Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Jul 15, 2006
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Jul 15, 2006 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Sugar Pilot project to cultivate sugar beet Rahul Wadke
Beet prospects Syngenta India Ltd to provide seeds for the project. Yield varies from 50-100 tonnes of sugar beet a hectare. Recovery 15-16 per cent per tonne against 11.6 in sugarcane.
Mumbai , July 14 Sugar beet, a major sugar-producing crop of the Europe, Russia and the US, will soon have a new home. The Pune - based Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) along with two cooperative sugar mills will undertake a pilot project from October, to plant 100 hectares of sugar beet in Jalna and Ahmednagar, in Maharashtra. As per the plans, the crop would be harvested and used for extraction of sugar and ethanol by April 2007. Syngenta India Ltd, a leading farm inputs company, will provide the seeds for the project.
Previous trials
Industry analysts say success of sugar beet cultivation in could have a long-term impact on local sugar and ethanol industry. Dr Y. Nerkar, consultant to VSI, told Business Line that in the last five years, VSI has undertaken research and field evaluation trials of sugar beet. Earlier pilot trails were conducted in Marathwada, Vidarbha, central and southern Maharashtra. The trails were carried in kharif and rabi seasons, but the rabi (October- April) season found to be most suitable. The yield varied from 50 to 100 tonnes of sugar beet a hectare, he said.
Salt tolerant
Dr Nerkar said the sugar recovery from sugar beet was 15 to 16 per cent per tonne, while in sugarcane it was 11.6 per cent. The sugar beet crop is also tolerant to excessive salt in the soil. Certain tracks of land in the sugar belt of Maharashtra had become unsuitable for sugar cultivation due increased salinity in soil; sugar beet could even grow in these conditions, he said.
Supplement to cane
"Our attempt is not to replace sugarcane but to supplement. It will use the processing facilities at the sugar factories, during off-season" Dr Nerkar said. Pilot projects would be carried at Sanjeevani Cooperative Sugar Factory, Kopargaon, Ahmednagar and Samarth Cooperative Sugar Factory, Ambad, Jalna. A mini plant at these factories is being set up with the help of VSI and National Heavy Engineering Cooperative Ltd, Pune.
Project costs
The project would cost Rs 2 crore and the VSI has sought funds from the Sugar Development Fund of the Union Government for undertaking the project. Maharashtra Government is likely to allocate some funds. Dr Yash Bhargav of the Sygenta India Ltd said that Kaveri, Indus, and Sugara are the three varieties of sugar beet seeds, which would be provided to the farmers. Compared to sugarcane the water requirement for sugar beet is only one sixth, plus the harvesting time of the crop is only five months. As the crop can survive even in soil with high salinity experiments with sugar beet are being undertaken in Mandavi, near Run of Kutch, he said. However, sugar beet is also prone to pest attacks, water logging in the fields can also lead to decaying of roots. Mr Jagdish Sunkad, Agriculture Consultant, said with the country opting for petrol blending, sugar and sugarcane prices are bound rise. Sugar beet would be a good alternative source of ethanol not only for oil industry but also for chemical industry, where alcohol is used in large quantities.
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