Joseph Matis
August 6, 2007
Felma Arceneaux
August 8, 2007The Sugarcane Research Unit research leader Dr. Edward Richard said the sugarcane crops are average right now.
He also said excitement, not pressure is driving sugarcane research toward ethanol production.
“So far the weather has cooperated and we’re having a decent crop in the field. We’re optimistic about the crop,” said Richard. “This is what is expected at this time of year.”
He said there were several new varieties released in the last few years. And they are hoping these new varieties will give the sugarcane farmers and the mills fairly decent yields.
But, Richard said the clam storm season has helped the sugarcane crops tremendously. He said sugarcane is a hot loving plant and loves this weather.
“Optimistically, we have a fairly good crop, but there’s a lot that can happen between now and harvest time,” said Richard. “The big fear now is hurricanes and flooding.”
The wind pressure can cause the sugarcane to lodge and make it harder to harvest.
The other big fear is a possible November freeze.
The crop is at an average height for what is should be at this time of year.
The Sugarcane Research Unit, which is located in Houma, crossbreeds sugarcane to create varieties to perform better.
“It’s not pressure. It’s excitement,” said Richard. “We’re looking at using the sugarcane plant to not only produce sugar, but to expand the planting of sugarcane beyond the conventional sugarcane growing areas of Louisiana, Florida and Texas into other areas where they’re looking for a crop that can be used to produce ethanol.”
The research unit wants to breed sugarcane to have more vigor, to tolerate weather extremes better and resist disease and insects.
The research unit only crossbreeds varieties. They do not engage in gene splicing or genetic engineering.
“What we do special here is we bring in wild species of sugarcane to get some of those traits that makes the sugarcane varieties more tolerant to weather extremes, diseases and insects, as well,” said Richard.
He said the research unit has cooperative agreements with foreign countries, where wild sugarcane occurs. These countries send the research unit information on these wild types and the research unit can request samples of these wild breeds.
They primarily get samples from northern areas of Thailand and China, where temperatures are colder than Louisiana.
“If we can put more cold tolerance into our varieties, we can grow them further north in Louisiana as well as into our neighboring states also,” said Richard. “It could be a good crop for ethanol production in those areas.”
Good sugar makes good ethanol. Richard described the conversion of sugar into ethanol as the most efficient conversion of all.
He said technologies are also being developed to convert the bagasse into ethanol as well. Bagasse is what remains after the sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juice.
He said the technology to do this is probably five years away, but he was told the same thing five years ago.
