Sustainable Sugar Initiative
Sugarcane is a water thirsty crop and enormous amount of water is needed in its production. The problem of optimal utilization of water becomes a major issue in those areas where irrigated crops and dryland farming are mixed. For example cultivation of irrigated crops such as rice/ sugarcane and dryland crops such as sorghum/millet on same watershed would result in a challenge to use the water optimally for both; because while former are water guzzling crops; too much water to the later is waste of this scarce resource.
There is a need to explore every possible approach to reduce the water input to all crops, particularly those which excessively depend on scarce resources. Any water reduction to thirsty crops such as sugarcane will have a positive impact on the dry land agriculture in the same region. This is the basic philosophy behind the Sustainable Sugar Initiative (SSI) launched jointly by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and by ICRISAT and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The major principles include the following:
Raising nursery using single budded chips
In the conventional method, 2-3 budded sugarcane setts are used for planting. However, in SSI, they use single budded chips from a healthy mother cane. This would give high percentage of germination depending on the agro climatic conditions.
Transplanting young seedlings
The single budded chips raised are transplanted within 25-30 days in the main field.
Maintaining wide spacing (5X2 feet) in the main field
In conventional methods, the distance between two rows is maintained at 1.5-2.5 ft and 44000 plants are sown per acre but unfortunately half of them are not millable in the end. On the other hand, SSI uses wide spacing to reduce seed usage and support easy air and sunlight penetration in the crop canopy for better and healthy cane growth.
Providing sufficient moisture and avoiding inundation of water
Water management is the key issue in SSI. It emphasizes that sufficient moisture is provided rather than inundating the field with water because flooded condition will actually hinder the growth of the plant. SSI methods use furrow / alternate furrow / drip irrigation so that only required quantity of water is given. Overall, SSI saves around 40% of water.
Low chemical fertilizers and more organic methods
Although SSI does not put an end to use of chemical fertilizers; yet it discourages high application of chemical fertilizers and use of pesticides and weedicides. It promotes more use of organic manures, bio-fertilizers and follow biocontrol measures. However, it does not ask for a sudden switch to organic cultivation.
Practicing intercropping for effective utilization of land
SSI promotes intercropping in sugarcane with crops like wheat, potato, cowpea, French bean, Chickpea, water melon, brinjal etc. In addition to effective utilization of land, this practice will reduce the weed growth up to 60% and give extra income to farmers.
Benefits of SSI methods
Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative is all about cultivating sugarcane mainly by changing the way the inputs and methods are used. It involves less use of seeds; less user of water and optimum utilization of fertilizers and land; so that more yields is obtained with minimum use of inputs. Its basic premise is to obtain “more with less” in agriculture. By changing the way of raising nursery, it brings down the cost up to 75%. It reduces plant mortality rate; helps in increasing the length and weight of cane. However, SSI is farmer driven method; and its advantages are dependent on the efforts of cultivator himself rather.
