Post harvest losses in Promising Sugarcane Genotypes By   Ghulam Abbas Assistant Agri. Chemist Sugarcane Research Institute, Faisalabad

Significance Identification of cane genotypes to post harvest deterioration is needed to device scientific supply and crushing schedule with minimal loss of recover able sugar.

Objectives To indentify the promising sugarcane genotypes with better juice quality maintenance during post harvest period in order to select the varieties most resistant to the post harvest inversion by the breeders for crossing program to develop the desirable genotypes.

Causes Sugarcane has poor post harvest as well as post maturity keeping quality due to which sugar deterioration of harvested canes starts immediately. The sucrose decreases while the invert sugars increase which in turn hinder the normal sugar recovery. During post harvest period sugarcane is subjected to many physical and chemical changes. The most important physical change is the loss in cane weight due the evaporation of water from the cut portion of the cane and chemical change due to loss in sugar through inversion.

Methology Sugarcane genotypes = HSF-240, S-2003-US-633, S-2003-US-694, S-2003-US- 247, S-2003-US-165 and S-2003-US-704 Location = SRI, Faisalabad. Year of study = 2009-10 Design = RCBD split plot Replications = 3

Magnitude of losses in 8 days In Pakistan and other Asian countries, payment to the farmers is made on weight basis so the delay in supply of harvested cane to the sugar industries could lead to major economic loss to cane growers. At the prevailing cane payment price in Districts of the Punjab province, monetary losses to cane growers (calculation based on 8th day) are estimated to be around Rs. 522 (US$ 6.00) per tonne of cane supplied to the sugar mills.

Direct losses Inversion leads to 1.07-1.25 unit loss in recovery; for a 5000 TCD mill we may lose 1070-1250 cane sugar bags which amounts to Rs. 3905500 -45622500 lac per day.

Indirect losses Dextran sucrase enzyme (of Leuconostoc mesenteroides bacteria) produces dextran and fructose. Fructose is oxidized to organic acids and pH of the juice is lowered. As a result, more lime is required and scaling increases. Dextran production increases juice viscosity, filtration becomes difficult, more energy is needed for processing and due to c-axis elongation needle shaped sugar crystals are produced which lead to poor quality of sugar.

% Loss in cane weight during 8 days Results Effect of staling on % loss in cane weight a. 9th month old crop (November- 2009) Variety/Days % Loss in cane weight during 8 days Average% weight loss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 0.0 1.32 2.98 4.11 5.50 6.80 7.96 8.92 9.68 5.90 S-2003-US-633 2.13 3.24 4.54 5.56 6.79 7.76 9.67 6.07 S-2003-US-694 1.93 3.28 4.57 5.88 6.90 7.91 9.09 10.81 6.29 S-2003-US-247 1.85 3.20 4.29 5.59 6.78 7.84 9.47 10.27 6.16 S-2003-US-165 1.70 3.10 4.40 5.53 6.83 7.89 9.36 10.08 6.11 S-2003-US-704 1.90 3.05 4.34 5.51 6.75 7.88 9.29 10.30 6.12 Average 6.11 B

% Loss in cane weight during 8 days Effect of staling on % loss in cane weight b. 11th month old crop (January- 2010) Variety/Days % Loss in cane weight during 8 days Average% weight loss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 0.0 1.22 2.12 3.39 4.53 5.80 6.97 8.07 8.96 5.13 S-2003-US-633 1.50 2.90 3.95 4.92 6.01 6.98 7.92 9.03 5.40 S-2003-US-694 1.29 2.21 3.22 4.49 5.46 6.39 7.62 8.68 S-2003-US-247 1.25 2.72 3.73 4.45 5.69 6.95 8.22 9.24 5.28 S-2003-US-165 2.56 3.64 4.55 5.51 6.61 7.91 8.85 5.11 S-2003-US-704 1.36 2.54 3.63 4.56 5.58 6.77 8.09 8.99 5.19 Average 5.17 C

