THE SUGAR-CANE PLANT 



Rotation. 



Irrigation. 



Seasons. 



Manure. 



Propagation. 



SACCHARUM 



OFFICINARUM 



United Provinces 



three broad divisions, known as ukh, gannd and paunda. The methods of cultiva- 

 tion for the first two are the same, but differ somewhat in the case of paunda canes. 



According to Saiyid Muhammad Hadi, from whom the particulars here given 

 have been mainly derived, the crop is grown under three different systems of 

 treatment. " In one, the land is kept fallow for a whole year following the 

 removal of a spring crop. In the second, a winter fallow is allowed after a rain 

 (kharif) or an autumn (aqahni) crop. In the third, the ground is prepared and 

 cane sown immediately after a spring crop has been cleared from the land." The 

 second system is that most commonly pursued, especially in canal-irrigated areas. 

 Under the first, ploughing commences as soon as the rains have sot in and is 

 continued till sowing time. Under the second, it begins soon after the rain or 

 the autumn crop has been removed, the land being watered if necessary to 

 admit of ploughing. The number of ploughings varies from fifteen to twenty 

 in the west and from twenty to forty in the east, but when cane is grown 

 immediately after the land has been cleared of a spring crop, it is not ploughed 

 more than five times. After every ploughing, the land is levelled. Manure is 

 usually applied before planting, and incorporated with the soil by ploughing in. 

 Cattle-dung or farm-yard manure is generally used, and at the rate of 200 to 300 

 maunds an acre. In the east, canes which are intended to be cut up into " sets " 

 are left standing in the field. A day or two before planting the canes are cut, 

 stripped of their dry leaves, and left in water overnight. They are then chopped 

 into pieces, each piece being about 15 inches long and containing three to five 

 buds. In the west, in the Rohilkhand and Meerut Divisions, the top cuttings are 

 planted, which consist of a portion of the top green leaves and a few of the upper 

 joints. These cuttings are buried in a corner of the field and covered lightly 

 with earth, a layer of dry leaves being placed above and underneath. Every 

 fourth or fifth day, water is sprinkled over them to keep them moist. On the 

 day of ploughing, they are dug out and removed to the field. If the moisture in 

 the field is not sufficient, the land is usually irrigated before planting. Planting 

 the sets is done in the following way. A first ploughing is made parallel to the 

 side of the field, but only just scratches the soil, and is followed by a second 

 which deepens the furrow. A man then places the sets along the furrow at a 

 distance of about one foot from each other. A third plough brings up the rear 

 and covers the sets with earth. 



The time for putting the sets in the earth varies from the midde of February 

 to the middle of April. The crop is watered three to seven times between planting; 

 and harvesting, and in a dry year more is necessary. Fovir or five days after 

 planting, the first hoeing is done, and after every watering two hoeings are given. 

 When the plants are very young, each hoeing is followed by levelling the ground, 

 and after the commencement of the rains, or when the plants are about 2 feet 

 high, the hoed field is again levelled. The number of hoeings varies from 7 to 14. 

 In the west and parts of the Doab, the cultivators grow a ratoon crop, known as 

 peri. To propagate the peri crop, the roots are left undisturbed from the time 

 of first cutting, and the stripped leaves of the first year's crop are burnt in the 

 field before the commencement of the rains. After the rains have set in and the 

 young shoots begin to sprout, the field is ploughed up, the furrows being 6 to 9 

 inches apart. By the middle of November the crop is believed to have attained 

 maturity and to be fit for crushing. Ordinarily, however, the cultivator does not 

 commence cane-crushing till December. 



The cultivation of the variety known as paunda, grown almost entirely for 

 chewing purposes, differs somewhat from the above. Before planting, the field is 

 dug up one foot deep and the sets are planted earlier than the time stated above, 

 since the sooner this variety of cane comes into market, the higher price it fetches. 

 The method of planting is somewhat different. The sets in this case are dropped 

 into furrows between ridges into which the field has been previously laid out, and 

 are covered over with earth, the furrows being 24 to 36 inches apart and the 

 distance between the cuttings about 2 inches. Poudrette instead of farm-yard 

 manure is in this case generally applied, at the rate of 600 to 800 maunds per 

 acre, or about three times as much as in the former case. The first hoeing is done 

 as soon as the land gets sufficiently dry after the second watering. The field is then 

 watered again, and subsequently the ridges are split and the field levelled and 

 divided into irrigation-beds. Hoeings and waterings continue till the advent of 

 the rains, and in July or August the plants are earthed up. The number of 

 waterings varies from twelve to seventeen during the period of growth, and the 

 number of hoeings from five to seven. 



944 



Seasons. 



Ratoon Crop. 



Harvest. 



Paunda 



Cultivation 



Manure. 



Watering. 



