MORPHOLOGY

The cane plant is a coarse growing member of the grass family with juice or sap high in sugar content. This tropical plant is ready in 11-18 months. The mature stems may vary from 4 to 12 feet or more ill height, and in commercial varieties are from 0.75 to 2 inches in diameter. The stem has joints or nodes as in other grasses. These range from 4 to 10 inches apart along the aboveground section of the stem. At each node a broad leaf rises which consists of a sheaf or base and the leaf blade. The leaf blade is very long and narrow, varying in width from 1 to 3 inches and up to 5 feet or more in length. Also, at each node along the stem is a bud, protected under the leaf sheath. 

PLANTING 

Planting sections of the stem propagates sugar cane plants. In planting cane fields, mature cane stalks are cut into sections and laid horizontally in furrows. Usually only one node on a stem piece develops a new plant because of polarity along the stem piece. When laying them horizontally and covering with soil a new stem plant stem sections grows from the bud, and roots grow from the base of the new stem. The stem branches below ground so several may rise as a clump from the growth of the bud at a node.

Planting is in rows about 6 feet apart to make possible cultivation and use of herbicides for early weed control. As plants become tall lower leaves along the stems ultimately drop off, so only leaves toward the top remain green and active. Between the nodes the stems have a hard, thin, outer tissue or rind and a softer center. The high sugar   containing juice is in this center. More than one crop is harvested from a planting. After the first crop is removed two or more so-called stubble crops are obtained. This results from growth of new stalks from the bases of stalks cut near the ground level in harvesting.

HARVESTING

Harvesting of cane is highly mechanized. Machines top the canes at a uniform height, cut them off at ground level, and deposit them in rows. Leaves and trash are burned from the cane in the rows by use of flamethrower type machines. An alternate method is to burn the leaves from the standing cane, after which it is cut and taken directly to the mill. Delay between cutting and milling in either case is short as possible since delay results in loss of sugar content. 

To know about sugarcane juice composition, click here

SUGARCANE-- RELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS

In India, an offering, which is made to Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi day, is sugarcane. It is offered to Ganapati not because he has the head of an elephant that loves sugarcane very much, but the offering of sugarcane has also an esoteric meaning. Sugarcane possesses an attractive color. Everyone knows that beneath its hard outer layer, there is nectarean juice. However the juice cannot be had as it is. It calls for much effort. Similarly, to obtain the knowledge of the 'Self', hidden inside us, we have to labor hard and break away the hard coverings concealing it, just as we have to remove the hard coating of the sugarcane to get the juice. By merely removing the hard, outer covering you will not get juice. The inner white stem will have to be squeezed hard to yield the juice. In a like manner, the ego in us is to be squeezed out fully to obtaining the Self, which pervades our entire personality just as juice pervades the entire sugarcane in a subtle way. The drinking of the sugarcane juice is the attainment of the Self, and that inexplicable and limitless experience is what ancient scriptures call 'Atmananda'.

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