and countries, the South Asian migrants now constitute between 10 and 50% of the population. Sugarcane plantations and Asian ethnic groups continue to thrive in countries such as [[Fiji]], [[South Africa]], [[Myanmar]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], the [[Philippines]], [[Guyana]], Jamaica, [[Trinidad]], Martinique, [[French Guiana]], Guadeloupe, [[Grenada]], [[St. Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)|St. Vincent]], [[St. Kitts]], [[St. Croix]], Suriname, [[Nevis]], and [[Mauritius]].<ref name=britain1 /><ref>{{cite web |title=St. Lucia's Indian Arrival Day |work=Repeating Islands |year=2009 |publisher=Caribbean Repeating Islands |url=http://repeatingislands.com/2009/05/07/st-lucia%E2%80%99s-indian-arrival-day/ |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424085806/https://repeatingislands.com/2009/05/07/st-lucia%E2%80%99s-indian-arrival-day/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Old-fashioned Indian Sugar=cane Press.jpg|thumb|Indian sugarcane press, ''circa'' 1905]]
Between 1863 and 1900, merchants and plantation owners in [[Colony of Queensland|Queensland]] and [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]] (now part of the Commonwealth of Australia) brought between 55,000 and 62,500 people from the [[South Pacific islands]] to work on sugarcane plantations. An estimated one-third of these workers were coerced or kidnapped into slavery (known as [[blackbirding]]); many others were paid very low wages. Between 1904 and 1908, most of the 10,000 remaining workers were deported in [[White Australia Policy|an effort to keep Australia racially homogeneous]] and protect [[white people|white]] workers from cheap foreign labour.<ref name="AHRC">{{cite web |author=Flanagan, Tracey |author2=Wilkie, Meredith |author3=Iuliano, Susanna |url=http://www.hreoc.gov.au/racial_discrimination/forum/Erace/south_sea.html |title=Australian South Sea Islanders: A century of race discrimination under Australian law |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314080249/http://www.hreoc.gov.au/racial_discrimination/forum/Erace/south_sea.html |archive-date=14 March 2011 |publisher=Australian Human Rights Commission }}</ref>
Cuban sugar derived from sugarcane was exported to the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], where it received price supports and was ensured a guaranteed market. The [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|1991 dissolution of the Soviet state]] forced the closure of most of Cuba's sugar industry.
Sugarcane remains an important part of the economy of Cuba, Guyana, [[Belize]], [[Barbados]], and Haiti, along with the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, and other islands.
About 70% of the sugar produced globally comes from ''S. officinarum'' and hybrids using this species.<ref name="kew2" />
Sugar{{clarification needed|reason=does this refer to sugar cane only or all sugar production?|date=December 2024}} occupies 26,942,686 hectares of land across the globe and is the third most valuable crop.
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 3581-33h Ingekleurde litho voorstellende de oo (crop).jpg|thumb|A 19th-century lithograph by Theodore Bray showing a sugarcane plantation: On the right is the "white officer", the European overseer. Slave workers toil during the harvest. To the left is a flat-bottomed vessel for cane transportation.]]
== Cultivation == [[File:Sugarcane plantation in Mauritius (reduced colour saturation).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Sugarcane plantation, [[Mauritius]]]] [[File:Sugarcane fields.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Sugarcane plantation in [[Bangladesh]]]] [[File:Planting Sugar Cane in Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Planting sugarcane in Puerto Rico]] [[File:Sugarcane field in Salem.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Sugarcane fields]] [[File:Production of sugar cane (2023).svg|thumb|Production of sugar cane, 2023.]] Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or [[subtropical]] climate, with a minimum of {{cvt|60| cm|in}} of annual moisture. It is one of the most [[Photosynthetic efficiency|efficient]] [[Photosynthesis|photosynthesizers]] in the [[plant ]]kingdom. It is a [[C4 carbon fixation|C<sub>4</sub> plant]], able to convert up to 1% of incident solar energy into [[biomass]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/paper/gov.html#58 |author=Whitmarsh, John |publisher=[[Narosa Publishers]]/[[New Delhi]] and [[Kluwer Academic]]/[[Dordrecht]] |pages=11–51 |editor=GS Singhal |editor2=G Renger |editor3=SK Sopory |editor4=K-D Irrgang |editor5=Govindjee |year=1999 |isbn=978-9401060264 |chapter=The Photosynthetic Process |title=Concepts in Photobiology: Photosynthesis and Photomorphogenesis |access-date=4 January 2011 |archive-date=14 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814191216/http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/paper/gov.html#58 |url-status=live }}</ref> In primary growing regions across the tropics and [[subtropics]], sugarcane crops can produce over 15 kg/m<sup>2</sup> of cane.{{citation needed | reason=15kg of what per m2 ? Provide a reliable source |date=December 2024}}
Sugarcane accounted for around 21% of global crop production over the 2000–2021 period. The Americas was the leading region in the production of sugarcane (52% of the world total).<ref name=":142">{{Cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=13 December 2023 |year=2023 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215161116/https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |url-status=live }}</ref>
Once a major crop of the southeastern region of the United States, sugarcane cultivation declined there during the late 20th century, and is primarily confined to small plantations in [[Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida|Florida]], [[Louisiana]], and [[southeast Texas]] in the 21st century. Sugarcane cultivation ceased in Hawaii when the last operating sugar plantation in the state shut down in 2016.<ref name="Hawaii">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/17/505861855/the-final-days-of-hawaiian-sugar |title=The final days of Hawaiian sugar |publisher=US National Public Radio – Hawaii |date=17 December 2016 |access-date=21 October 2019 |author=Solomon, Molly |archive-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021223044/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/17/505861855/the-final-days-of-hawaiian-sugar |url-status=live }}</ref>
