We investigated the effect of sugarcane residue (mulch cover) resulting from the combine harvester on sugarcane yield and also quantified the decay of residue post harvest. The study consists of three treatments concerning the mulch left on the field after harvest. The treatments include (1) burning the mulch after harvest, off-barring and cultivating in the spring; (2) sweeping the mulch off the top of the row after harvest, off-barring and cultivating in the spring; and (3) leaving the mulch on the field after harvest, off-barring and cultivating in the spring. Treatment 3 where the mulch is not removed may be best regarded as a no-till treatment which is a commonly used soil conservation measure. Sugarcane population, yields, and quality of runoff water are being measured for each treatment. Results indicated highest yield was that for the burn treatment where 5 and 9% reduction in yield was obtained for the sweep and no-till treatments, respectively. For variety LCP85-384 the rate of residue decay averaged 14.93 lbs/acre/day over all three growing seasons.