Sugarcane refers to any of 6 to 37 species (depending on which taxonomic system is used) of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters (six to nineteen feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids.
Sugar cane products include table sugar, Falernum, molasses, rum, cachaça (the national spirit of Brazil), bagasse and ethanol.
Introduction
:
For a longer history, see History of sugar.
(green) and by Europeans (violet)|alt=Map showing sugar cane India as the first sugar cane country, followed by small areas in Africa, and smaller areas in Europe]]
Sugarcane is indigenous to tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.. About 50 percent of production occurs in Brazil and India.
Cultivation
|alt=Photo of standing and fallen cane]]
Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or temperate climate, with a minimum of of annual moisture. It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom. It is a C4 plant, able to convert up to 1 percent of incident solar energy into biomass
|-
|bgcolor=#ccffcc align=center| Country
|bgcolor=#ccffcc align=center|Production (Tonnes)
|bgcolor=#ccffcc align=center| Footnotes
|-
| || align=right |648,921,280 ||
|-
| || align=right |348,187,900 ||
|-
| || align=right |124,917,502 ||
|-
| || align=right |73,501,610 ||
|-
| || align=right |63,920,000 ||
|-
| || align=right |51,106,900 ||
|-
| || align=right |38,500,000 || F
|-
| || align=right |33,973,000 ||
|-
| || align=right |29,950,600 ||
|-
| || align=right |27,603,000 ||
|-
| bgcolor=#cccccc| World
| bgcolor=#cccccc align=right | 1,743,092,995
| bgcolor=#cccccc| A
|-
|colspan=3 style="font-size:.7em"|P = official figure, F = FAO estimate, * = Unofficial/Semi-official/mirror data, C = Calculated figureA = Aggregate (may include official, semi-official or estimates);
Source: Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division
|}
In India, the states of Uttar Pradesh (38.57 %), Maharashtra (17.76 %) and Karnataka (12.20 %) lead the nation in sugarcane production.
In the United States, sugar cane is grown commercially in Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas.
Cane ethanol
Ethanol is generally available as a by-product of sugar production. It can be used as a
biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. It is an alternative to gasoline, and may become the primary product of sugarcane processing, rather than sugar.
A textbook on renewable energy describes the energy transformation:
At present, 75 tons of raw sugar cane are produced annually per hectare in Brazil. The cane delivered to the processing plant is called burned and cropped (b&c;), and represents 77% of the mass of the raw cane. The reason for this reduction is that the stalks are separated from the leaves (which are burned and whose ashes are left in the field as fertilizer), and from the roots that remain in the ground to sprout for the next crop. Average cane production is, therefore, 58 tons of b&c; per hectare per year.
Each ton of b&c; yields 740 kg of juice (135 kg of sucrose and 605 kg of water) and 260 kg of moist bagasse (130 kg of dry bagasse). Since the higher heating value of sucrose is 16.5 MJ/kg, and that of the bagasse is 19.2 MJ/kg, the total heating value of a ton of b&c; is 4.7 GJ of which 2.2 GJ come from the sucrose and 2.5 from the bagasse.
Per hectare per year, the biomass produced corresponds to 0.27 TJ. This is equivalent to 0.86 W per square meter. Assuming an average insolation of 225 W per square meter, the photosynthetic efficiency of sugar cane is 0.38%.
The 135 kg of sucrose found in 1 ton of b&c; are transformed into 70 litres of ethanol with a combustion energy of 1.7 GJ. The practical sucrose-ethanol conversion efficiency is, therefore, 76% (compare with the theoretical 97%).
One hectare of sugar cane yields 4,000 litres of ethanol per year (without any additional energy input, because the bagasse produced exceeds the amount needed to distill the final product). This however does not include the energy used in tilling, transportation, and so on. Thus, the solar energy-to-ethanol conversion efficiency is 0.13%.
Sugarcane as food
vendors in
Dhaka,
Bangladesh|alt=]]
In most countries where sugarcane is cultivated, there are several foods and popular dishes derived directly from it, such as:
Raw sugarcane: chewed to extract the juice
Sugarcane juice: a combination of fresh juice, extracted by hand or small mills, with a touch of lemon and ice to make a popular drink, known variously as ganne ka rass, guarab, guarapa, guarapo, papelón, aseer asab, Ganna sharbat, mosto , caldo de canaશેરડી નો રસ.
Cachaça: the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil; a liquor made of the distillation of sugarcane
Jaggery: a solidified molasses, known as Gur or Gud in India, traditionally produced by evaporating juice to make a thick sludge and then cooling and molding it in buckets. Modern production partially freeze dries the juice to reduce caramelization and lighten its color. It is used as sweetener in cooking traditional entrees, sweets and desserts.
Panela: solid pieces of sucrose and fructose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice; a food staple in Colombia and other countries in South and Central America
Molasses: used as a sweetener and a syrup accompanying other foods, such as cheese or cookies
Rapadura: a sweet flour which is one of the simplest refinings of sugarcane juice
Rum: a liquor made of the distillation of sugarcane commonly produced in the Caribbean. Rum is more purified than the Brasilian Cachaça.
Falernum: a sweet, and lightly alcoholic drink made from sugar cane juice.
Syrup: a traditional sweetener in soft drinks, now largely supplanted (in the US at least) by high-fructose corn syrup, which is less expensive because of subsidies.
Rock candy: crystallized cane juice
Sayur Nganten : name of Indonesian soup made of trubuk stem (Saccharum edule).
See also
Sugar beet
Sugar plantations in the Caribbean
Sugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane cultivation in Sri Lanka
References
Bailey, L. H. and Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. MacMillan Publishing Company, New York
External links
Online encyclopedia about sugar production
Sugar and the Environment, World Wildlife Federation
http://www.caneinfo.nic.in, CaneInfo: India-specific
Industry organizations
Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA)
National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, Philippines
The Better Sugar Cane Initiative
Ethical Sugar NGO
Category:Poaceae genera
Category:Energy crops
Category:Sugar
Category:Ethanol fuel
Category:Sweeteners