Sugarcane is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics in areas with a plentiful supply of water for a continuous period of more than 6–7 months each year, either from natural rainfall or through irrigation. The crop does not tolerate severe frosts. Therefore, most of the world's sugarcane is grown between [[22nd parallel north|22°N]] and [[22nd parallel south|22°S]], and some up to [[33rd parallel north|33°N]] and [[33rd parallel south|33°S]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Something about sugar: its history, growth, manufacture and distribution |author=Rolph, George |year=1873 |url=https://archive.org/details/somethingaboutsu00rolprich |publisher=San Francisco, J. J. Newbegin }}</ref> When sugarcane crops are found outside this range, such as the [[KwaZulu-Natal|Natal]] region of South Africa, it is normally due to anomalous climatic conditions in the region, such as warm ocean currents that sweep down the coast. In terms of altitude, sugarcane crops are found up to {{cvt|1600|m|ft|-2|disp=or}} close to the equator in countries such as [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], and [[Peru]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Abhishek |first=Aditya |title=Sugarcane Farming: Complete Guide [to the] Farming of Sugarcane |url=https://agriculturereview.com/2021/02/sugarcane-farming-guide.html |year=2021 |website=[[Agriculture Review]] |access-date=29 March 2022 |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416104826/https://agriculturereview.com/2021/02/sugarcane-farming-guide.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Sugarcane can be grown on many soils ranging from highly fertile, well-drained [[mollisol]]s, through heavy cracking [[vertisol]]s, infertile acid [[oxisol]]s and [[ultisol]]s, peaty [[histosol]]s, to rocky [[andisol]]s. Both plentiful sunshine and water supplies increase cane production. This has made desert countries with good irrigation facilities such as Egypt some of the highest-yielding sugarcane-cultivating regions. Sugarcane consumes 9% of the world's [[potash]] fertilizer production.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.uralkali.com/about/potassium/ |title=What is potash? |website=www.uralkali.com |access-date=10 December 2020 |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028082055/https://www.uralkali.com/about/potassium/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Although some sugarcanes produce seeds, modern stem cutting has become the most common reproduction method.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRW3_QwQhTIC&q=%C2%A0Although+sugarcanes+produce+seeds,+modern+stem+cutting+has+become+the+most+common+reproduction+method&pg=PA351 |title=Handbook of Bioenergy Crops: A Complete Reference to Species, Development and Applications |last=Bassam |first=Nasir El |date=2010 |publisher=[[Earthscan]] |isbn=978-1-84977-478-9 |language=en }}</ref> Each cutting must contain at least one bud, and the cuttings are sometimes hand-planted. In more technologically advanced countries, such as the United States and Australia, billet planting is common. Billets (stalks or stalk sections) harvested by a mechanical harvester are planted by a machine that opens and recloses the ground. Once planted, a stand can be harvested several times; after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called [[ratoon]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tayyab |first1=Muhammad |last2=Yang |first2=Ziqi |last3=Zhang |first3=Caifang |last4=Islam |first4=Waqar |last5=Lin |first5=Wenxiong |last6=Zhang |first6=Hua |date=1 September 2021 |title=Sugarcane monoculture drives microbial community composition, activity and abundance of agricultural-related microorganisms |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14033-y |journal=[[Environmental Science and Pollution Research]] |language=en |volume=28 |issue=35 |pages=48080–48096 |doi=10.1007/s11356-021-14033-y |pmid=33904129 |bibcode=2021ESPR...2848080T |s2cid=233403664 |issn=1614-7499 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Successive harvests give decreasing yields, eventually justifying replanting. Two to 10 harvests are usually made, depending on the type of culture. In a country with mechanical agriculture looking for high production of large fields, as in North America, sugarcanes are replanted after two or three harvests to avoid lowering yields. In countries with a more traditional type of agriculture with smaller fields and hand harvesting, as in the French island of [[Réunion]], sugarcane is often harvested up to 10 years before replanting.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
Sugarcane is harvested by hand and mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of production, and is dominant in the developing world. In hand harvesting, the field is first set on fire. The fire burns up dry leaves, and chases away or kills venomous snakes, without harming the stalks and roots. Harvesters then cut the cane just above ground level using [[Cane knife|cane knives]] or [[machete]]s. A skilled harvester can cut {{cvt|500|kg|lb}} of sugarcane per hour.{{failed verification|date=March 2022|reason=reference doesn't support much of this}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sugarcane |url=http://www.sasecrtn.edu.np/index.php/en/resources/usefulinfo/how-to-grow-harvest-food-cash-crops/cash-crops/sugarcane |date=2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308185401/http://www.sasecrtn.edu.np/index.php/en/resources/usefulinfo/how-to-grow-harvest-food-cash-crops/cash-crops/sugarcane |archive-date=8 March 2022 |website=The Village: A Network Portal (Nepal) |access-date=29 March 2022 }}</ref>
Mechanical harvesting uses a [[Combine harvester|combine]], or [[sugarcane harvester]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-QDAAAAMBAJ&q=Popular+Science+1930+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=-PA94 |title=Sugar-Cane Harvester Cuts Forty-Tons an Hour |work=Popular Mechanics Monthly |date=July 1930 |access-date=2 April 2012 |publisher=Hearst Magazines }}</ref> The Austoft 7000 series, the original modern harvester design, has now been copied by other companies, including Cameco / [[Deere & Company|John Deere]].{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} The machine cuts the cane at the base of the stalk, strips the leaves, chops the cane into consistent lengths, and deposits it into a transporter following alongside. The harvester then blows the trash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest {{convert|100 |LT|MT}} each hour, but harvested cane must be rapidly processed. Once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and damage to the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decline. This decline is offset because a modern chopper harvester can complete the harvest faster and more efficiently than hand cutting and loading. Austoft also developed a series of hydraulic high-lift infield transporters to work alongside its harvesters to allow even more rapid transfer of cane to, for example, the nearest railway siding. This mechanical harvesting does not require the field to be set on fire; the residue left in the field by the machine consists of cane tops and dead leaves, which serve as mulch for the next planting.
