Sugarcane

https://agri.bot/crop-calendar/sugarcane

12 – 18 month crop with two main planting seasons (autumn and spring) and ratooning.

Twelve-month operations

Fertilizer schedule

Heavy NPK in 3 – 4 splits over 6 months; refer ICAR-IISR (Lucknow) and SBI Coimbatore PoP.

Pest & disease management

Top borer, early shoot borer, pyrilla, woolly aphid and red rot are major pests / diseases.

Sources

• ICAR-IISR — Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research
• ICAR-SBI — Sugarcane Breeding Institute

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between subtropical and tropical sugarcane in India?

Subtropical sugarcane is the crop grown in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and parts of Madhya Pradesh — colder winters, red-rot pressure, waterlogging and a shorter sucrose-building window, with 10 – 12 month duration. It accounts for ~55 – 60% of India's cane area and is anchored by ICAR-IISR Lucknow and the AICRP-Sugarcane subtropical centres. Tropical sugarcane is the long 12 – 18 month crop grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — longer duration, higher yields per hectare and higher sugar recovery, anchored by ICAR-SBI Coimbatore and Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) Pune on the industrial side.

What is trench planting and why does IISR recommend it?

Trench planting places sugarcane setts in 20 – 30 cm deep trenches spaced 90 – 120 cm apart (or in the paired-row configuration at 30 / 150 cm), replacing conventional flat planting. ICAR-IISR Lucknow data shows 20 – 30% higher cane yield than flat planting through better germination, tillering and lodging resistance, much higher water-use efficiency (ideal for drip or narrow-furrow irrigation), feasibility of intercropping sugarcane + wheat / mustard / lentil / chickpea / potato / onion in the broad inter-row space during the first 90 – 120 days, and better integration with trash mulching after harvest. See /iisr-sugarcane for the full IISR trench-planting package.

Why did Co 0238 (Karan 4) succumb to red rot after 2020?

Co 0238 — bred at ICAR-SBI Coimbatore and notified as 'Karan 4' — drove UP sugar recovery past 11% during the 2010s and became a near-monoculture across the subtropical belt. From 2020 onwards, new pathotypes of Colletotrichum falcatum (red rot), combined with the inoculum build-up in multi-ratoon crops of a single genotype, broke through on Co 0238 in many UP districts. ICAR-IISR Lucknow's response is a basket of red-rot resistant successors — CoLk 14201, CoLk 15466, CoSe 11453, Co 15023 (Karan 15), Co 15027 — plus mandatory seed-health protocols (hot water treatment, moist hot air treatment, tissue-culture seed) and a varietal-diversification advisory to mills. See /iisr-sugarcane for details.

How is the Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane determined?

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommends the Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane each sugar year (October – September), notified by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The FRP is linked to a basic sugar recovery benchmark (currently 10.25% recovery) with a premium / discount for every 0.1% deviation above or below. Sugar mills are bound to pay the FRP within 14 days of cane supply under the Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966. In Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, the state governments additionally notify a higher State Advised Price (SAP). See /cacp and /msp for the broader MSP architecture.

What is the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme and how does it affect sugarcane?

The Union Government's Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme moved from E5 (5% blending) to E10 (10%) — achieved in June 2022, five months ahead of the November 2022 target — to the current E20 (20%) target advanced to 2025-26. Sugarcane is the dominant feedstock: ethanol is produced from C-heavy molasses (traditional), B-heavy molasses (diverted earlier in crystallisation, more ethanol / less sugar), direct sugarcane juice (maximum ethanol, zero sugar) and damaged food grains. The Union Government notifies remunerative ethanol prices for each feedstock route each year, giving sugar mills a parallel revenue stream and farmers a more secure cane offtake. See /iisr-sugarcane for ICAR-IISR Lucknow's role in the feedstock-side agronomy and energy-cane breeding.

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