Essay Example on Sugarcane: An Early Crop of Austronesia, Polysplenia, and Madagascar

Sugarcane was an earlier crop of the people of Papua and Austronesia. It was introduced to Polysplenia and Madagascar through sailors from Austronesian. Sugarcane is a tropical perennial grass that as it grows, it forms lateral shoots at the base to facilitate production of several stems. The stems developed eventually grows into stalks of cane and when the mature stem consists of 75% of the whole crop. A sugarcane plant is usually sensitive to soil type, climate, fertilizer being used to grow it, diseases being controlled and the time the cane is being harvested.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Sugarcane is grown in tropical and subtropical zones with plenty of water supply .despite the production of seeds by the cane, cutting the stem has been the conventional method of reproducing the rod. Sugar cane harvesting is done by use of hands, the field I set on fire, the fire chases and kills harmful organisms and animals in the plantation, burns and dry the leaves without causing harm to the stalk and root of the cane. When mechanical harvesting is applied, there is the use of combine or sugarcane harvester.

There are many advantages of sugar cane which begins with it is a biofuel, strengthening the teeth and remedy for cold.when the sugar cane is chewed while in the raw from it strengthens gums and teeth almost the same way as the teething ring for a baby usually does (Walter, Arnaldo, and Adriano , Encinas ,876) . The juice from the cane when consumed it eases a sore throat, and due to its low index of glycemic, it fights cold. Similarly, the fluid can be taken by people with diabetes since it has no sugar because it has been refined. When sugar cane is smashed, it leads to the production of alcohol which when improved it produces biofuel. Sugarcane is used in the production of fodder for livestock where the stalks, and flowers of the sugarcane serve as animal feed.

The growing of sugarcane also has disadvantages to both the farmer, plantation and even the environment at large. Recent research showed that in the sugar cane plantation the podzolic soils have low fertility this is due to the burning of the farm before harvesting the cane where the microorganisms in the ground are killed which help in fixing nutrients in the soil. And also leads to pollution of the air. Secondly, sugarcane growing requires a lot of workforce from the step of clearing the farm, planting all through harvesting.

Sugar cane contributes to the economic growth of a country especially when the juice and the refined sugar is extracted from the rod and is sold it generates income for a state, which in turn is used for development of other related sectors. The sugarcane improves the living standard of people whereby people are employed in the farms, processing industry, and the outlets thus earning income from it.sugarcane also gives comfort and luxury, when a person consumes the sugarcane juice he or she feels comfortable also the fluid is used for treatment of sores which makes a person feel comfortable when the cold is healed.

Conclusion

In conclusion sugar cane growing has several advantages ranging from production of juice, refined sugar, healing of cold through consumption of the fluid and when consumed raw hardens the teeth .it also has disadvantages which include when the refined sugar and syrup is taken regularly in large amounts it leads to teeth decay and also require a lot of labor and financial input for its production.

Works cited

De Oliveira, Marcelo Dias. "Sugarcane and ethanol production and carbon dioxide balances." Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems. Springer, Dordrecht, 2008. 215-230.

Walter, Arnaldo, and Adriano V. Ensinas. "Combined production of second-generation biofuels and electricity from sugarcane residues." Energy 35.2 (2010): 874-879.