{{wide image|Panorama canaviais interior Sao Paulo 2006 06.jpg|600px|align-cap=center|[[Plantation]]s in [[Brazil]], the [[Agriculture_in_Brazil#Sugarcane|largest producer in the world]]}}
=== Pests === The [[cane beetle]] (also known as cane grub) can substantially reduce crop yield by eating roots; it can be controlled with [[imidacloprid]] (Confidor) or [[chlorpyrifos]] (Lorsban). Other important pests are the [[larva]]e of some [[lepidoptera|butterfly/moth]] species, including the [[turnip moth]], the [[sugarcane borer]] (''Diatraea saccharalis''), the [[Eldana|African sugarcane borer]] (''Eldana saccharina''), the Mexican rice borer (''[[Eoreuma loftini]]''), the [[African armyworm]] (''Spodoptera exempta''), [[leafcutter ant]]s, [[termite]]s, [[spittlebug]]s (especially ''[[Mahanarva fimbriolata]]'' and ''[[Deois flavopicta]]''), and ''[[Migdolus fryanus]]'' (a [[beetle]]). The [[planthopper]] insect ''[[Eumetopina flavipes]]'' acts as a virus vector, which causes the sugarcane disease [[ramu stunt]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/sugarcane_nov.html |author=Malein, Patrick |title=How to find brand-new diseases of sugarcane! |website=Biological Sciences at [[Oxford University|Oxford]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811221942/http://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/sugarcane_nov.html |archive-date=11 August 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Odiyo |first=Peter Onyango |s2cid=85994702 |date=December 1981 |title=Development of the first outbreaks of the African armyworm, ''Spodoptera exempta'' (Walk.), between Kenya and Tanzania during the 'off-season' months of July to December |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-tropical-insect-science/article/development-of-the-first-outbreaks-of-the-african-armyworm-spodoptera-exempta-walk-between-kenya-and-tanzania-during-the-off-season-months-of-july-to-december/501568FBCD83BA6A69859D08FBCD3AA2 |journal=[[International Journal of Tropical Insect Science]] |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=305–318 |doi=10.1017/S1742758400000606 |bibcode=1981IJTIS...1..305O |access-date=15 November 2017 |archive-date=12 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212150338/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-tropical-insect-science/article/development-of-the-first-outbreaks-of-the-african-armyworm-spodoptera-exempta-walk-between-kenya-and-tanzania-during-the-off-season-months-of-july-to-december/501568FBCD83BA6A69859D08FBCD3AA2 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''[[Sesamia grisescens]]'' is a major pest in [[Papua New Guinea]] and so is a serious concern for [[sugarcane in Australia|the Australian industry]] were it to cross over.<ref name="New-Threats" /> To head off such a problem, [[Government of Australia|the Federal Government]] has pre-announced that they would cover 80% of response costs if it were necessary.<ref name="New-Threats">{{Cite journal |language=en |year=2011 |publisher=[[Elsevier BV]] |volume=3 |issue=1–2 |journal=[[Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability]] |issn=1877-3435 |last2=Nader |last1=Goebel |first2=Sallam |first1=Francois |pages=81–89 |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2010.12.005 |title=New pest threats for sugarcane in the new bioeconomy and how to manage them |bibcode=2011COES....3...81G }}</ref>
=== Pathogens === {{Main|List of sugarcane diseases}}
Numerous pathogens infect sugarcane, such as [[sugarcane grassy shoot disease]] caused by [[Candidatus Phytoplasma sacchari|''Candidatus'' Phytoplasma sacchari]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirdat |first1=K |last2=Tiwarekar |first2=B |last3=Thorat |first3=V |last4=Sathe |first4=S |last5=Shouche |first5=Y |last6=Yadav |first6=A |title={{'}}''Candidatus'' Phytoplasma sacchari{{'}}, a novel taxon – associated with Sugarcane Grassy Shoot (SCGS) disease. |journal=[[International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology]] |date=January 2021 |volume=71 |issue=1 |doi=10.1099/ijsem.0.004591 |pmid=33289626 |s2cid=227948269 |doi-access=free }}</ref> whiptail disease or [[sugarcane smut]], ''pokkah boeng'' caused by ''[[Fusarium moniliforme]]'', ''[[Xanthomonas axonopodis]]'' bacteria causes Gumming Disease, and [[red rot]] disease caused by ''[[Colletotrichum falcatum]]''. [[Virus|Viral]] diseases affecting sugarcane include [[sugarcane mosaic virus]], [[maize streak virus]], and sugarcane yellow leaf virus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gonçalves |first1=Marcos |last2=Pinto |first2=Luciana |last3=Creste |first3=Silvana |last4=Landell |first4=Marcos |date=9 November 2011 |title=Virus Diseases of Sugarcane. A Constant Challenge to Sugarcane Breeding in Brazil |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271384608 |journal=[[Functional Plant Science & Biotechnology]] |volume=6 |pages=108–116 }}</ref>
Yang ''et al.'', 2017 provides a [[genetic map]] developed for [[USDA ARS]]-run [[breeding program]]s for [[brown rust of sugarcane]].<ref name="NGS-SNP">{{Cite journal |date=2020 |issue=6 |volume=40 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] (T&F) |journal=[[Critical Reviews in Biotechnology]] |issn=0738-8551 |first5=Mallikarjuna |first4=Selvi |first3=Hemaprabha |first2=Gayathri |first1=Ramaswamy |last5=Kandalam |last4=Athiappan |last3=Govinda |last2=Suresh |last1=Manimekalai |pages=865–880 |s2cid=219537026 |pmid=32508157 |doi=10.1080/07388551.2020.1765730 |title=Role of NGS and SNP genotyping methods in sugarcane improvement programs }}</ref>
=== Nitrogen fixation === Some sugarcane varieties are capable of [[Nitrogen fixation|fixing atmospheric nitrogen]] in association with the bacterium ''[[Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yamada |first1=Y. |last2=Hoshino |first2=K. |last3=Ishikawa |first3=T. |date=1998 |title=''Gluconacetobacter'' corrig.‡ (''Gluconoacetobacter'' [sic]). In Validation of Publication of New Names and New Combinations Previously Effectively Published Outside the IJSB, List no. 64 |journal=Int J Syst Bacteriol |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=327–328 |doi=10.1099/00207713-48-1-327 |access-date=13 March 2020 |url=https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/docserver/fulltext/ijsem/48/1/ijs-48-1-327.pdf?expires=1584128345&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=1D33F9B462D438C0C052FEE532AD4595 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Unlike [[legume]]s and other nitrogen-fixing plants that form [[root nodule]]s in the soil in association with bacteria, ''G. diazotrophicus'' lives within the intercellular spaces of the sugarcane's stem.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dong, Z. |display-authors=et al |title=A Nitrogen-Fixing Endophyte of Sugarcane Stems (A New Role for the Apoplast) |journal=Plant Physiology |date=1994 |volume=105 |issue=4 |pages=1139–1147 |doi=10.1104/pp.105.4.1139 |pmid=12232271 |pmc=159442 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=R. M. |last1=Boddey |first2=S. |last2=Urquiaga |first3=V. |last3=Reis |first4=J. |last4=Döbereiner |s2cid=27437118 |doi=10.1007/BF02187441 |title=Biological nitrogen fixation associated with sugar cane |journal=Plant and Soil |volume=137 |issue=1 |date=November 1991 |pages=111–117 |bibcode=1991PlSoi.137..111B }}</ref> Coating seeds with the bacteria was assayed in 2006 with the intention of enabling crop species to fix nitrogen for their own use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cocking |first1=E. C. |last2=Stone |first2=P. J. |last3=Davey |first3=M. R. |s2cid=24642832 |title=Intracellular colonization of roots of Arabidopsis and crop plants by ''Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus'' |doi=10.1079/IVP2005716 |journal=In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant |volume=42 |pages=74–82 |year=2006 |issue=1 |bibcode=2006IVCDB..42...74C }}</ref>
