Crops

SUGARCANE

Florida Sugarcane with narrow leaves: It builds sugar slowly and is vulnerable to fungal diseases.

Florida sugarcane with wide leaves: It builds abundant sugar quickly.

One product made the huge difference in sugar content – and profits – of these side-by-side sugarcane fields!

It’s called CarbonGrow.

Harvesting high-sugar cane is about building sugar in the leaf with photosynthesis – and translocating it quickly into the cane, where sugar is stored until harvest. If sugar translocation is slow, it restricts the rate of photosynthesis.

The nan-sized liquid micelles of CarbonGrow dramatically reduce the surface tension (sticki-ness) of sugar solutions in the plant’s circulation system. The easy-flowing juices translocate quickly from leaves t cane, freeing chlorophyll to build more sugar. We’ve seen 25% higher brix (sugar and dissolved solids) in mature cane, along with more harvest tonnage with CarbonGrow.

The huge leaf area of crops like sugarcane, tobacco and perennial peanuts offer great “leverage” for CarbonGrow to multiply sugar formation I leaves.

You also get other crop benefits when CarbonGrow improves sugar formation and plant vigor.

01

Higher sugar levels make sugarcane less attractive to pests like the cane grub and sugarcane borer. Insects are nature’s cleanup crews: They are especially attracted to low-sugar, stressed plants. But when an insect chews into a plant with high levels of sugar, it ferments into alcohol in the insect’s digestive system. Bugs instinctively leave high-brix, healthy crops alone.

02

Higher transfer rates of nutrients through the crop stimulate faster, deeper root growth. A third to half of the sugars and amino acids transferred to roots are exuded into the soil. This fuels healthy soil mycorrhiza which act like extensions of root hairs. Healthier, deeper roots sponge up more water from the soil profile, allowing sugarcane to keep growing through dry spells typically encountered it Florida. Root exudates also energize and multiply beneficial bacteria, which are essential for converting soil nutrients into forms which your crop can metabolize.

03

With healthier sugarcane fields, growers using CarbonGrow report that they can reduce fungicides and insecticides. Freshly planted cuttings of cane or any crop, are prime targets for fungus infestation. For example, the survival rate of ornamental cuttings in Florida is often only 35% to 50%. However, ornamental cuttings dipped and cleansed with CarbonGrow typically survive and grow at a 90% to 95% rate. We’re interested in working with sugarcane growers to measure how effective CarbonGrow is in protecting the early health of newly planted sugarcane.

04

Cane growers using CarbonGrow enjoy shorter growing seasons, typically harvesting in 11 months as opposed to 12 or longer. We’ve also seen Florida sweet.