Integrated sustainable sugarcane cultivation techniques for improved livelihoods of the cane farmers

Abstract

Sugarcane is one of the most important agro-industrial crop and is a best alternative to intensively cultivated rice-wheat cropping system in Punjab which is already suffering from many sustainability issues. In Punjab, it is cultivated over an area of nearly 96 thousand hectare with an average cane yield of 338 quintals per acre with average sugar recovery was 9.78%. Being a long duration crop of about 10-13 months, it required good quality soils well before going to any cane cultivation practice. Further, cane crop after sometime becomes prone diseases and insect-pests attack, which could significantly reduced both yield and quality of the canes. Therefore, an integrated approach is required for the sustainable sugarcane production in the region to enhance both productivity and quality of the produced canes, which further helps in improving the livelihoods of the cane farmers. The major approaches for the sustainable sugarcane cultivations are discussed in the paper.