=== Conditions for sugarcane workers === At least 20,000 people are estimated to have died of [[chronic kidney disease]] in Central America in the past two decades, most of them sugarcane workers along the Pacific coast. This condition is termed [[Mesoamerican nephropathy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Correa-Rotter|first1=Ricardo|last2=Wesseling|first2=Catharina|last3=Johnson|first3=Richard J.|date=March 2014|title=CKD of unknown origin in Central America: the case for a Mesoamerican nephropathy|journal=American Journal of Kidney Diseases|volume=63|issue=3|pages=506–520|doi=10.1053/j.ajkd.2013.10.062|issn=1523-6838|pmc=7115712|pmid=24412050}}</ref> This may be due to working long hours in the heat without adequate fluid intake.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lakhani |first=Nina |title=Nicaraguans demand action over illness killing thousands of sugar cane workers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/16/-sp-nicaragua-kidney-disease-killing-sugar-cane-workers |date=16 February 2015 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 April 2015 |archive-date=8 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408022312/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/16/-sp-nicaragua-kidney-disease-killing-sugar-cane-workers |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, some of the workers are being exposed to hazards such as high temperatures, harmful pesticides, and venomous animals. This occurs during the process of cutting the sugarcane manually, causing physical ailments due to constant repetitive movements for hours every work day.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Leite |first=Marceli Rocha |display-authors=etal |year=2018 |title=Sugarcane cutting work, risks, and health effects: a literature review |journal=Revista de Saúde Pública |volume=52 |page=80 |issn=1518-8787 |publisher=[[University of São Paulo]] - Faculdade de Saúde Pública |doi=10.11606/S1518-8787.2018052000138 |doi-access=free |pmid=30156601 |pmc=6110589 }}</ref>
In India, especially in [[Maharashtra]], sugarcane production is linked to [[forced labour]], as a result of an exploitative advance payment system for workers that puts them deeply in debt and requires them to return year after year, earning less than $5 a day. Working conditions are generally very poor, with workers migrating during the harvest season and living in makeshift tents in the fields they harvest, with no toilets, electricity, or running water. [[Child labour]] is common, and [[child marriage]] between sugar harvesters is frequent, despite both being illegal. Indian sugarcane production is also linked to an unusually high rate of [[Hysterectomy|hysterectomies]] (some 1 in 5 sugarcane harvesting women), which women are pressured to receive by sugarcane producers, and the lack of sanitary facilities, family planning options, or medical leave. India is the world's second-largest sugar producer, and Maharashtra produces one-third of the country's sugar, which then enters the global supply chain—making its provenance hard to track. [[The Coca-Cola Company]] and [[PepsiCo]] have bought significant amounts of sugar from Maharashtra since at least the 2010s, mostly for use in Indian soft drinks, but deny that they are complicit in labor abuses.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=Megha |last2=Inzamam |first2=Qadri |last3=Khandelwal |first3=Saumya |date=2024-03-24 |title=The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/24/world/asia/india-sugar-cane-fields-child-labor-hysterectomies.html |access-date=2025-07-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Processing == [[File:MyanmarJaggery.webm|thumb|[[Non-centrifugal cane sugar]] (jaggery) production near [[Inle Lake]] ([[Myanmar]]), crushing and boiling stage]] Traditionally, sugarcane processing requires two stages. Mills extract raw sugar from freshly harvested cane and "mill-white" sugar is sometimes produced immediately after the first stage at sugar-extraction mills, intended for local consumption. Sugar crystals appear naturally white in color during the crystallization process. [[Sulfur dioxide]] is added to inhibit the formation of color-inducing molecules and to stabilize the sugar juices during evaporation.<ref>{{cite conference |last=Steindl |first=Roderick |date=2005 |title=Syrup Clarification for Plantation White Sugar to meet New Quality Standards |editor-last=Hogarth |editor-first=DM |book-title=Proceedings of the XXV Congress of International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists |pages=106–116 |location=Guatemala, Guatemala City |url=http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4888/1/4888_1.pdf |access-date=19 June 2014 |archive-date=10 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810042657/http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4888/1/4888_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/ |title=Home | CODEXALIMENTARIUS FAO-WHO |website=www.fao.org |access-date=1 January 2022 |archive-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231231629/https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Refineries, often located nearer to consumers in North America, Europe, and Japan, then produce refined white sugar, which is 99% sucrose. These two stages are slowly merging. Increasing affluence in the sugarcane-producing tropics increases demand for refined sugar products, driving a trend toward combined milling and refining.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Flórez-Martínez |first1=Diego Hernando |last2=Contreras-Pedraza |first2=Carlos Alberto |last3=Rodríguez |first3=Jader |date=1 January 2021 |title=A systematic analysis of non-centrifugal sugar cane processing: Research and new trends |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224420306828 |journal=Trends in Food Science & Technology |language=en |volume=107 |pages=415–428 |doi=10.1016/j.tifs.2020.11.011 |s2cid=228847326 |issn=0924-2244 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Milling === {{Main|Sugarcane mill}} Sugarcane processing produces cane sugar (sucrose) from sugarcane. Other products of the processing include [[bagasse]], molasses, and filter cake.
