Effects of Harvest Method On Sugarcane Trash Nutrients and Yield in Florida and Costa Rica.

Sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) harvesting methods include both green and burnt cane harvest.  Green cane harvest leaves a thick trash layer on the soil surface after harvesting which is absent in burnt cane harvest. A 3-year study was conducted in Florida and Costa Rica on 3 soil types to determine the effects of harvest method on trash nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, Cu, and Fe) and yield. Due to significantly greater amount of trash in green cane than burnt cane harvest, all nutrients were significantly greater in green cane. However sugarcane biomass yield, tons of cane per hectare (TCH) was greater in burnt cane than green cane harvest. It indicates that green cane harvest added significantly greater amount of trash nutrients to the soil, however these nutrients are not available immediately and may increase soil productivity in the long term.