% Loss in cane weight during 8 days Effect of staling on % loss in cane weight c. 13th month old crop (March- 2010) Variety/Days % Loss in cane weight during 8 days Average% weight loss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 0.0 1.73 3.23 4.38 5.87 7.03 8.49 9.83 11.27 6.48 S-2003-US-633 2.30 3.97 5.62 7.21 8.69 10.01 11.30 12.61 7.71 S-2003-US-694 2.34 4.11 5.79 7.48 8.89 10.30 11.75 13.17 7.98 S-2003-US-247 2.45 4.19 5.95 7.56 9.10 10.64 12.00 13.44 8.17 S-2003-US-165 1.88 3.53 4.76 6.00 7.41 8.76 10.00 11.20 6.69 S-2003-US-704 2.01 3.61 5.02 6.49 8.08 9.45 11.03 12.37 7.26 Average 7.38 A

% Loss in cane weight during 8 days Average of three months (Season) Variety/Days % Loss in cane weight during 8 days Average% weight loss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 0.0 1.42 2.78 3.96 5.30 6.54 7.80 8.94 9.97 5.84 C S-2003-US-633 1.98 3.37 4.70 5.89 7.16 8.25 9.38 10.43 6.39 AB S-2003-US-694 1.85 3.20 4.52 5.95 7.08 8.20 9.48 10.68 6.36 AB S-2003-US-247 4.65 5.86 7.19 8.48 9.90 10.98 6.54 A S-2003-US-165 1.62 3.06 4.26 5.36 6.58 7.75 9.09 10.04 5.97 C S-2003-US-704 1.76 3.07 4.33 5.52 6.80 8.03 9.47 10.55 6.19 B Average 6.22 LSD value @ alpha = 0.05 Month = 0.1199 , Variety = 0.1695 , Days = 0.195, Month x variety = 0.4794 , Month x days = 0.3390, Days x variety = 0.2936

% loss in CCS (%) on 8th day Effect of staling on % loss in CCS (%) a. 9th month old crop (November- 2010) Variety/Days % Loss CCS during 8 days % loss in CCS (%) on 8th day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 11.92 12.00 12.08 12.06 11.84 11.50 11.14 10.87 8.81 S-2003-US-633 13.08 13.06 13.01 12.85 12.72 12.33 11.69 10.63 S-2003-US-694 12.79 12.78 12.76 12.65 12.25 12.11 11.75 11.55 9.69 S-2003-US-247 12.71 12.73 12.67 12.18 11.94 11.83 11.45 11.36 10.97 S-2003-US-165 12.70 12.57 12.49 12.12 11.98 11.64 11.49 9.95 S-2003-US-704 12.64 12.61 12.59 12.39 12.14 11.88 11.68 11.54 11.33 10.36 Average 12.21 C 10.07

% Loss in CCS during 8 days % loss in CCS (%) on 8th day Effect of staling on % loss in CCS (%) b. 11th month old crop (January- 2010) Variety/Days % Loss in CCS during 8 days % loss in CCS (%) on 8th day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 12.99 13.02 13.03 12.95 12.85 12.78 12.48 12.25 11.89 8.46 S-2003-US-633 13.22 13.26 13.20 13.13 13.00 12.93 12.82 12.61 12.22 7.56 S-2003-US-694 13.08 13.06 12.96 12.90 12.83 12.70 12.38 12.21 7.00 S-2003-US-247 12.81 12.80 12.79 12.63 12.47 12.28 12.11 11.95 6.71 S-2003-US-165 13.07 12.94 12.65 12.45 6.12 S-2003-US-704 12.77 12.75 12.52 12.19 12.06 11.79 7.89 Average 12.70 B 7.29