[[Bagasse]], the residual dry fiber of the cane after cane juice has been extracted, is used for several purposes:<ref name=epa2005>{{cite web |title=Sugarcane processing |publisher=Environmental Protection Agency, United States |year=2005 |url=http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s10-1a.pdf |access-date=2 February 2012 |archive-date=3 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103201400/http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s10-1a.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> * fuel for the boilers and kilns * production of paper, paperboard products, and reconstituted panelboard * agricultural mulch * as a raw material for production of chemicals
The primary use of bagasse and bagasse residue is as a fuel source for boilers in the generation of process steam in sugar plants. Dried filter cake is used as an animal feed supplement, fertilizer, and source of [[sugarcane wax]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}
Molasses is produced in two forms: [[Molasses#Blackstrap Molasses|blackstrap]], which has a characteristic strong flavor, and a purer [[molasses]] syrup. Blackstrap molasses is sold as a food and dietary supplement. It is also a common ingredient in animal feed, and is used to produce ethanol, rum, and [[citric acid]]. Purer molasses syrups are sold as molasses, and may also be blended with [[maple syrup]], invert sugars, or [[corn syrup]]. Both forms of molasses are used in baking.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
<gallery> File:Sugarcane drink.JPG|Manually extracting juice from sugarcane|alt=Photo of man holding bar that penetrates large tank File:Cane-truck-1.JPG|A truck hauls cane to a sugar mill in Florida.|alt=Photo of truck hauling trailer File:UsinaSantaElisa.jpg|Santa Elisa sugarcane processing plant in [[Sertãozinho]], one of the largest and oldest in Brazil|alt=Photo of shorter building with smoke coming out of smokestack next to five-story office building </gallery>
=== Refining === {{multiple image | width = 220 | align = right | direction = vertical | footer = Brown and white sugar crystals | image1 = Sa brownsugar.jpg | alt1 = | image2 = Sugar 2xmacro.jpg | alt2 = }}[[sugar refinery|Sugar refining]] further purifies the raw sugar. It is first mixed with heavy syrup and then centrifuged in a process called "affination". Its purpose is to wash away the sugar crystals' outer coating, which is less pure than the crystal interior. The remaining sugar is then dissolved to make a syrup, about 60% solids by weight.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Babu |first1=Ayenampudi Surendra |title=Extraction of sugar from sugar beets and cane sugar |date=2024 |work=Extraction Processes in the Food Industry |pages=177–196 |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819516-1.00007-7 |access-date=15 December 2024 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-819516-1 |last2=Adeyeye |first2=Samuel Ayofemi Olalekan |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-819516-1.00007-7 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The sugar solution is clarified by the addition of [[phosphoric acid]] and [[calcium hydroxide]], which combine to precipitate [[calcium phosphate]]. The calcium phosphate particles entrap some impurities and absorb others, then float to the top of the tank where they can be skimmed off. An alternative to this "phosphatation" technique is "[[carbonatation]]", which is similar, but uses [[carbon dioxide]] and calcium hydroxide to produce a [[calcium carbonate]] precipitate.
After filtering any remaining solids, the clarified syrup is decolorized by filtration through [[activated carbon]]. [[Bone char]] or coal-based activated carbon is traditionally used in this role.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Yacoubou |first=Jeanne |title=Is Your Sugar Vegan? An Update on Sugar Processing Practices |magazine=Vegetarian Journal |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=15–19 |year=2007 |url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/vj2007issue4.pdf |access-date=4 April 2007 |archive-date=9 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409003341/https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/vj2007issue4.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Some remaining color-forming impurities are [[adsorb]]ed by the carbon. The purified syrup is then concentrated to supersaturation and repeatedly crystallized in a vacuum, to produce [[white refined sugar]]. As in a sugar mill, the sugar crystals are separated from the molasses by centrifuging. Additional sugar is recovered by blending the remaining syrup with the washings from affination and again crystallizing to produce [[brown sugar]]. When no more sugar can be economically recovered, the final molasses still contains 30–35% sucrose and 10–25% glucose and fructose.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jamir |first1=Lemnaro |last2=Kumar |first2=Vikas |last3=Kaur |first3=Jasleen |last4=Kumar |first4=Satish |last5=Singh |first5=Harminder |date=1 January 2021 |title=Composition, valorization and therapeutical potential of molasses: a critical review |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21622515.2021.1892203 |journal=Environmental Technology Reviews |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=131–142 |doi=10.1080/21622515.2021.1892203 |bibcode=2021EnvTR..10..131J |issn=2162-2515 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
To produce [[granulated sugar]], in which individual grains do not clump, sugar must be dried, first by heating in a rotary dryer, and then by blowing cool air through it for several days.
=== Ribbon cane syrup === Ribbon cane is a subtropical type that was once widely grown in the Southern United States, as far north as coastal [[North Carolina]]. The juice was extracted with horse- or mule-powered crushers; the juice was boiled, like [[maple syrup]], in a flat pan, and then used in the syrup form as a food sweetener.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Cooking Ribbon Cane Syrup |url=http://saltillotexas.homestead.com/Syrup.html |author=Cowser, R. L. |journal=The Kentucky Folklore Record |date=Jan–Mar 1978 |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119094020/http://saltillotexas.homestead.com/Syrup.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It is not currently a commercial crop, but a few growers find ready sales for their product.{{Citation needed| date= November 2009}}
== Production == {{Infobox agricultural production | year = 2022 | plant = sugarcane | country1 ={{BRA}} | amount1 =724.4 | country2 ={{IND}} | amount2 =439.4 | country3 ={{CHN}} | amount3 =103.4 | country4 ={{THA}} | amount4 =92.1 | country5 ={{PAK}} | amount5 =88.0 | country6 ={{MEX}} | amount6 =55.3 | country7 ={{COL}} | amount7 =35.0 | country8 = {{IDN}} | amount8 =32.4 | country9 = {{USA}} | amount9 =31.5 | country10 = {{AUS}} | amount10 =28.7 | world =1,922.1 | source = [[FAOSTAT]]<ref name="faostat">{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC |title=Sugar cane production in 2022, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists) |date=2024 |publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314163404/http://www.fao.org/faostat/fr/#data/QC |url-status=live }}</ref> }}
In 2022, global production of sugarcane was 1.92 billion tonnes, with Brazil producing 38% of the world total, India with 23%, and China producing 5% (table).
