Even as the issue of getting remunerative prices for sugarcane is yet to be resolved, scientists have developed an innovative mechanisation package that can help increase farmers’ income by significantly reducing cultivation costs.
The package has been developed by the Coimbatore Regional Centre of the Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE).
Planting of sugarcane is conventionally done through stalk cuttings, where nearly three-fourth foot (about 20 cm) of sugarcane cuttings having bud in the middle is used. This requires 10 tonnes of sugarcane per hectare for sowing purpose alone, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the total cost of production.
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However, using only buds for sowing reduces the requirement of seed cane by about 90 per cent. Similarly, the mechanical transplanter for sugarcane bud chip settlers (the seedlings that have been developed from the sugarcane bud chips) reduces planting costs by about 40 per cent.
Experts feel that popularising such innovative packages and making them available at a subsidised cost will go a long way in boosting the income of sugarcane farmers.