SCHEDULE OF OPERATIONS - Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, India

Schedule of operations for sugarcane cultivation

General

The schedule of operations in sugarcane can be broadly classified into Adsali and Eksali planting for South India and Spring and Autumn planting for North India. The following set of tables provide the general schedule of operations for Plant and Ratoon crops.

Note: Schedule of operations (in Tamil) is available for download

Note: Water management and Irrigation gap has to be adjusted depending up on quantity of rain fall. Reduce gap between irrigation in sandy soils and increase it in black soils.

Plant Crop: upto 30 days

Shedule of operations for Plant Crop upto 30 days

Time Schedule	Recommended Operations
Before planting	Plough the land up to 45 cm depth. Apply 25 tons per hectare of well decomposed Farm Yard Manure (FYM) or decomposed molasses or compost and deep plough the field with tractor. Make ridges and furrows with 80 cm spacing having 20 cm height and up to 10 m length. Apply 375 kg Super Phosphate in the furrows.
Planting day:	Select about 75,000 two-budded setts per hectare from 6-8 months old nursery or raise seedlings in poly bags with single-budded setts. Treat the setts for 10 minutes by dipping in a solution prepared with 125 gms of Bavistin, 2.5 kg urea and 2.5 kg lime in 250 litres of water. Plant the setts 2 cm deep with buds on the sides. For every 10 furrows, plant setts on 2 rows in one furrow.
3rd day after planting:	To control weeds, spray Atrataf @2.5 kg/ha in 500 litres of water with hand sprayer.
5th day after planting:	Spread sugarcane trash up to a height of 15 cm on the ridge.
25th day after planting:	Gap-fill with seedlings raised in polybags or the plants taken from the 2 rows planted- furrows in every 10th furrow.

Plant:30-120 days

Shedule of operations for Plant Crop 30-120 days

Time Schedule	Recommended Operations
30th day after planting:	Mix 5 kg Azospirillum and 5 kg phophobacterium per ha mixed with 250 kg powdered FYM. Apply at the bottom of the plants and irrigate immediately
From 35th day after planting:	From 35 to 100 days after planting Irrigate once in 7-10 days To prevent attack by early shoot borer, apply chlorpyrifos @ 250-300 g a.i./ ha on the setts and cover with soil. If 25-30% of the shoots are affected, then for every 100 metre length of furrow, mix chlorpyrifos @ 250-300 g a.i./ in water and apply using a hand sprayer on the tips and bottom of the shoots.
45th day after planting:	Do hand weeding Apply in pits a mixture of 110 kg Nitrogen, 60 kg of Potash and 35 kg of Neem cake per hectare.
60th, 90th and 120th days after planting:	Spray a mixture of Urea 2.5%, Potassium chloride 2.5% during periods of drought At 60th day, apply a mixture of 5kg azospirillum, 5kg phophobacterium and 250 kg of decomposed FYM in powder form at the bottom of the plants and irrigate immediately. At 90th day, do hand weeding; apply in pits (after earthing up) a mixture of 110kg of Nitrogen, 60 kg of Potassium and 35 kg of neem cake per hectare.

Plant:120 days-Harvest

Shedule of operations for Plant Crop upto 120 days to harvest

Time Schedule	Recommended Operations
120th day after planting:	Under drought conditions, apply 60 kg of potassium and irrigate immediately
150 days to 225 days after planting	Carry out de-trashing at 150 days after planting If inter-node borer exists, release parasites 6 times @5 cc per hectare once in 15 days 101-210 days â irrigate once in 7 days 210th day- Again de-trash and tie lodged canes 225th day- Spary monocrotophos 36 SL @ 600 g a.i./ha to control mealy bugs, white fly and scales
260th day	Spray Dichlorvas 76%EC (300 g a.i./ha) to control pyrilla and all sucking pests, if necessary
270 to 360 days	Irrigate once in 15 days. Stop irrigation 15 days before harvesting
Harvest	Cut canes at the bottom close to the ground with sickles or sharp knife. Remove trash, roots, water shoots and cane tops and send clean canes to the factory.

Ratoon: upto 35 days

Shedule of operations for Ratoon Crop upto 35 days

Time Schedule	Recommended Operations
1-3 days	Remove trash, stubble shave uniformly under correct moisture conditions with sharp spades Mix 15 tons of FYM or 25 tons of compost or 25 tons of decayed molasses with 375 kg Superphosphate (75 kg of P2O5), 135 kg of nitrogen and 35 kg of neem cake per hectare in pits. Irrigate immediately, cutting the sides of the ridges and ensuring mixing of applied manures well with the soil. Control weeds by spraying Atrataf @2.5 kg in 500 litres of water with hand spray
9th -10th day:	Mix 5kg Azospirillum and 5 kg Phosphobacteria per hectare with 250 kg of powdered FYM and apply at the bottom of the plants and irrigate immediately. Spread trash obtained from plant canes on the furrows.
25th to 30th day	Gap-fill with grown up plants To prevent attack by early shoot borer, apply Chlorpyrifos @ 250-300 g a.i./ ha on the setts and cover with soil.
35th day	Mix 5kg Azospirillum per hectare with 250 kg of powdered FYM and apply at the bottom of the plants and irrigate immediately.

Ratoon: 35 days upto harvest

Shedule of operations for Ratoon Crop 35 days upto harvest

Time Schedule	Recommended Operations
From 1-35 days	Irrigate once in 7 days
From 35-90 days	Irrigate once in 10 days
60th day	Do hand weeding Apply in pits a mixture of 110 kg Nitrogen, 60 kg of Potash and 35 kg of Neem cake per hectare and follow light earthing-up.
90th day	Apply 60 kg of Potash additionally in drought situations
91- 250 days	Irrigate once in 7 days
30, 60 and 90 days	Spray a mixture of Urea 2.5%, and Potassium Chloride 2.5%on the leaves in drought situations.
120th day	De-trash and earth up well
121 to 210 days	Release Trichogramma parasites (when required) once in 15 days
180 days:	De-trash a second time
210 days	Spray Monocrotophos 36 SL @ 600 g a.i./ha to control mealy bugs, white fly and scale insects
251-360 days	Irrigate once in 15 days and stop irrigation 15 days before harvest
Harvest	Cut canes at the bottom close to the ground with sickles or sharp knife. Remove trash, roots, water shoots and cane tops and send clean canes to the factory.

USEFUL LINKS

Pride of ICAR-SBI-Former Director,Dr. Bakshi Ram gets Padma Shri award