Worldwide, 26 million hectares were devoted to sugarcane cultivation in 2020.<ref name=faostat /> The average worldwide yield of sugarcane crops in 2022 was 74 tonnes per hectare, led by [[Peru]] with 121 tonnes per hectare.<ref name=faostat /> The theoretical possible yield for sugarcane is about 280 tonnes per hectare per year, and small experimental plots in Brazil have demonstrated yields of 236–280 tonnes of cane per hectare.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tropical Pasture and Fodder Plants (Tropical Agriculture) |author=Bogden AV |year=1977 |publisher=Longman Group (Far East), Limited |isbn=978-0-582-46676-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lp4_AAAAYAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Saccharum officinarum L. |author=Duke, James |year=1983 |publisher=Purdue University |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Saccharum_officinarum.html |access-date=7 February 2012 |archive-date=6 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606151350/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Saccharum_officinarum.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
From 2008 to 2016, production of standards-compliant sugarcane experienced a compound annual growth rate of about 52%, while conventional sugarcane increased at less than 1%.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Voora, V. |author2=Bermudez, S. |author3=and Larrea, C. |title=Sugar Coverage |url=https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/sugar-coverage/ |date=2019 |website=[[International Institute for Sustainable Development]] |access-date=29 March 2022 |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320062933/https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/sugar-coverage/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;"> {{owidslider |start = 2023 |list = Template:OWID/sugar cane production#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = [[File:sugar cane production, World, 2023 (cropped).svg|link=|thumb|upright=1.6|Sugar cane production]] |startingView = World }} </div>
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{{owidslider |start = 2024 |list = Template:OWID/Sugar cane yields#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = [[File:Sugar cane yields, World, 2024 (cropped).svg|link=|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Sugar cane yields]] |startingView = World
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== Environmental impacts == === Soil degradation and erosion === The cultivation of sugarcane can lead to increased soil loss through the removal of soil at harvest, as well as improper irrigation practices, which can result in erosion.<ref name="WWFN-1986">{{Cite web |year=1986 |title=Sugar and the Environment: Encouraging Better Management Practices in Sugar Production and Processing |url=https://foodsecurecanada.org/sites/foodsecurecanada.org/files/sugarandtheenvironmentnovember2004.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=12 March 2023 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327161413/https://foodsecurecanada.org/sites/foodsecurecanada.org/files/sugarandtheenvironmentnovember2004.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Cheesman-2004">{{Cite book |last=Cheesman |first=Oliver |title=Environmental Impacts of Sugar Production: The Cultivation and Processing of Sugarcane and Sugar Beet |publisher=CABI Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=0-85199-981-6 |location=United Kingdom }}</ref> Erosion is especially significant when the sugarcane is grown on slopes or hillsides, which increases the rate of water runoff.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref name="Cheesman-2004" /> Generally, it is recommended that sugarcane is not planted in areas with a slope greater than 8%.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> However, in certain areas, such as parts of the Caribbean and South Africa, slopes greater than 20% have been planted.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Increased erosion can lead to the removal of organic and nutrient-rich material, which can decrease future crop yields. It can also result in sediments and other pollutants being washed into aquatic habitats, which can result in a wide range of environmental issues, including eutrophication and acidification.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref name="Cheesman-2004" />
Sugarcane cultivation can also result in soil compaction, which is caused by the use of heavy, infield machinery.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Along with impacting invertebrate and fauna within the upper layers of the soil, compaction can also lead to decreased porosity.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref name="Cheesman-2004" /> This in turn can increase [[surface runoff]], resulting in greater leaching and erosion.<ref name="WWFN-1986" />
=== Habitat destruction === [[File:Starr-160324-0644-Saccharum officinarum-sugar mill smoke stacks last harvest season-Puunene-Maui (26861749342).jpg|thumb|Steam produced from sugarcane processing. ]] Due to the large quantity of water required, sugarcane cultivation heavily relies on irrigation.<ref name=epa2005/> Additionally, since large amounts of soil are removed with the crop during harvest, significant washing occurs during the processing phase.<ref name=epa2005 /> In many countries, such as India and Australia, this requirement has placed a strain on available resources, requiring the construction of barrages and other dams.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref name=epa2005 /> This has altered the amount of water reaching aquatic habitats, and has contributed to the degradation of ecosystems such as the [[Great Barrier Reef]] and Indus Delta.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref name=epa2005 /> [[File:US Navy 100219-N-9643W-340 Haitian children carry sugarcane across a field as Sailors from Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 clear land for a construction site.jpg|thumb|Land cleared for sugarcane production. ]] Sugarcane has also contributed to [[habitat destruction]] through the clearance of land.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Seven countries around the world devote more than 50% of their land to the cultivation of sugarcane.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Sugarcane fields have replaced tropical rain forests and wetlands.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> While the majority of this clearance occurred in the past, expansions have occurred within the past couple decades, further contributing to habitat destruction.<ref name="Cheesman-2004" />
=== Mitigation efforts === A wide variety of mitigation efforts can be implemented to reduce the impacts of sugarcane cultivation.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Among these efforts is switching to alternative irrigation techniques, such as drip irrigation, which are more water efficient.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> Water efficiency can also be improved by employing methods such as trash mulching, which has been shown to increase water intake and storage.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prosdocimi |first1=Massimo |last2=Tarolli |first2=Paolo |last3=Cerdà |first3=Artemi |date=1 October 2016 |title=Mulching practices for reducing soil water erosion: A review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825216302264 |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |language=en |volume=161 |pages=191–203 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.08.006 |bibcode=2016ESRv..161..191P |issn=0012-8252 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Along with reducing the overall water use, this method can also decrease soil runoff, and therefore prevent pollutants from entering the environment.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> In areas with a slope greater than 11%, it is also recommended that zero tillage or cane strip planting are implemented to help prevent soil loss.<ref name="WWFN-1986" />
Sugarcane processing produces a wide variety of pollutants, including heavy metals and bagasse, which can be released into the environment through wastewater discharge.<ref name="WWFN-1986" /> To prevent this, alternative treatment methods such as high rate anaerobic digestions can be implemented to better treat this wastewater.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fito |first1=Jemal |last2=Tefera |first2=Nurelegne |last3=Van Hulle |first3=Stijn W. H. |date=28 March 2019 |title=Sugarcane biorefineries wastewater: bioremediation technologies for environmental sustainability |journal=Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=6 |doi=10.1186/s40538-019-0144-5 |issn=2196-5641 |hdl=1854/LU-8753281 |hdl-access=free |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019CBTA....6....6F }}</ref> Stormwater drains can also be installed to prevent uncontrolled runoff from reaching aquatic ecosystems.<ref name="WWFN-1986" />
== Ethanol == {{Further|Ethanol fuel}} {{See also|Biofuel}} [[File:Sao Paulo ethanol pump 04 2008 74 zoom.jpg|thumb|A fuel pump in Brazil, offering cane ethanol (A) and gasoline (G)]] Ethanol is generally available as a byproduct of sugar production. It can be used as a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. It is an alternative to gasoline, and may become the primary product of sugarcane processing, rather than sugar{{cn|date=October 2023}}
In Brazil, gasoline is required to contain at least 22% bioethanol.<ref name=iea1>{{cite web |title=IEA Energy Technology Essentials: Biofuel Production |publisher=International Energy Agency |year=2007 |url=http://www.iea.org/techno/essentials2.pdf |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615183307/http://www.iea.org/techno/essentials2.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This bioethanol is sourced from Brazil's large sugarcane crop.
