Foliar fertilizer reduces damage caused by water stress to sugarcane

The prolonged drought that has occurred in recent months has worried sugarcane mills and suppliers in the Center-South of the country. Cultivation areas in states such as São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul have recorded only 5% to 25% of normal rainfall in recent months. And, with the dry climate, fires in crop plantations have occurred and this could compromise the development of the crop, threatening to reduce next year's harvest.

To try to reduce losses and maintain a high level of production, better technologies must be acquired at the current moment of decision-making by sector executives.

A viable option to recover part of the productive potential is the application of foliar fertilizers, improved in recent years with a lot of technology: innovative formulations, specific nutritional balance for sugar cane, in addition to scientific research.

O Energy Cane, from Fertiláqua, is a foliar fertilizer, with a biostimulant and nutritional complex that acts on the plant's physiology, promoting green mass gain, increasing the quality of the raw material and, consequently, productivity.

According to Alan Borges, development manager at Fertiláqua, its biggest difference is that the solution is not only based on nutrition – macro and micronutrients –, like most similar products on the market, but also organic acids and amino acids, which activate and rebalance the soil microbiota and help with rooting, sprouting of buds and accelerating metabolism.

“With the use of Energy Cana, the damage caused by periods of water stress, such as what happened in the vast majority of sugarcane producing areas, will be minimized, as it will reduce the delay in the vegetative development of sugarcane, through increasing the physiological activity of plants and providing a greater number of photosynthetically active leaves'', he explains. 

Trials carried out by Fertiláqua, in an average of 20 areas, showed a 13% increase in productivity, with 100,5 ton/ha (standard treatment) to 114 ton/ha (Energy Cane treatment).

A study carried out by a researcher from Unesp, from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FCA), in Botucatu/SP, proved in the field that Energy Cane increases stalk length and diameter, average internode length (CME) and the index of Tons of Cane per Hectare (TCH): from 94 to 106,4. A second study, carried out in Uberlândia/MG, showed an increase in TCH from 154,8 to 163,7.

Energy Cana is recommended to be applied mainly during the period of greatest vegetative development of the crop, that is, between the months of November and February.

In addition to increasing productivity, Energy Cana improves the development of the plants' root system, complementing the action of soil conditioners from the Fertiláqua Sugarcane Line. The biggest gain is in the longevity of the sugarcane field, as plants with strong and deep roots are more tolerant to damage caused by harvesting, pests, diseases and water stress.