Irrigated sugarcane: an environmentally friendly C-sequestration C4-crop

Commercial sugarcane is a semi-perennial C4 crop growing yearly 11 out of the 12 months and is harvested every year. Stalk yields above 100 t/ha/year are obtained with best farming practices in warm and irrigated areas with high net radiation as is the semiarid zone. In such part of Sudan, the C-level of grumulosic vertisols under irrigated sugarcane for the past 15 years was compared to the one existing in traditional dry land farming. The analysis concerns also the dry matter production of the cane crop while it furnishes the energy needed by the mill and for the irrigation. In the studied area, the cane is burned immediately before the harvest and, due to the presence of termites, all crop residues are burned before regrowth of the ratoon cane or cane planting.