The production of ethanol from sugarcane is more energy efficient than from corn or sugar beets or palm/vegetable oils, particularly if cane bagasse is used to produce heat and power for the process. Furthermore, if biofuels are used for crop production and transport, the [[fossil energy]] input needed for each ethanol energy unit can be very low. EIA estimates that with an integrated sugarcane to ethanol technology, the well-to-wheels CO<sub>2</sub> emissions can be 90% lower than conventional gasoline.<ref name=iea1 /> A textbook on renewable energy<ref>da Rosa, A. (2005) ''Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Processes''. Elsevier. pp. 501–502. {{ISBN|978-0-12-088510-7 }}</ref> describes the energy transformation:
<blockquote> Presently, 75 tons of raw sugarcane are produced annually per hectare in Brazil. The cane delivered to the processing plant is called burned and cropped (b&c), and represents 77% of the mass of the raw cane. The reason for this reduction is that the stalks are separated from the leaves (which are burned and whose ashes are left in the field as fertilizer), and from the roots that remain in the ground to sprout for the next crop. Average cane production is, therefore, 58 tons of b&c per hectare per year. </blockquote> <blockquote> Each ton of b&c yields 740 kg of juice (135 kg of sucrose and 605 kg of water) and 260 kg of moist bagasse (130 kg of dry bagasse). Since the lower heating value of sucrose is 16.5 M[[joule|J]]/kg, and that of the bagasse is 19.2 MJ/kg, the total heating value of a ton of b&c is 4.7 GJ of which 2.2 GJ come from the sucrose and 2.5 from the bagasse. </blockquote> <blockquote> Per hectare per year, the biomass produced corresponds to 0.27 TJ. This is equivalent to 0.86 W per square meter. Assuming an average insolation of 225 W per square meter, the photosynthetic efficiency of sugar cane is 0.38%. </blockquote> <blockquote> The 135 kg of sucrose found in 1 ton of b&c are transformed into 70 litres of ethanol with a combustion energy of 1.7 GJ. The practical sucrose-ethanol conversion efficiency is, therefore, 76% (compare with the theoretical 97%). </blockquote> <blockquote> One hectare of sugar cane yields 4,000 litres of ethanol per year (without any additional energy input, because the bagasse produced exceeds the amount needed to distill the final product). This, however, does not include the energy used in tilling, transportation, and so on. Thus, the solar energy-to-ethanol conversion efficiency is 0.13%. </blockquote>
== Bagasse applications == [[File:Sugarcane bagasse.jpg|thumb|left|Sugarcane bagasse]] Sugarcane is a major crop in many countries. It is one of the plants with the highest bioconversion efficiency. Sugarcane crop is able to efficiently fix solar energy, yielding some 55 tonnes of dry matter per hectare of land annually. After harvest, the crop produces sugar juice and bagasse, the fibrous dry matter. This dry matter is biomass with potential as fuel for energy production. Bagasse can also be used as an alternative source of pulp for paper production.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rainey |first1=Thomas |last2=Covey |first2=Geoff |last3=Shore |first3=Dennis |title=An analysis of Australian sugarcane regions for bagasse paper manufacture |journal=International Sugar Journal |volume=108 |issue=1295 |pages=640–644 |url=http://eprints.qut.edu.au/6781/ |date=December 2006 |access-date=15 June 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101142953/http://eprints.qut.edu.au/6781/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Sugarcane bagasse is a potentially abundant source of energy for large producers of sugarcane, such as Brazil, India, and China. According to one report, with use of latest technologies, bagasse produced annually in Brazil has the potential of meeting 20% of Brazil's energy consumption by 2020.<ref name=bw2009 />
=== Electricity production === A number of countries, in particular those lacking fossil fuels, have implemented energy conservation and efficiency measures to minimize the energy used in cane processing, and export any excess electricity to the grid. Bagasse is usually burned to produce steam, which in turn creates electricity. Current technologies, such as those in use in [[Mauritius]], produce over 100 kWh of electricity per tonne of bagasse. With a total world harvest of over one billion tonnes of sugarcane per year, the global energy potential from bagasse is over 100,000 GWh.<ref>{{cite press release |date=15 June 2004 |title=Wade Report on Global Bagasse Cogeneration: High Efficiency Bagasse Cogeneration Can Meet Up To 25% of National Dower Demand in Cane Producing Countries |publisher=World Alliance for Decentralized Energy |url=https://www.localpower.org/documents/pr_bagasse.pdf |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807214140/https://www.localpower.org/documents/pr_bagasse.pdf |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite report |title=Bagasse Cogen – Global Review and Potential |publisher=World Alliance for Decentralized Energy |year=2004 }}</ref> Using Mauritius as a reference, an annual potential of 10,000 GWh of additional electricity could be produced throughout Africa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sugar Cane Bagasse Energy Cogeneration – Lessons from Mauritius |publisher=The United Nations |year=2005 |url=https://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/energy/op/parliamentarian_forum/deepchand_bagasse.pdf |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=9 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809012831/http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/energy/op/parliamentarian_forum/deepchand_bagasse.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Electrical generation from bagasse could become quite important, particularly to the rural populations of sugarcane producing nations.
Recent cogeneration technology plants are being designed to produce from 200 to over 300 kWh of electricity per tonne of bagasse.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Steam economy and cogeneration in cane sugar factories |year=1990 |journal=International Sugar Journal |volume=92 |issue=1099 |pages=131–140 |url=http://www.princeton.edu/pei/energy/publications/texts/International-Sugar-Journal.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224132518/http://www.princeton.edu/pei/energy/publications/texts/International-Sugar-Journal.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Trade and Environment Review |author=Hollanda, Erber |pages=68–80 |publisher=United Nations |year=2010 |isbn=978-92-1-112782-9 }}</ref> As sugarcane is a seasonal crop, shortly after harvest the supply of bagasse would peak, requiring power generation plants to strategically manage the storage of bagasse.
