LECTURE - 13
Package and Practice of Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative(SSI)
The Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) aims at providing practical options to
the farmers in improving the productivity of land, water and labour, all at the same
time. SSI is also expected to reduce the overall pressure on water resources and
contribute to recovery of ecosystems. Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative is an innovative
method of sugarcane production using less seeds, less water and optimum utilization
of fertilizers and land to achieve more yields.
The major principles that govern SSI
Raising nursery in portrays using single budded chips
Transplanting young seedlings (25-35 days old)
Maintaining wider spacing (5x2 feet) in the main field
Providing sufficient moisture through efficient water management technologies viz.,drip fertiga
Encouraging organic method of nutrient and plant protection measures
Practicing intercropping with effective utilization of land
Overall benefits
Improved water use efficiency
Optimum use of fertilizers favour balanced availability of nutrients
Better aeration and more penetration of sunlight favours higher sugar content
Reduced cost of cultivation and increased returns through intercropping
Comparison between SSI and Conventional method
Particulars Conventional SSI
Seed/Setts/acre 60,000 single buds(30,000 5000 single budded chips
two budded sett) 4000 kg 500 kg of cane per acre)
of cane per acre
Nursery preparation No Yes
Measures to maintain No grading Grading is done during
uniformity among plants nursery
Spacing (Row to Row) 2.0 -3.0 ft. 5.0 ft. minimum
Planting Direct planting of setts Transplanting of young
seedling (25-35 days old)
Water requirement More water(Flood Less(Drip fertigation)
irrigation)
Mortality rate High Low
No.of tillers/plant 6-8 15 - 20
Accessibility to air and Low High
sunlight
Scope for intercrop NIL Possible
Selection of single bud Chips
Select healthy canes of 7 to 9 months old which have good inter node length (7 to 8 inches) an
Observe and avoid canes with disease infestation like fungus growth, spots etc.
Remove buds from the selected canes using an implement called Bud chipper
Bud Treatment
The buds can be treated with 1 Kg urea, 50g Carbendazim and 200 ml malathion dissolved in 10
15 minutes and shade dried for 15 minutes to induce quick germination of buds.
The buds can also be treated by biological method by dissolving 2 kg of Tricoderma Viridi in 100 litre
minutes and shade dried for 15 minutes. After chemical / biological treatment, the buds can be treat
and placed air tight in a gunny bag for 3-4 days.
The gunny bags can be opened on the 4th day and healthy sprouted buds can be selected for raising
in protecting the crop from pest and disease incidence in later growth stages.
Nursery
An optimum environment with good water facility, pro-tray, decomposed coco-pith and polythene sh
for good nursery in shade net shed is a good proposition to provide shade and create other favourabl
free environment.
Fill half of each cone in the tray with coco-pith and place the buds flat or in a slightly slanting positio
push it hard and ensure that the bud side faces up. Cover the bud chips in trays completely with coc
Based on the moisture content of coco-pith, watering to the trays (seedlings) has to be done using ro
Method I
Method II
Transplanting and cultural operations
Transplanting Spacing Intercropping
Transplant young seedlings of 25-35 days old in the main field
Watering can be stopped one day before transplanting. This will loosen the coco-pith in the co
seedlings for transplanting.
Maintain optimum plant spacing of 5x2 ft. for easy sunlight penetration, profuse tillering and
To moisten the soil, irrigate the field one or two days before transplanting. Similarly, irrigation
after planting.
After the establishment of 2 or 3 tillers, the mother shoot may be removed just one inch above
number of tillers and uniform maturity.
Wider spacing under SSI provides scope for intercropping with vegetables, pulses, water melon
crops. Intercropping facilitates weed control, soil enrichment and additional income.
Weeding has to be done at 30, 60 and 90 days after transplanting. Earthing up has to be done
planting for enhancing aeration and root growth.
For effective photosynthesis, only the top 8-10 leaves are sufficient. Therefore it is important t
green leaves during 5th and 7th month, and applied as much in the interspaces.
Removal of lower dry and gre
Removal of lower dry and green leaves during 5th month
Drip Irrigation and fertigation
The productivity of cane under SSI can be enhanced by practicing drip irrigation with fertigation. Ba
irrigation can be scheduled daily or once in three days. Fertigation can be done at ten days interval.
higher in drip irrigation and can save irrigation water to the tune of 55 per cent (1200 mm).
Nutrient management in sugarcane cultivation is very essential for better crop growth. It is always be
quantity of nutrients through soil testing and enrich the soil accordingly. If it is not feasible, NPK can
kg, 63 kg and 115 kg per hectare, respectively through inorganic or organic sources.
Surface Drip
Fertigation schedule for Sugarcane (kg/ha)
Crop stage(days after Nitroge Phosphoru
Potassium
planting) n s
0-30 39.40 0.00 0.00
31-60 50.60 26.25 9.00
61 -90 56.50 20.50 14.50
91-120 60.20 16.25 16.00
121-180 57.80 0.00 40.50
181 -120 10.50 0.00 35.00
Total 275 63 115
Comparison of cost of cultivation for sugarcane under surface irrigation,
subsurface drip fertigation and SSI under SSDF system
Conventional Sub surface drip
Particulars SSI under SSDF
method fertigation (SSDF)
1.Drip system cost - 12,000 12,000
2. Preparatory
8,800 10,950 10,950
cultivation
3. Setts and planting 23,640 16,160 15,500
4.Crop maintenance 8,400 8,400 8,400
5. Fertilizers cost 5,250 5,250 5,250
6. Irrigation/ Drip
4,200 3,000 3,000
fertigation
7.Weeding 3,000 3,000 3,000
8. Plant protection 2,470 5,060 5,060
9. Herbigation - 1,257 1,257
10. Chlorine
- 600 600
treatment
11.Acid treatment - 800 800
12.Micro nutrients 900 900 9 00
13.Harvesting 42,000(manual 48,750(mechanical
48,750(mechanical)
) )
14.Yield/ha 98 t 175 t 195 t
15. economics
Gross income @
1,91, 100/- 3,41, 250/- 3,80,250/-
rs.1950/t
Cost of cultivation 98,660 1,16, 127 1,15,467
Net income 92,440 2,25, 123 2,64,783
B:C ratio 1.93 2.93 3.29
