suger cane

Sugarcane originated in Papua New Guinea. It belongs to the Graminaceae family and to the botanical genus Saccharum, which comprises three sugar-bearing species―S. officinarum, known as "noble cane", S. sinense, and S. barberi ―and three non-sugar-bearing species―S. robustum, S. spontaneum and S. edule. In the 1880s, agronomists began creating hybrids between noble cane and the other species. The modern varieties are all derived from those crosses. A sugarcane plant is a tuft of between 5 and 20 upright stems, or "tillers", 2 to 5 metres tall and 2 to 4 centimetres in diameter. Each stem is a succession of nodes and internodes; each node bears a bud and a band of root primordia. The sugar is stored in the pith, under the hard, waxy bark. Cuttings a few nodes long are taken from the stems and used to replant cane fields every five to ten years. The stems are also very rich in cellulose and lignin, which have many uses in the green chemicals industry and as fuels, energy, materials, etc. Canne a sucre © Cirad Canne à sucre © Cirad The plants bear many long, narrow leaves. Through photosynthesis, this large leaf area serves to produce plant matter, of which the main molecule is sugar. The leaves are also good fodder for livestock. The root system is both dense and deep. This is why sugarcane protects soils efficiently, notably against erosion due to heavy rains and cyclones. The inflorescence, or spike, is a panicle comprising a multitude of flowers that produce tiny seeds, known as "fuzz". Like maize and sorghum, sugarcane is a "C4" plant. Their specific functioning enables them to absorb much more carbon dioxide (CO2) and sunlight than other plants. In exchange, they also give off more oxygen and produce substantial amounts of biomass. In sugarcane, this hyperactivity results in luxuriant vegetation and high sugar content.