Sugarcane grower can anticipate adoption of new sugarcane variety by four years

The sugarcane farmer can now anticipate the adoption of a new variety of sugarcane by four years, which can provide a 20% increase in productivity compared to the old variety. This jump is only due to the renewal of the planted variety. However, this gain has been accelerated when the sugarcane plantation is installed through the use of the Pre-Sprouted Seedlings (MPB) system associated with the MEIOSI system. This beneficial condition is changing the lives of sugarcane producers not only by increasing productivity. There is also the gain provided by the MPB + MEIOSI technological combo, which makes the producer independent in relation to the choice of variety and the production of seedlings of these new varieties, more suited to their production niche. Developed by IAC, from the São Paulo State Department of Agriculture and Supply, MPB changed the way sugarcane is planted in Brazil and is present in several regions of the country.

These gains were revealed by the IAC researcher, Marcos Guimarães de Andrade Landell, during the live on Innovations in Sugarcane, promoted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), on July 16, 2020, with the presence of experts from various institutions in the sugar-energy sector.

In addition to increasing productivity, new varieties usually have higher multiplication rates, which dilutes the cost of the seedling. These new materials promote other gains resulting from the combination of MPB and MEIOSI. For example, the sugarcane farmer can limit himself to purchasing pre-sprouted seedlings to plant only around 8% of the area of ​​his sugarcane field. This 8% of area will produce, in six months, enough seedlings to install the entire sugarcane plantation. This is one of the post-launch events of MPB, carried out in 2011-12 by IAC.

According to Landell, when the sugarcane farmer did not have these technologies available, he was forced to buy seedlings from the mills, which have different realities and, therefore, often make choices that are different from those that best serve the sugarcane producer.

The MPB + MEIOSI association makes it possible to increase the multiplication rate of a new variety of sugar cane by approximately 700 times, in a period of approximately nine months. "That's a fabulous multiplication rate", says Landell, remembering that, in the past, when manual planting predominated, the rate was one in ten, that is, with one hectare of biological material, ten hectares of planting were created. "With the advent of mechanization, this performance became more critical, going from one to four, that is, to plant four hectares, one hectare of seedling nursery was required", he comments.

According to Landell, the MPB system, in itself, increases the sugarcane multiplication rate. With ten thousand MPBs, it is possible to plant one hectare of sugarcane. "There are currently varieties that have up to 20 thousand buds in one ton of stalks, enabling the production of more than 15 thousand MPBs. Theoretically, what is spent on mechanical planting is close to 13-14 tons per hectare. Today, with one ton, that is, 13 times less, it is possible to produce MPB to plant the same hectare", he explains. The association of MPB with MEIOSI knowledge increased the gains.

MEIOSI is the interim planting method, in which a row of sugarcane is planted and leaves space for up to 15 rows, which will be planted within the next six months. These new plantings will be made in the interspersed space, using seedlings generated by the first lines installed. The MEIOSI method was developed by researcher José Emílio Barcelos, during his doctorate at UNESP Jaboticabal, in the mid-80s.

After launching the MPB system, the Cana IAC Program team also began providing training on this topic. Around 800 people have already been trained. Some of these began to grow pre-sprouted seedlings on their property and thus broke a long-standing cycle, which was characterized by the producer's dependence on the seedling-producing plant. "However, the seedlings that the plant produces are within its convictions and conditions; the producer, having a smaller area, can manage it more carefully", says Landell.

From the moment the sugarcane farmer started making his own seedlings, he began looking for new varieties from the IAC, the Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC) and the Interuniversity Network for the Development of the Sugar-Energy Sector (Ridesa). These new materials began to be installed through the MPB + MEIOSI system and their sugarcane fields experienced a leap in productivity. "In the MPB courses carried out by the IAC, the concept of Third Axis is also taught, emphasizing aspects of nutrition and plant protection, identification of pests", says Landell, explaining that this context offered the producer information that ensured an opportunity to much higher productivity than in the conventional method.

The leader of the IAC Sugarcane Program mentions the example of producer Renato Trevizoli, who obtained around 90 tons, on average from five cuts and, in 2019, he reached 122 tons, on average. "This is very significant and this year it should increase a little more", believes Landell.

In the live, Landell highlighted the importance of science delving deeper into the basic knowledge of sugar cane so that, in the future, it can use powerful tools such as gene editing and associate it with the effort being carried out in the genetic improvement project. "It will combine perfectly with the genetic improvement of sugarcane and we should use it to improve sugarcane productivity."

For the IAC researcher, the sugar-energy sector is facing an opportunity with the advancement of biotechnology as a whole and the important thing is to contextualize it with tangible aspects of culture. "We have a true biological pre-salt, with real possibilities of producing something like 10 thousand liters of ethanol per hectare", highlights Landell.

He believes that, upon reaching this level, the producer will have resources to finance research. The leader of the IAC Sugarcane Program defends the aggregated vision of the sector, in order to show how the links complement each other to strengthen high-productivity sugarcane farming.

In addition to the IAC researcher, Antonio Salibe, executive president of the National Bioenergy Union (UDOP); Leandro Amaral, business director at Syngenta; Diego Ferres, R&D manager at the Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC); Luis Henrique Scabello de Oliveira, president of the Federation of Sugarcane Planters of Brazil (Feplana); João Bespalhok, biotechnology coordinator at the Interuniversity Network for the Development of the Sugar-Energy Sector (Ridesa); Hugo Molinari, researcher at Embrapa Bioenergia; and João Ricardo, head of R&D at Embrapa Agroenergia.