The Effect of Soil Conditions on the Sucrose Content of Sugarcane

Abstract

Data are presented herein to show the influence of soils and soil conditions on the sucrose yield of sugarcane. Information derived from five broad geographic areas of Puerto Rico, namely: North, south, northeast, east-central, and northwest-interior, was analyzed critically. There were significant differences in the sucrose-yielding potential of several commercial sugarcane varieties among some soils within each area. These differences are attributable to variations in the properties of the various soil types or complexes, or to some factor closely connected with the soil like drainage, chemical reaction, and so on. Some varieties produced higher sucrose yields than others even when growing under similar edaphic conditions. Different varieties of sugarcane produced their maximum yields in different soils, thus indicating a certain degree of variability and adaptation to the soil, as far as this factor was concerned. Within a given area the sucrose-yielding potential of a given soil may be modified considerably by the dominant climatic conditions.