Irrigation for pre-sprouted seedlings

The technology known as MPB (Pre-Sprouted Seedlings), is characterized as a sugar cane multiplication system, which has as its principle the planting of seedlings, thus guaranteeing seedlings of known origin, healthy, free from pests and diseases.

However, as it is a pre-developed plant, it does not contain any reserve structure and is therefore extremely sensitive to water deficits. Therefore, for the establishment of the crop it is necessary to use some irrigation method, as shown in the graph below:

        

The drip irrigation system meets this demand, providing water and nutrients in a timely manner to pre-sprouted seedlings. In relation to water depth, the factor is variable as it depends on soil texture, climate and planting time. Each location has its own “recipe”, and to date there is no conclusive study on this topic. However, to establish the culture, the blade can reach up to 40 mm, being carried out in up to 4 applications.

With the introduction of MPB, two planting systems known as cantosis and meiosi resurfaced. In cantose, the nurseries are cultivated in a corner of the plot, approximately 20% of the area that will be renovated. The seedling is cultivated in the same place and will later be split to form the sugarcane plot. 

In meiosi (Interrotational Method Occurring Simultaneously) + MPB, one or two lines of pre-sprouted seedlings are planted in a sugarcane field renovation area and a space is left between the lines, which will be planted with some crop of economic interest, This could be soybeans, peanuts or green manures. After harvesting this crop, the sugarcane lines will be cut and unfolded in this adjacent area. Interplanting crops with sugarcane reduces costs and improves renovation efficiency, in addition to being an alternative to mechanized planting.

The MPB lines in the meiosi system must be irrigated for the establishment of the plants and rapid growth, as the multiplication rate will depend on this irrigation. In general, in 1 line of sugarcane there is enough multiplication for 8 or 10 lines of sugarcane, but there are reports of much higher rates, such as 1:40. 

Netafim, a pioneer in drip irrigation technology, develops personalized projects to meet customer demand. And for MPB irrigation, regardless of whether it is planted in the cantosis or meiosi system, it offers mobile irrigation kits. They consist of a mobile pumping unit (diesel motor pump), manual disc filters, flexible piping, flex net and medium wall dripper pipes.