% Loss in CCS during 8 days % loss in CCS (%) on 8th day Effect of staling on % loss in CCS (%) c. 13th month old crop (March- 2010) Variety/Days % Loss in CCS during 8 days % loss in CCS (%) on 8th day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 13.62 13.59 13.40 13.34 13.06 12.78 12.40 12.34 12.19 10.49 S-2003-US-633 13.90 13.92 13.72 13.52 13.20 12.80 12.44 12.30 11.51 S-2003-US-694 13.51 13.44 13.24 13.01 12.79 12.48 12.25 12.13 11.98 11.32 S-2003-US-247 13.05 13.02 12.95 12.82 12.49 12.23 12.08 11.96 11.85 9.19 S-2003-US-165 13.35 13.18 13.04 12.76 12.66 12.32 11.88 11.01 S-2003-US-704 13.22 13.26 13.12 13.03 12.86 12.69 12.47 12.12 8.32 Average 12.84 A 10.31

% Loss in CCS during 8 days d. Average of three months (Season) Variety/Days % Loss in CCS during 8 days Average% weight loss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HSF-240 12.84 12.87 12.78 12.64 12.47 12.13 11.91 11.65 9.25 S-2003-US-633 13.40 13.41 13.31 13.24 13.02 12.90 12.65 12.35 12.07 9.90 S-2003-US-694 13.14 13.10 12.52 12.09 9.34 S-2003-US-247 12.86 12.85 12.80 12.72 12.43 12.21 12.06 11.84 11.72 8.96 S-2003-US-165 13.06 13.04 12.98 12.70 12.32 11.88 9.03 S-2003-US-704 12.89 12.88 12.71 12.56 12.40 12.19 12.02 11.75 8.86 Average 9.22 LSD value @ alpha = 0.05 Month = 0.02492, Variety = 0.03525 , Days = 0.04317, Month x variety = 0.06105 , Month x days = 0.07477, Days x variety = 0.1057

Magnitude of Weight and Sugar Losses on 8th Day Sr.No. Variety Loss of Farmer By Weight(Per Ton) Loss of Sugar(per 5000 TCD) Av. % Wt. Loss Wt. loss in Kg per ton Monetary Loss Rs.(US$) Loss in Sugar Recovery (%) Loss of Sugar in Tons Loss By Sugar Bags Valuation(Rs.) of Loss per Day 1. HSF-240 9.97 99.7 498.5(US$ 5.73) 1.11 55.5 1110 4051500 2. S-2003-US-633 10.43 104.3 521.5(US $ 6.00) 1.25 62.5 1250 4562500 3. S-2003-US-694 10.68 106.8 534.0(US$ 6.14) 1.16 58.0 1160 4234000 4. S-2003-US-247 10.98 109.8 549.0(US$ 6.31) 1.07 53.5 1070 3905500 5. S-2003-US-165 10.04 100.4 502.0(US$ 5.77) 1.10 55.0 1100 4015000 6. S-2003-US-704 10.55 105.5 527.5(US$ 6.07) Market Price of Sugar Bag on 11-09-2011 = Rs.3650/- per Bag Currency Rate of US dollar on 23-08-2011 = Rs. 86.90/-per Dollar

Loss per acre Variety Average yield (Mounds per acre) Loss per acre(Rs) HSF-240 600 11964 S-2003-US-633 700 14602 S-2003-US-694 750 16020 S-2003-US-247 850 18666 S-2003-US-165 900 18072 S-2003-US-704 1000 21100

Conclusions & Suggestions How to overcome post harvest losses. In view of high post harvest weight and sugar losses with consequently lower recovery in many sugar units in Punjab. It is suggested that the time between cut-to- crush should be reduced to 72 hours for manually harvested whole-stalk

Reducing the heat load Reduce heat load by keeping cane in shaded place, spraying water (10 L/tone cane), or by covering with trash and sprinkling water on it. Killing the bacteria producing dextran, by using bactericides (Bactrinol-200 ppm, Actin ID 0.15 % solution, Leukokil -1% solution) dipping cut ends in it for 5 minutes Preventing inversion by using inhibitors for invertase enzyme activity. Spray of 25 mM KMnO4 + 25 mM Sodium metasilicate on the canes.

Thanks