ROW SPACING AND ITS IMPACT ON SUGARCANE YIELD ACROSS THREE CONSECUTIVE HARVESTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32404/8pzq4030Keywords:
Plant arrangement, Planting longevity, Stand persistence, Saccharum spp.Abstract
Row spacing directly influences sugarcane productivity and field longevity. This study aimed to identify, over three consecutive harvests, the row spacing that yields the highest and most stable production in sugarcane. The experiment was conducted over three consecutive seasons (2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24) at the Technology Development and Transfer Center (CDTT/UFLA), Minas Gerais, Brazil, covering the crop cycles of plant cane, first ratoon, and second ratoon. The experimental design was a randomized complete block (RCBD) with four treatments (row spacings) and three harvests, with four replications. The evaluated spacings were single 0.9 m, single 1.5 m, double (0.9 × 1.5 m), and triple (0.75 × 0.75 × 1.5 m). The analyzed traits included plant height (PH), stalk diameter (SD), number of stalks per meter (NSM), total soluble solids content (TSS, ºBrix), and stalk yield (t ha-1). Mean plant height, averaged across the four row spacings, increased from 2.56 m in the plant cane to 3.23 m in the second ratoon, while stalk diameter, also expressed as the mean of the four spacings, peaked in the first ratoon (28.78 mm). The single 1.5 m spacing showed the highest stalk density (14–17 stalks m-1), and TSS remained at an average of 18 °Brix. Yield was consistently high (>130 t ha-1) at this spacing, whereas the single 0.9 m and double spacings ranged from 97 to 120 t ha-1, and the triple spacing reached 142 t ha-1 in the second ratoon. The results indicate that the single 1.5 m spacing ensures greater stability in the number of stalks per meter and stalk yield.
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