Sugar Canes in Brazil

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane http:
//www.sugarcanecrops.com/climate/
http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html

Welcome, and be prepared to learn about SUGAR CANES! I hope you don't get too hungry!
Sugar canes are used to make sugar. They are fibrous stalks that can grow 16 feet. Sugar canes are grown in 110 countries, giving a monstrous amount of 1,591 million metric tons of sugar canes every year! They mostly grow in the areas of South Asia, and Southeast Asia as they require hot temperatures to be produced. Sugar from the sugar canes, provide a sweetener for many things such as ice cream, syrup and candy etc.

Sugar canes a considered to be long duration tropical plants. This means that they will need hot, sunny areas to grow.

The perfect temperature for this topical plant to grow in would be:
- A long growing season
- High frequency of solar radiation and sufficient moisture (rainfall)
- Dry, sunny and cool, without frost for ripening and harvesting of the sugar canes.
- Safe from the danger of typhoons and hurricanes

The total rainfall should be between 1100 and 1500 mm, with equal distribution. A plentiful amount of rainfall within the months of vegetative growth and a dry period is required for ripening. While this period of growth, the rainfall brings rapid cane growth. The reason why the ‘dry period’ gets its name is because rainfall is not wanted because it will result in poor juice quality, more vegetative growth, creation of water shoots and tissue moisture will increase.

The growth of the sugar cane depends on the temperature.
Temperature for germination of stem cuttings: 32° to 38°c
Temperatures decrease the speed of photosynthesis and increase respiration: above 38°
Temperatures for ripening: Range of 12° to 14°

The temperate of ripening has a guaranteed effect on the decrease of vegetative growth rate and increase of sugar in the cane. At higher temperatures can lead to less buildup of sugars in the sugar cane. Severe cold weather restrains the bud from sprouting and disallows cane growth. This is why sugar canes cannot grow in areas like those in North America.

The quality of the Sugar Canes produced can be influenced by weather conditions existing during the different growth periods of the crop. As you can see Sugar Canes are not very easy to grow; they need specific temperatures are specific times in their stages of growth. If you wanted to know…sugar upturn is at its highest when the weather is dry with low humidity with a lot of sun and cool nights with very little rainfall during the ripening stage. In this climate we see high sugar accumulation.

The Climate Map of Brazil


Temperature and Climate Map of Brazil

Sugar canes are delicious. But part of that heavenly taste comes from the help of the perfect soil conditions for them to grow. For sugar canes, the soil should be a nutrient-rich soil with the texture of clay and majority of time the soil has to moist for the sugar cane to keep growing. Also, sugar canes need fertilizer to be distributed equally to all canes. Sugar canes grow best on well drained soils during the ripening period. The sugar canes produce much better in the seasons of June and October. The soil needs 1,500 millimeters of rain each year for the sugar cane to receive all the water it needs to give off it's sugary goodness. Sugar canes also need protection from weeds. If the protection is not available the weeds will destroy the sugar cane roots,causing sugar canes to stop growing and die.

Lets look at the soil in Brazil. In Brazil, the tropical soils have the ability to produce 70 million tons of crops every year! We remember that the early Portuguese explorer's had claimed that the land in what we can Brazil, was positively fertile and that what ever planted would grow plentifully. But ever since the the use of inorganic pesticides has become popular, there has been burned plants and unhealthy crops grown. Also there has been quick growth of weeds and pests in farming areas due to high temperatures and humidity. But that does not mean that Brazil does not still harvest tonnes of sugar canes a year. There are still large areas of very fertile soils, called 'terra roxa'. Terra roxa means 'red earth' , which means rich soil are found here. These terra roxa's can be found in Paraná and São Paulo. The areas that have become least fertile would be the Amazons, the dense rainforests. As we can witness, soils in the Northeast are often fertile enough to grow some variety of crops, but enough water is not provided, unless they are there are man made method of hydrating the harvest.

A Soil Map of Brazil

Definition of Topography from Dictionary.com:
to•pog•ra•phy  –noun, plural -phies.
1. the detailed mapping or charting of the features of a relatively small area, district, or locality.
2. the detailed description, esp. by means of surveying, of particular localities, as cities, towns, or estates.
3. the relief features or surface configuration of an area.
4. the features, relations, or configuration of a structural entity.
5. a schema of a structural entity, as of the mind, a field of study, or society, reflecting a division into distinct areas having a specific relation or a specific position relative to one another.

As we already know, the sugar cane is a moderately tropical and sub-tropical crop. The sugar cane can grow in high rainfall areas and in desert conditions, which really depends on irrigation. It normally provides 50% more sucrose per hectare than a beet crop in controlled climates.

In the future of the sugar cane farming, the topography states the capacity to irrigate and drain the faming land properly. We will also need to take special erosion protection measures in the play when harvesting such crops.

When farming sugar canes a flat leveled land is prefered. This is because when rain rall happens, the watter will collect near one section of the crops and destroy the sugar canes in that area. With a flat leveled land to farm on, the rainfall will be distributed to all sugar cane plants.

A Topographic Map of Brazil

The environment effects the growth of sugar canes quite drastically. Some effects are that sugar canes are being burnt in factories to produce energy but all the smoke that is being ejected out of factories is polluting the air we breathe. Another effect occurring on the environment is sugar cane paper. Instead of trees dying, people are making 100% sugar cane paper. Sugar cane paper costs a lot less then paper from regular trees.


Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol fuel. Ethanol fuel coming from sugar canes is the "most successful alternative fuel to date". Sugar cane ethanol is commonly used to fuel auto mobiles in Brazil. This is a very good thing because this fuel creates less pollution then normal gas. Also, sugar canes are used to make clothing. The clothing is called Sugar Cane CO. This company engineers whole wardrobes with the use of sugar canes instated of other valuable materials.

Many dishes and delicacies are inspired by sugar canes.

For example:
-People chew the sugar canes and extract juice from it.
-Sugar cane juice can be made by the juice from the sugar cane mixed with lemon juice and ice.
-Cachaça is liquor made in Brazil. It is a distilled alcoholic beverage.
-Jaggery is a solidified molasses, ( also known as Gur or Gud in South Asia). It is used as sweeteners in sweet dishes.
-Molasses can be created from sugar canes by thickening the sugar cane extracts.
And much more!

The sugar from sugar canes are actually a healthier alternative to refined sugar. Even though both sugars do the same job of sweetening, the evaporated cane juice does not go through nearly as much processing that refined sugar does. This mainly meaning it retains more of the nutrients found in sugar cane. Also, cane juice is available throughout the year.