Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendations for Sugarcane Production for Sugar on Florida Sand Soils

Rosa Muchovej, assistant professor with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, takes notes on growth of sugarcane near Clewiston. While most sugarcane is now grown on the area's organic muck soils, Muchovej and other UF researchers are developing new management practices to grow cane on less desirable sandy soil, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of sugarcane farming on the Florida Everglades.
Sands used in sugarcane production in Florida have low levels of organic matter, silt, and clay, and they provide little N through mineralization of organic matter and possess a low capacity for N retention as a result. Because these soils are highly leachable, N must be managed well to ensure adequate nutrition for the crop as well as protection of groundwater. This new 4-page fact sheet is part of the Sugarcane Handbook, and it discusses sand soils used in sugarcane production, sugar yield response to nitrogen, and revised nitrogen recommendations. Written by J. Mabry McCray, Kelly T. Morgan, and Les Baucum, and published by the UF Agronomy Department, February 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sc101

Effects of Harvest Method on Microclimate in Florida Sugarcane

2006 Annual Research Report---Immokalee, Florida, sugarcane, crops, fields, grass. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.The production systems for sugarcane include either green cane or burnt cane harvesting operations. Sugarcane in Florida is typically harvested with burnt cane mechanical harvesting, but there is a growing interest to better understand the effects of green cane harvest residue “trash blankets” on microclimate conditions for sugarcane growing on both organic and mineral soils of Florida, so the authors conducted a three-year study to determine the effects of each harvest method on microclimate within the surface soil profile and at a 10 cm height from the soil surface. Results are presented in this 4-page fact sheet written by Hardev Sandhu, Maninder Singh, Robert Gilbert, Kelly Morgan, Ronald Rice, Leslie Baucum, James Shine Jr., and Mike Irey, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, April 2015. (UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sc100

SC087 Projected Costs and Returns for Sugarcane Production on Mineral Soils of South Florida, 2007-2008

SC087, a 16-page report by Fritz M. Roka, Jose Alvarez, and Leslie E. Baucum, develops a model enterprise budget that reflects annual costs and returns for a 5,000-acre farm that grows sugarcane on mineral soils. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Agronomy, September 2009.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SC087

SSAGR253/SC052 Backyard Sugarcane

Revised! SS-AGR-253, a 5-page fact sheet by L. Baucum, R.W. Rice, and L. Muralles, informs homeowners of the types and varieties of sugarcane, site selection, planting material, planting, early care, formation of the stool, pest management, harvesting, and overwintering. Published by the UF Department of Agronomy, October 2009.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SC052

SL295/SS508 Review of Current Sugarcane Fertilizer Recommendations: A Report from the UF/IFAS Sugarcane Fertilizer Standards Task Force

SL-295, a 6-page report by K.T. Morgan, J.M. McCray, R.W. Rice, R.A. Gilbert and L.E. Baucum, reports the findings of a task force of Florida agronomists and soil scientists, agents and local grower representatives. It includes a review of the current fertilizer recommendations for sugarcane, a review of recent sugarcane fertilizer research, and an assessment of the gaps and recommended research priorities. Published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, July 2009.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SS508