Sugar technologists have demanded that per acre yield of sugarcane should be improved by providing necessary inputs at the right time by adopting latest agronomic and cultural techniques, and deep ploughing of the land should be given top priority.
Addressing a seminar on 'Sugarcane Cultivation & Sustainable Sugar Production in Punjab' at Serena Faisalabad under the auspices of Pakistan Society of Sugar Technologists (PSST), most of the speakers emphasised that sugar mills, research institutes and Agriculture Departments should convey the latest information and technology to the farmers.
The awareness should be provided through media and introducing 'demonstration plots' of sugarcane at growers' farms.
Sugar mills should also develop their own seed farms/breeding centres of improved varieties to further introduce these to farmers. Moreover, autumn planting of sugarcane should be popularised in mills areas. This practice would help in increasing per acre yield, they added.
Abdul Waheed Qureshi, President of PSST, highly appreciated the efforts of Sugarcane Directorate in evolving the early maturing, high yielding, high sucrose and disease-resistant varieties. The prevailing varietal composition of sugarcane needs special attention, he said.
Replacement of unwanted, unapproved, old worn out varieties such as CO-1148, COJ-84, S-95/SPF-238 & L-118 with the new approved high sucrose promising varieties must be given top priority in all cane development programs, he added.
He said that every sugar mill should be given reserved area by introducing zoning system by the Government so that cane development work in each mills can be carried out effectively by advancing loans for the inputs to the farmers to improve cane yield per acre.
Unfortunately, yield per acre in Pakistan is far too low as compared with the world. Main efforts should be made to bring the yield per acre to world standard so that the cane crop is really profitable for the growers. With the present yield, the cane crop is becoming uneconomical and therefore unpopular with the growers. All efforts should be made to introduce good quality cane with good yield and having good sucrose. This would also be helpful to the industry as well as to the growers, he added.
Qureshi said that the current cane pricing system is counter-productive. The price is fixed on whims and is not reviewed properly. Keeping in view the other elements, which affect the production cost, he demanded that the price of sugarcane should be based on sucrose content of the cane, which would help in the development of good varieties as well as better yield.
Till such time as such system is evolved the present price of cane, which was fixed way back in 2001-02 should be urgently revised as the price of all essential commodities like diesel, fertilisers and about every input have gone up tremendously. The present price is absolutely uneconomical for the growers and need to be revised immediately so that the growers are encouraged to grow more cane during the coming autumn plantation season.
PSST President said that availability of cane harvesting labour is getting difficult day by day. He recommended that mechanical harvesting should be introduced.
He strongly recommended that the government should allow import of harvesters with special concession so that cane harvesters can be imported at the lowest possible price.
He pointed out that there is provision in the Sugar Cess Development Fund Rules that this fund deposited with the mills under law can also be used for plant protection and sugarcane research & development activities besides roads development only. He strongly recommended to the government that it should be implemented in true sense and the concerned authorities may be directed to earmark at least 25 percent of this fund for cane research and development every year.
He said that mills should avoid competing for the purchase of cane. In this activity, only the transporters exploit both the growers and the mills. Mills in the region should cooperate with each other and frame a policy for the purchase of cane so that there is no unnecessary competition.
In the seminar, E M technology was also discussed and recommended to be adopted and practised by sugar mills because it is very useful to maintain the soil health and to improve the soil fertility. Filter mud, a by-product of sugar industry is an excellent soil conditioner. Unfortunately most of the mud produced in the industry is utilised as fuel in brick kilns and for domestic cooking etc, which is mere wastage of this precious organic matter and rich material. Sugar mills, research institutes and agricultural departments should make all efforts to promote its use in the fields and the government should prohibit its use as fuel, speakers demanded.
Biological Integrated Pest Management Program to control the sugar pests was recommended which is the cheapest and effective method of insect control. It was recommended in the seminar that sugar mills should establish their biological control labs and the trichogramma cards be prepared and released free of cost in the farmers' fields. In case of very severe infestation hot spots may be treated with granular pesticides to save the crop, they added.
Delegates from sugar industry of Punjab & NWFP, research scientists from different sugar research institutes and prominent government officials participated and presented their papers. Dr Muhammad Afzal, Director General Agriculture (Research) Ayub Agricultural Research Institute Faisalabad was the chief guest. The speakers covered three subjects: 1.Sugarcane Cultivation & Sustainable Sugar Production in Punjab, 2 Development of Sugarcane in Punjab--A Dire Need of Time and 3. Role of Biological Control Based integrated pest management of sugarcane productivity.
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