Reza Moradi; SeyedAtaollah Siadat; Abdolreza Siahpoosh; Abdulmahdi Bakhshandeh; Mohammad Reza Moradi Telavat
Abstract
Abstract Background and Objectives International forces and public pressure to prevent environmental pollution have changed burnt sugarcane harvesting to green sugarcane harvesting ...
Read More
Abstract Background and Objectives International forces and public pressure to prevent environmental pollution have changed burnt sugarcane harvesting to green sugarcane harvesting in most important sugarcane-producing regions of the world. In the major countries that produce sugarcane, sufficient research has been done on green sugarcane harvesting. Due to climate difference between Iran and other countries, it is essential to investigate all the aspects of green cane harvesting such as the quality indices of extracts in Khuzestan, Iran. Materials and Methods To compare extract quality in burnt and green sugarcane harvesting, a test was performed in 2015-2016 at Emam Khomeini Agro industry company (latitude 31,44o N, longitude 48,44o E and 24 m asl). A spilet plot design was used. Three sugarcane varieties with different ripeness durations were considered as the main plot and five harvesting methods and ratooning including burnt harvesting, green cane harvesting without rationing, green cane harvesting with rationing, green cane harvesting with one reshape replication and green cane harvesting with two reshape replications with four replications were considered as the sub plot. Trash percent, extraction percent (Ex), total solid material solute in extract (Brix), sugar percent in extract (Pol), extract purity degree (Pty), recovery sugar percent in factory (R.S) and the yield were studied. Results Results showed the varieties had a significant difference regarding all the parameters except Ex. Maximum Ex (%41.863), and the yield (93 t/ha) belonging to Cp69-1062 varieties. Cp73-21 had the maximum Brix (%20.35) and Pol (%18.16). Methods of harvesting and ratooning caused a significant difference as to the trash percent, R.S, the yield and Brix. The mean of trash in green harvesting was 7 %but it was 4% in burnt harvesting. Maximum Brix belonged to the burnt but had no significant difference with that of the green harvesting. Pol percent in the burnt was not significantly different from the two green harvesting methods. The average yields of burnt and green harvestings were 83 t/ha and 74 t/ha respectively. Finally, green harvesting increased Pty. Discussion The results of this study show that in green cane harvesting, as compared with burnt cane harvesting, the trash is increased and the yield is decrease. Because the trash prevents the recovery sugar, we expected that quality indices in green cane harvesting to be worse than burnt cane harvesting. However, due to having fresh cane in green cane harvesting, the parameters of quality, especially the purity, were higher than those in burnt cane harvesting. In the executive phase, the difference between the green and burnt harvesting is more than this experiment because a cane field that has been burnt for harvesting is usually detained for more than 12 hours for transporting the cane to the factory, resulting in much lower quality. The benefits of green cane harvesting will better be understood now if the trash is decreased in green cane harvesting by setting and changing the harvesters.