=== Biogas production === A greener alternative to burning bagasse for the production of electricity is to convert bagasse into [[biogas]]. Technologies are being developed to use [[enzyme]]s to transform bagasse into advanced [[biofuel]] and biogas.<ref name=bw2009>{{cite web |title=Cetrel and Novozymes to Make Biogas and Electricity from Bagasse |date=14 December 2009 |publisher=Business Wire |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091214005749/en/Cetrel-Novozymes-Biogas-Electricity-Bagasse |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-date=12 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512060001/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091214005749/en/Cetrel-Novozymes-Biogas-Electricity-Bagasse |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Sugarcane as food == {{Further|Sugar}}
{{Nutritional value | name = Cane juice<ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Food Composition Tables |year=2017 |publisher=National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research |url=http://www.ifct2017.com/frame.php?page=food |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613031416/http://www.ifct2017.com/frame.php?page=food |url-status=live }}</ref> | image = Sugarcanejuice.jpg | caption = Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice | serving_size = 100 grams | kJ = 242 | protein = 0.16 g | fat = 0.40 g | carbs = 13.11 g | fiber = 0.56 g | sugars = 12.85 g | glucose = 2.27 g | fructose = 0.55 g | iron_mg = 1.12 | calcium_mg = 18 | magnesium_mg = 13.03 | phosphorus_mg = 22.08 | potassium_mg = 150 | sodium_mg = 1.16 | zinc_mg = 0.14 | vitC_mg = 6.73 | vitB6_mg = 0.40 | folate_ug = 44.53 | float = right | note = Nutrient information from the Indian Food Composition Database | source_usda = 0 }}
In most regions where sugarcane is cultivated, a wide range of foods and beverages are produced directly from the plant.
The following foods and drinks are derived from sugarcane: * [[Basi]] – a fermented alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane juice, produced in the [[Philippines]] and [[Guyana]]. * ''[[Cachaça]]'' – a [[distilled]] alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane juice; it is the most popular spirit in [[Brazil]]. * [[Falernum]] – a sweet, slightly alcoholic drink made from sugarcane juice. * ''[[Gâteau de Sirop]]'' – a cake made using sugarcane syrup. * [[Jaggery]] – a solidified [[molasses]], known as ''gur'', ''gud'', or ''gul'' in [[modern Indo-Aryan]]. It is traditionally produced by evaporating sugarcane juice into a thick mass that is cooled and molded. Modern production methods may partially freeze-dry the juice to reduce caramelization and lighten the color. Jaggery is used as a sweetener in traditional dishes, sweets, and desserts. * [[Molasses]] – a syrupy by-product used as a sweetener and as an accompaniment to foods such as cheese or cookies. * ''[[Panela]]'' – solid blocks of sucrose and [[fructose]] produced by boiling and evaporating sugarcane juice; it is a staple food in [[Colombia]] and other parts of Central and South America. * ''[[Rapadura]]'' – a minimally refined sugarcane product, common in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela (where it is known as ''papelón'') and the Caribbean. * Raw sugarcane – chewed directly to extract the juice. * [[Rock candy]] – crystallized sugarcane juice. * ''Sayur nganten'' – an [[Indonesian cuisine|Indonesian]] soup made from the stem of trubuk (''Saccharum edule''), a type of sugarcane. * [[Sugarcane juice]] – fresh juice extracted by hand or small mills and commonly served with lemon and ice. It is known by many regional names, including ''air tebu'', ''usacha rass'', ''guarab'', ''guarapa'', ''guarapo'', ''papelón'', ''aseer asab'', ''ganna sharbat'', ''mosto'', ''caldo de cana'', and ''nước mía''. * [[Syrup]] – a traditional sweetener used in soft drinks worldwide, though in the United States it has been largely replaced by [[high fructose corn syrup]] due to lower costs associated with corn subsidies and sugar tariffs.<ref>{{cite news |author=Pollan, Michael |title=The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 October 2003 |url=http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-way-we-live-now-the-agricultural-contradictions-of-obesity/ |access-date=4 September 2015 |archive-date=16 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916193657/http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-way-we-live-now-the-agricultural-contradictions-of-obesity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Viche (drink)|Viche]] – a homebrewed Colombian alcoholic beverage.
In the 21st century, sugar is estimated to contribute approximately 20% of the total caloric intake in modern diets.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Horton |first1=Mark |last2=Langton |first2=Philip |last3=Bentley |first3=R. Alexander |title=A history of sugar – the food nobody needs, but everyone craves |website=The Conversation |date=30 October 2015 |url=https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-sugar-the-food-nobody-needs-but-everyone-craves-49823 |access-date=4 December 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416182122/https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-sugar-the-food-nobody-needs-but-everyone-craves-49823 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Sugarcane as feed == Many parts of the sugarcane are commonly used as animal feeds where the plants are cultivated. The leaves make a good forage for ruminants.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heuzé |first1=V. |last2=Thiollet |first2=H. |last3=Tran |first3=G. |last4=Lebas |first4=F. |title=Sugarcane forage, whole plant |url=https://www.feedipedia.org/node/14462 |date=5 July 2018 |website=Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO |access-date=11 April 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212151644/https://www.feedipedia.org/node/14462 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery> File:Sugarcane flowering.JPG|Sugarcane flowering File:Sugarcane Flowers in Java.jpg|Flowers of sugarcane File:Cane syrup evaporator 1330.jpg|alt=Outdoor photo of series of rectangular metal trays divided by short internal metal sheets|Evaporator with baffled pan and foam dipper for making ribbon cane syrup File:A video of Sugarcane juice extraction.ogv|A video of sugarcane juice extraction </gallery>
== See also == * [[Sugar plantations in the Caribbean]] * [[Sugar plantations in Hawaii]] * [[Sugar industry of the Philippines]] * [[Trapiche]] {{Clear}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
== Sources == {{Free-content attribution | title = World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 | author = FAO | publisher = FAO | documentURL = https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en | license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/whttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Food_and_Agriculture_-_Statistical_Yearbook_2023.pdf | license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 }}
== External links == {{Commons}} * Global sugar & sugar cane production stats [https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/969526b0-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/969526b0-en from oecd].
{{Sugar}} {{Agriculture country lists|state=collapsed}} {{Bioenergy}} {{Authority control}}
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