Sugarcane In Russia

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Recently I was sorting through the files of old magazines and accidentally stumbled upon a very interesting article. It spoke about the experience of growing sugar cane in the vastness of the Southern Urals

Noble or sugar cane has long entered the culture. The stems of this plant are used to obtain a sweet product. Most people believe that it can only grow in warm tropical climates. Nobody even thinks about cultivating it in Russia. But in vain! As the experience of some gardeners shows, sugarcane grows happily in the vastness of our homeland in an annual culture.

Cultivation conditions

The cultivated reed perfectly adapts to the conditions of the harsh climate of Russia. Doesn't have any special requirements for soils. However, more sugar is formed if it is grown on loams fertilized with organic matter. It responds especially well to red earth.

The main requirement is good illumination of the site. The rows are placed in a north-south direction. Moreover, each plant receives enough light and heat throughout the day.

Preparation and sowing

The soil is prepared in the fall. Dig a trench 40 cm deep over the entire length of the bed. Rotted manure mixed with compost is added to it. 60 g of complex fertilizer nitroammofoski are scattered per 1 square meter. The mass is thoroughly mixed. A width of 50 cm is left between the ridges for passages.

In early spring, to accelerate the heating, arcs are installed, covered with films. A week later, when the ground warms up to 15 degrees, sowing begins. 3 rows with a row spacing of 30 cm are placed under one shelter. Plants are staggered in a row, 35 cm apart.

Spill holes, lay out 2 seeds at a depth of 1, 5 cm. Cover with soil, well compacting the soil. Mulch with a small layer of sawdust to close the evaporation of moisture. After 1, 5-2 weeks, seedlings appear.

For seed purposes, seedlings are grown at home. Sown at the same time as tomatoes. Before planting in open ground, they are accustomed to daylight, placing seedlings in the shade of trees.

Care

After a month, the films are gradually removed, the arcs are removed. Throughout the season, they are weeded several times. The soil is kept loose. Plants are rarely watered, but in large doses. At the beginning of summer, increase the layer of mulching material to reduce water consumption.

In the first half of summer, the reed intensively increases in growth (up to 5 cm in 1 day). In July it begins to bush. Until the rows are closed, the plants are spud several times.

So that the bushes do not waste extra energy on the growth, it is regularly removed. Form the culture into one stem. The resulting second panicles are broken out.

During the season, they are fed 2-3 times with a complex fertilizer Zdraven or herbal infusion with the addition of superphosphate (a matchbox on a bucket of water). Reddening of the leaves indicates to us a lack of phosphorus. With this feature, additional fertilizing with phosphorus fertilizer is carried out.

Cleaning

By the end of summer, the height of the reed reaches about 2.5-3 meters. It takes about 120-130 days from germination to harvesting. Harvesting begins when most of the seeds turn brown. The grain passes into the stage of waxy ripeness. White juice ceases to stand out from it. At this point, the plant accumulates the maximum amount of sugar. The delay in harvesting reduces daily to 3% of the sweet part.

The stems are cut with an ax at ground level. For convenience, cut into small pieces. Remove leaves, panicles.

We will consider further processing of raw materials to a finished product at home and obtaining seed material in the next article.