Energy Cane
Saccharum hybrids
Family: Poaceae
What it is like
Sugarcane production has probably caused more biodiversity loss than any other crop. "Noble" cane types are optimized for sugar production while Energy cane types have three times the fiber for use as biofuel. Many energy canes are the result of crosses with biomass grasses like Miscanthus, raising the interesting possibility of cold-tolerant sugarcane .
Saccharum hybrids is a PERENNIAL growing to 6 m (19ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 6
Where it is found
Originated in cultivation.
Not known as a wild plant. Hybrid of Asian species.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed
Countries/locations it is found in
Subtropical to tropical areas.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 4
Carbon Farming Solutions - Staple Crop: sugar (The term staple crop typically refers to a food that is eaten routinely and accounts for a dominant part of people's diets in a particular region of the world).
Sap: usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.
Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.
Medicine
Rating: 2
Possible. See individual species.
Other
Rating: 4
Carbon Farming Solutions - Industrial Crop: biomass (Crops grown for non-food uses. Industrial crops provide resources in three main categories: materials, chemicals, and energy. Traditional materials include lumber and thatch, paper and cardboard, and textiles). "Noble" cane types are optimized for sugar production while Energy cane types have three times the fiber for use as biofuel. Many energy canes are the result of crosses with biomass grasses like Miscanthus, raising the interesting possibility of cold-tolerant sugarcane. Fodder: bank.
Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.
Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
New Crop: Most new crops were important wild plants until recently, although some are the result of hybridization. They have been developed in the last few, decades. What they have in common is that they are currently cultivated by farmers. Examples include baobab, argan, and buffalo gourd.
Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.
Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
New Crop: Most new crops were important wild plants until recently, although some are the result of hybridization. They have been developed in the last few, decades. What they have in common is that they are currently cultivated by farmers. Examples include baobab, argan, and buffalo gourd.
Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
Climate: subtropical to tropical. Humidity: humid. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: new crop. Management: hay (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation). Need not be grown in large monocultures as is common in homegardens around the world. Global sugarcane biomass yields averaged 70.2t/ha in 2012. Sugarcane and energy cane breeding is active and ongoing including GMO types.
Propagating it: Seed - Cuttings, consisting of 2 - 3 joints of the upper part of a stem that has been selected from a vigorous, healthy plant. They are placed in the ground with only 2 - 5cm of the cutting projecting above the surface. In about two weeks from planting the 'eyes' at each node will send forth shoots, and roots will grow from the nodes themselves. As the shoots develop, the parent stem decays and the young plants produce roots of their own.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 8-12
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist, wet
Things to keep in mind
Sugarcane production has probably caused more biodiversity loss than any other crop .
Its other names
Local names
Sugarcane hybrids, Energy Cane, Energy Cane hybrids
Synonyms
No synonyms are recorded for this name.