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9 - Sugar cane

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2012

M. K. V. Carr
Affiliation:
Cranfield University, UK
Jerry Knox
Affiliation:
Cranfield University, UK
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Summary

Introduction

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L., the so-called Noble Cane because of its fine thick stem) is believed to have originated in the islands of the South Pacific, probably New Guinea (2–10° S) having evolved through human selection from strains of two wild species S. robustum and S. spontaneum and hybridisation with S. sinense (Purseglove, 1972; Bull and Glasziou, 1976; Julien et al., 1989; Jones et al., 1990; Simmonds, 1998). Because of its natural sweetness, it has been grown for chewing since ancient times in the Pacific and South-east Asia. The production of sugar from sugar cane began in India, followed by China, Persia (Iran), Egypt and Spain and elsewhere around the Mediterranean. In the seventeenth century the first plantations were established in the West Indies, and the resultant need for labour, particularly for harvesting, led to sugar cane's links with the slave trade.

Most of the commerce between Europe and the sugar regions of the west that followed was subsequently based on the outward shipment of slaves and the homeward carriage of sugar, molasses and rum (Purseglove, 1972; Hobhouse, 1985). Molasses, the dark brown viscous liquid residue left behind after the centrifugal process has ended and no more sucrose can be extracted, is one of the most important by-products (contains 50% fermentable sugars) from the manufacture of cane sugar. It is used as a raw material in industry. Rum is produced by the fermentation of molasses, followed by distillation. Other products include industrial ethyl alcohol (ethanol), which is manufactured from molasses, and bagasse, the fibrous residue left after the extraction of juice from the cane (used for fuel in the sugar factory, as well as in various manufacturing processes). The pith from the bagasse is used as a stockfeed. Not much of the plant is wasted.

Type
Chapter
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Advances in Irrigation Agronomy
Plantation Crops
, pp. 195 - 221
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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  • Sugar cane
  • M. K. V. Carr, Cranfield University, UK
  • With contributions by Rob Lockwood and Jerry Knox
  • Book: Advances in Irrigation Agronomy
  • Online publication: 05 May 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511998263.011
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

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  • Sugar cane
  • M. K. V. Carr, Cranfield University, UK
  • With contributions by Rob Lockwood and Jerry Knox
  • Book: Advances in Irrigation Agronomy
  • Online publication: 05 May 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511998263.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Sugar cane
  • M. K. V. Carr, Cranfield University, UK
  • With contributions by Rob Lockwood and Jerry Knox
  • Book: Advances in Irrigation Agronomy
  • Online publication: 05 May 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511998263.011
Available formats
×