Artificial ripening of Sugarcane

       Foliar application of chemical ripeners has been found to be useful in improving sugarcane quality. Among the various chemicals studies, Polaris and Ethrel are extensively used. Spray Balsario chemical @4.5 kg per hectare in 1000 litres of water. The spray of this chemical matures sugarcane 6-8 weeks earlier. Chemical ripener like Polaris and Sodium Metasilicate improve the juice sucrose when sprayed 6-8 weeks earlier.

      In Hawaii, more than 20,000 acres were sprayed with Polaris and significant improvement in juice quality and recovery was noted. Polaris sprayed at 5 kg per hectare in 600-800 litres of water about 6-8 weeks before scheduled harvest of the crop was found most useful. The response to chemical ripener was higher (10-15 %) when applied during the incline phase of maturity, while it was low during declining phase of maturity.