Burning cane makes harvesting look “easy” but has detrimental effects on the soil, says Sugar Research Institute of Fiji (SRIF) chief executive officer Professor Santiago Mahimairaja.
“Trash burning and burning for harvesting means you are killing the soil as the temperature rises above 400 degrees Celsius,” he said.
Prof Mahimairaja said canefarmers in Fiji should put an end to this practice .
“When we burn the soil, the nutrient is reduced thus affecting soil health and cane quality with millions of microorganisms in the soil dying out in the process that actually are involved in maintaining the soil fertility.”
The veteran agricultural scientist said burnt cane fields also affected all the bio-chemical components of the sugarcane plus it also reduced the sugar content and quality of sugar in the sugarcane plant.
Prof Mahimairaja added that the impact of pest and disease on Fiji’s sugarcane was below the threshold level and not “very alarming”.
“We are continuously monitoring for any pests and diseases that could affect our sugarcane production.”
