Aspects of Dry Matter Partitioning in Sugarcane

Partitioning of dry matter (DM) in sugarcane is of interest for two fundamental reasons. Firstly sugar production depends directly on partitioning of biomass to the stalk and then to sucrose stored in the stalk. Secondly, various DM components of the stalk and particularly sucrose concentration are used to calculate the value of cane consignments delivered to the mill (Berding, 1997). The value of cane consignments is reduced by leaf and trash and by non-sucrose constituents of the stalk, even if the total mass of sucrose in the consignment is not reduced (Culverwell, 1996). In the case of the Australian sugar industry the payment formula is designed to accentuate the value of sucrose content of cane consignments and this has led to a heightened awareness of variations in sucrose content due to cultivar, harvest season, crop age and many other factors. The moisture, fibre and juice purity components of the payment formulas are also important but will not be considered in this paper.