In Brazil, paraquat is helping farmers to harvest more sugarcane, more efficiently. The fast and thorough desiccation achieved by paraquat means faster harvesting, more profitable cropping and less environmental impact.
Production of sugarcane in Brazil has doubled in the past decade and is forecast to double again in the next1,2. As a biofuel feedstock sugarcane is attractive because of its high net energy gain. However, its impact on the environment and opportunities for food production are under scrutiny. Minimizing land use by increasing yield, and protecting biodiversity and the environment are important.
Leading environmental group WWF states that a major improvement in the sustainability of sugarcane crop management would be to eliminate burning the crop prior to harvest.
Benefits of paraquat harvest aid
No need to burn cane
Soil organic matter increased
Biodiversity preserved
Less fuel used by harvesters
Less leaf trash in harvested cane
15+% lower transport costs
Setting fire to the crop removes the leaves, but does little damage the stems. This increases the proportion of useful harvested material, ie the cane stems, and reduces risks to laborers harvesting the crops who might be cut by sharp leaf edges or bitten by snakes.
In the Philippines, more successful results from a project using paraquat to control weeds and prevent soil erosion have been announced. Since 2005, researchers from several universities and other organisations have been collaborating to study approaches to reducing the serious threat posed by soil erosion to food production and the environment.
Professor Gil Magsino from the University of the Philippines presented the results and conclusions from the Sagip-Lupa project’s 4th Annual Report at the University of Benguet recently.
Prof. Magsino noted that an annual...
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 biofuel 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...
The first weed species to develop resistance to the non-selective herbicide glufosinate has been recorded by researchers in Malaysia.
Preliminary experiments have confirmed concerns that an aggressive grass weed is developing populations which are no longer controlled by glufosinate, sold as brands such as Basta and Liberty. Glufosinate is a foliar herbicide, slower acting than paraquat, but faster than glyphosate. It is the herbicide used in LibertyLink GM cropping systems.
Weed scientists from the University of Malaya have been investigating reports of weed control problems...
What is Paraquat?
Paraquat is a herbicide (chemical weed killer) used to control a very broad range of weeds (unwanted plants) in more than 100 crops...
