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 Everglades Station Mimeo Report 63-9 November 1962

 Pre-Harvest Hints for Sugarcane Growers 1/
 by

 Victor E. Green, Jr. and Joseph R. Orsenigo _


 It should be the goal of every producer of sugarcane to derive as much
 profit as possible from his limited acreage. Two factors influence his return
 per acre: 1) tons of cane per acre and, 2) amount of sugar in each ton-.. There-
 fore, each grower should supply the mill, when it calls for-his cane, from fields
 having the highest yields of millable stalks that are the highest in sucrose at
 the time.

 On plantations in sub-tropical areas where the same group of persons grow
 and mill their own cane, it usually ensues that, while considering sucrose and
 yield, the following factors operate to determine the order of harvest of the
 variCus fields planted to cane:

 1. The cane most subject to frost is harvested early.
 2. The land coming out of stubble crops is harvested in time to permit
 normal planting.
 3. Plant cane (cane planted recently that has never been cut) is the
 highest yielding and lowest in sucrose. Stubble crops are usually
 harvested first; the plant crop later.
 4. Early maturing-varieties are harvested before later maturing varie-
 ties.

 After considering these factors, the fields are harvested in an order
permitting a steady supply of cane so that the most profit will be made in the
field and in the factory.

 Individual planters who do not own mills, but who supply factories owned
by others, are allotted milling privileges in turn. This may be on a "so many
trucks per day during the grinding season" basis or "so many days of using the
factory alone". More planning can be used by the producer on the "so many
trucks per day during the season" basis since he can harvest his fields in a
logical order over a period of time.

 However, if a producer is-assigned the facilities of an entire ry7
his entire acreage will be harvested in only a few days. For insta' ., using
a 5000 ton-per-day mill that requires the equivalent of 100 acr, f 50-tons
per acre cane per day, the harvest season of a producer of 500, r es of 50op
cane would last only 5 days. ;
This mimeo will be of most use to persons growing sugarcane f e first / /
 time. General guidelines herein can be refined to rules-of- .umb as in-
 dividual growers gain experience. --, .

 SAssociate Agronomist and Associate Horticulturist.

 This mimeo is intended to serve as an aid to growers of sugarcane. Nothing
 written herein should be used in litigation, or circumvention of rules,
 regulations or laws under the sugar act, or in disputes with processors
 over yields or quality in sugarcane.