Mid February To Mid March Best Suitable Time For Baharia Sugarcane Cultivation

FAISALABAD, (Muzaffargarh.City – 9th Feb, 2021 ) :Farmers have been advised to complete cultivation of Baharia (spring) sugarcane from mid February to mid March as it is the best suitable time for getting a bumper crop. Deputy Director Research Information Unit of Agriculture Department said on Tuesday that sugarcane was an important cash crop of Pakistan which was playing a pivotal role for meeting domestic sugar requirements. He said that Pakistan ranks fifth in the world in terms of sugarcane area and production of sugar. The average yield of sugarcane per acre in Punjab is about 688 maunds per acre while its production at world level is about 709 maunds per acre averagely. He said that farmers should cultivate sugarcane crops timely to get good yield. For this purpose, heavy Mera land is most suitable if it has better drainage. He said that sugarcane roots go deep into the ground, so the soil must be prepared deeply to a depth of at least one foot. After prepare the soil deeply, the farmers should add compost of well-rotted manure and prepare the soil with the help of rotavator and chisel plow twice opposite to each other and normal plow 3 to 4 times. He said that farmers should use approved varieties of sugarcane which play a pivotal role in producing better yield. Among these varieties include CP 77-400, CPF 237, SPF-213, HSF-240, CPF-252 (late sowing type) and CPF-253 for riverine and adjoining areas while SF-242, CPF-246, CPF-247, CPF-248, CPF-249, CPF-250 and CPF-251 for other areas.

He said that SPF-234 was suitable only for South Punjab (excluding riverine areas) including Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts. He said that the farmers should use 30,000 two-eyed seedlings or 20,000 three-eyed seedlings of sugarcane per acre. This number can be obtained from seeds of about 100 to 120 maunds sugarcane of thick varieties and 80 to 100 maunds of sugarcane in fine (thin) varieties.He said that farmers should use 69 kg nitrogen, 46 kg phosphorus and 46 kg potash per acre for or 4 bags of urea, 2 bags of DAP and 2 bags of potassium sulphate should be used in weak soil, 3 bags of urea, 2 bags of DAP and 2 bags of potassium sulphate in medium soil whereas 2 bags of urea, 1 bag of DAP and 2 bags of potassium sulphate in fertile soil.He said that all phosphorus and potash fertilizers should be applied in the furrows at the time of planting while nitrogen fertilizers should be divided into three equal parts, one part at time of crop cultivation, the second part at the time of flowering and the third part at the time of putting soiling on furrows. The full amount of nitrogen fertilizer should be completed by the end of April, he added.