Locally followed sugarcane planting methods
Vertical and horizontal planting

Introduction
Sugarcane is a very peculiar crop which has different planting methods. The normal recommended planting methods for sugarcane are; ridges and furrows, pit method, paired row system and wider row spacing. But at field level, farmers practice different methods for planting sugarcane. Sugarcane is one such crop that can withstand different field conditions and germinate once the seed material is planted, irrespective of the planting method. Surveys in different districts revealed different planting methods in sugarcane.

Description

Vertical planting of the setts
Ariyalur district is famous for wetland and irrigated sugarcane cultivation.  Survey at Melanikuli village, Udiyarpalayam taluk revealed that the area is facing an acute problem of water logging. To avoid rotting of setts, farmers follow different techniques for placement of setts on ridges. One such practice is ‘vertical planting’ of setts. Setts are placed on ridges in a vertical position to safeguard them from sett rotting due to stagnated water. It is a good practice to save the crop under water logged condition with minimum yield reduction. The farmer reported that water logged condition creates the problem of sett rotting during planting time, hence, the vertical planting method is very useful to save the crop.

Vertical method of planting under water logged condition

Horizontal ridge planting
To protect the setts under water logged condition, another technique ‘horizontal ridge planting’ is documented from Melanikuli village of Ariyalur district. In this method, setts are placed in horizontal position on the ridges to avoid sett rotting. The farmer says “since the setts are placed horizontally on the ridges, it avoids water in the furrows and it protect the  setts from sett rotting during initial period. Once the setts germinate, water stagnation is not a problem for cane growth and development’’.

Horizontal ridge method of planting under water logged condition