Sugarcane: new crop profile
Sugarcane production in Brazil has almost doubled in the past decade. This has resulted from a 40% increase in the area cropped and from average yields which have increased by over 12% driven by the demand for sugar from food manufacturers and as the biofuelDescription
Fuel derived from biomass.
Authoritative On-line References and Resources
http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ The European Biofuels Technology Platform is upportd by the European Commission and aims to help develop cost-competitive, world class biofuel technology, contribute to the creation of a European biofuels industry and to identify the research needed to achieve this. feedstock with the best net energy gain and lowest carbon footprint.
Predictions of ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil in 2020 made by UNICA (União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar) show a more than trebling in output from a crop area increasing from around 8 million ha in 2008 to nearly 14 million ha in 2020.
Using paraquat for weed control can alleviate several significant environmental problems in sugarcane. Reduced cultivations and no-tillDescription Also known as conservation tillage or zero tillage is a way of growing crops from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage ie cultivating the soil usually with tractor-drawn implements. Authoritative On-line References and Resources http://www.no-till.com/index.htm A portal for on-line information about no-till farming. techniques based around paraquat help to prevent soil erosionDescription Displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) usually by the agents of currents such as, wind, water, or ice by downward or down-slope movement. Authoritative On-line References and Resources http://soilerosion.net/ This site brings together reliable information on soil erosion from a wide range of disciplines and sources. It aims to be the definitive internet source for those wishing to find out more about soil loss and soil conservation., and reduce energy input and fossil fuel use; as paraquat is inactivated and tightly adsorbed to soil there is no leaching to contaminate water; and by providing an alternative, paraquat mitigates the threat of more glyphosate resistant weeds.
New crop profiles for sugarcane have been added to the Paraquat Information Center.