Effect of harvest method and storage time on sugarcane deterioration I: Cane quality changes

The recent increase of billeted cane being combine harvested in Louisiana h as often meant an increase in deteriorated cane being processed. Some of th is deterioration in cane quality, i.e., the increase in associated trash is not necessarily a function of the newer harvest method, per se, but rather a function of mechanical harvesting in general. Further, there is the occu rrence of sugar destruction in the cut cane between harvesting and crushing , regardless of the harvest system. There is a real need to establish new c riteria to measure deterioration in Louisiana harvested cane, in order to b etter predict: 1) the quality of the cane to be processed, and 2) the effec t of harvest methods and storage conditions. In this study, there were eigh t cane supply treatments, with samples taken on each day for four consecuti ve days (0, 24, 48 and 72h) before laboratory milling and analyses. Treatme nts included three that were handcut whole-stalk cane that was either hand stripped of leaves (control), was left unstripped (green), or was burnt. Fi ve other treatments included three that were cut with a soldier harvester a nd two with a combine harvester. The soldier harvested cane was either burn t or green, or burnt and stored to simulate cane from a heap or transloader stack each day. Burnt and green billeted cane from the combine harvester w ere also taken, to simulate cane from a billet wagon each day. Initial colo r for all cane treatments was associated with leaves and tops; color formed dramatically in the burnt billeted cane on storage time. Glucose and fruct ose were consistently greater in billeted than whole stalk cane. Dextran fo rmation (measured by both Haze and ASI-II dextran methods) was also greater and developed more rapidly in billeted cane than whole stalk cane, and con comitant with a decrease in pH and an increase in titratable acidity. Cane deterioration occurred much earlier in billeted than whole stalk cane, with burnt billeted cane deterioration more rapid and extensive than in green b illeted cane.