UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



I BULLETIN No. 486 fSJl 



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Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



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Washington, D. C. 



March 19, 1917 



SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION 

 IN THE UNITED STATES. 



By P. A. Yoder, Sugar-Cane Technologist, Office of Sugar-Beet Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Geographic limits of the sugar-cane industry 



in the United States 2 



The nature of the sugar-cane plant and 



methods of propagation 3 



Varieties of sugar cane 5 



Soil requirements 10 



Manurial requirements 11 



Time and manner of application of fertilizers. 14 



Crop rotation 15 



Preparation of the land 15 



Planting 16 



Cultivating the cane 21 



Harvesting 24 



Yield of cane, sugar, and sirup 27 



Storing cane for planting 29 



Insect pests and diseases of cane 31 



Some business considerations in connection 



with the sugar-ca ne and sirup industry 33 



Utilization of by-products ' 43 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the preparation of this bulletin the aim has been to present a 

 description of the practices at present in vogue among the better 

 class of farmers engaged in the production of sugar cane in the 

 localities where sirup is the main product of the cane. It is in- 

 tended primarily for those readers who are not already familiar with 

 the farm operations emploj^ed in sugar-cane culture and sirup mak- 

 ing. The present bulletin will be confined mainly to the consideration 

 of field conditions and practices and to the farm-economics phase of 

 the industry. The subjects of insect pests and diseases of the sugar 

 cane will be discussed only briefly, as other publications of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture deal with these more particularly. 

 The scope of this bulletin is not intended to cover the making and 

 the marketing of the sirup, though some reference to these factors 

 needs to be made in dealing with the farm-economics phase of the 

 subject, such as the cost of the production of the cane and the sirup 

 and the profits accruing therefrom. 



Incidentally the sugar-cane industry will be considered in its re- 

 lation to other farm operations, and some of the general problems 

 arising will be noted and suggestions made as to their solution. 



63779°— Bull. 486 — 17 1 



