Fields are normally sprayed in early stages of growth by tractors, and then as needed in later stages by means of crop dusting. This is done by either airplane or helicopter. The farmer makes his routine check by taking samples from each block of cane and inspecting the inside core of stalks from different sections in the block. From this inspection, the farmer then makes a map of the field from overhead and marks which blocks need to be sprayed by aircraft. Pesticides are applied to rid the crop of these pests and in the long run, increase production. .
In south Louisiana, some soil conditions are not as good as others or not adequate for growing a successful sugarcane crop. This is where fertilizers come into play. Farmers must do what they can with whatever land is available to them to farm on. In order to make sugarcane grow successfully on all the land, the farmer must fertilize the hell out of some cane and lightly fertilize other cane. Fertilizer mainly adds nutrients to the soil that the sugarcane is planted in so that the cane get the right nutrients which it needs to grow and produce a reasonable sucrose yield. The amount of fertilizer applied is regulated by the type of land that the sugarcane is planted in and by the type of weather conditions that were put on the crop. (www.lsuagcenter.com).
There is also a type of sugarcane booster that is applied approximately thirty days before the crop is harvested. (Lenny Waguespack) This chemical is called polado and it is applied by either airplane or helicopter. This chemical advances the growth of the sugarcane to make it have a higher sucrose yield. The only problem is that the farmer must be precise with his planning when applying this chemical because if the estimates are off and the sugarcane is cut when the polado is on the crop for to long, the crop begins getting sour and the sucrose yield actually drops lower than it was before the polado was applied.
