ACTUALITY OF VIETNAM’S SUGARCANE AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE SUGAR PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FUTURE

The great problem is interested in raw materials and sugarcane zones, how to do in order to assure enough raw materials for factories working at full capacity in the future, while there

ACTUALITY OF VIETNAM’S SUGARCANE AND SOLUTIONS

TO IMPROVE SUGAR PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FUTURE

Dr Nguyen Duc Quang, MSc Ha Dinh Tuan

Sugar and Sugarcane Research and Development Center, Vietnam

Mobile phone: (84) 913867107; Office: (84)650580552; Private: (84)650817203

FAX: (84)650562267; E-mail: nguyen_duc_quang@yahoo.com

1 INTRODUCTION

Sugarcane-growing is a long standing in Vietnam, however sugarcane industry has been developing in recent years There was lay down as a policy the achievement of 1.0 million tons of sugar per year in 2000, which is satisfied with demand of Vietnam (capita is estimated from 8 to 10 kg) Based on this program, many sugar mills are debut with different technology The great challenge to Vietnam’s sugarcane is becomes a membership of world trade organization (WTO), which is higher violent competition for cost Recently (from 2000

to year 2005), there were 44 sugar mills with 85-93 percentage of original capacity (in the 2002/2003 season it was highest), it achieved more than 1.0 million tons of sugar per year The biggest capacity processing is 8,000 tons/day (1 sugar mill) and the lowest is 500 tons/day (2 sugar mills), most capacity processing is from 1,000 to 1,800 tons/day However, only 37 factories have been working in 2005/2006 season and 7 factories were closed due to technologically backward or lack of raw materials According to Ministry of agriculture and Rural Development for the planning to 2010 (see Appendix 1), total capacity processing will expand to 105,100 tons/day (82,150 tons/day is present) The great problem is interested in raw materials and sugarcane zones, how to do in order to assure enough raw materials for factories working at full capacity in the future, while there are many effective factors to yield such as insects, diseases, weed, etc

The plan of Vietnam’s sugarcane in the future is stabilizing concentrate areas, but concurrent with increase cane productivity and quality of sugarcane There is help for it, based on Vietnam there are near 900 clones and varieties that were well preserved at Sugar and Sugarcane Research and Development Centre – SSRDC (formerly Institute of sugarcane and sugar research - ISSR) Many clones or varieties have good characters such as drought resistance, pest resistance and high quality, etc These are important materials for crossing in the future The results of collusion are going to supply suitable varieties in different regions of cultural sugarcane industry

2 ACTUALITY OF VIETNAM’S SUGARCANE

2.1 Sugar processing

Actually, 37 sugar mills in present are arranged with new mode to come into operations as follows:

- Six sugar mills are joint ventures with 100% of funds from foreign investment

- Twenty-one sugar mills are published

- One sugar mill is selling the shares

- Three sugar mills are submitting the project for privatize

- One sugar mill is preparing to be privatized

- Three sugar mills are suggesting government which is allow schedule project for sell

- Two sugar mills have not enough condition to be privatized

Gross sugar yield is 754,200 tons in 2006, including 230,000 tons of RE and other sugars are 524,200 tons, reduce 16.3% comparison with 2005 Besides, 150,000 tons of sugar manufactured by small semi-manual factories

2.2 Raw materials

In 2005/2006 season, there were 193,500 hectares; it is reduced 17.8% in comparison with 2004/2005 season (only 70% of plan) Although higher cane productivity was compared with year 2005, but it is satisfying 69.1% of raw materials for processing of 37 sugar-mills in Vietnam, sugarcane productivity in every zone as follows:

- The highland of the North-Eastern: 47.0 tons of cane per hectare

- North central part: 53.7 tons of cane per hectare

- The Central Coast, the South-Eastern: 48.8 tons of cane per hectare

- The Mekong River Delta region: 72.2 tons of cane per hectare, the factories processing are working at full or exceeding capacity

In the North, South and the Centre have settled in sugarcane areas with high level of intensive cultivation of Farmers However, in the North and the Centre the cane productivity is lower than in other regions because drought and storms damage to crop (high quality is excepted), while the climate and terrain in the South are advantages for growth of sugarcane, special Mekong River Delta region is high yield, some areas are achieved more than 200 tons of cane per ha However, the quality of this region is lower than of others caused by early harvest (immature cane) and flooding Most early harvest is due to avoidance from flood and unstable prices of raw materials Moreover, due to lack of raw materials for processing sugar, many companies were buying chaotic cane without interest in quality Which is leading low quality and compete to raw materials contributed to low cane yield

Besides, yield and quality of sugarcane are as low as close correlation to insect, diseases and weed Where:

- Insect: There are 27 common species (see Appendix 2), including 7 great importances

such as Sesamia inferens Walker, Phragmatoecia castaneae Hubner, Chilo sacchariphagus Bojer, Chilo infuscatellus Snellen, Alissonotum impresicolle Arrow (in the Centre), Odontotermes spp (high land) and Patanga succincta L in several South-Eastern Insect control by several main methods like: cultural methods, bio-control (to release Trichogramma

sp.), resistant varieties of bores (VN84-4137, ROC16, K84-200, etc.), chemical methods (apply Basudin 10G just after planting)

- Diseases: There are 52 common diseases in Vietnam (see Appendix 3a&b), some of them are bad effect to yielding cane such as smut, ratoon stunting (RSD), red rot, bokkah boeng, white leaf (WLD), yellow leaf syndrome (YLS), yellow spot, white speck, etc Little Vietnamese farmer has been interested in sugarcane diseases, because they are planted by their farming habits However, many local habits have eliminated several diseases such as: to dip seedcane in water for 24 hours; to choose careful seedcane, etc Besides, seedcane is treated in hot water used to supply planting material for commercial fields Hot water treatment at 50oC for 2 hours has been commonly used by methods after that transferred to fungicide solution (5‰ of Benlat-C or Dithan-M) for 15 minutes

- Weed: There are 35 common species in sugarcane (see Appendix 4); some major species

are great important and difficult to control such as Cynodon dactylon Pers.,Cyperus rotundus L., Borreria latifolia S., Dactyloctenium aegyptium B Eleusine indica Gaertner, Imperata cylindrica L., Mimosa pudica L., etc The farming habits of Vietnamese are most manual care

of sugarcane Consequently, weed control is carrying out by hand, hoe, sickle, etc Chemical method has been used in the South-Eastern and several areas of Centre Chemical Diuron, Glyphosate, 2.4D and Paraquat are common herbicides for control in sugarcane

polly wood was 18,000 m3 and 30 million litters of alcohol were distilled by molasses Moreover, sugar mills are invested in processing and producing paper, candy, animal feeds and electricity, etc

3 SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE SUGAR PRODUCTIVITY

Government will control and prevent sugar from illegal import

Total capacity processing will expand from 82,150 (now) to 105,100 tons/day in 2010 Long-term programming and stabilizing concentrate areas; step up intensive cultivation with increased cane productivity and high quality of sugarcane Target is going to exceed 70 tons/ha with higher 11% of CCS in year 2010 and achieve 100 tons/ha with higher

12 % of CCS in year 2020

The irrigation systems will consolidate and upgrade in drought regions

Mekong delta region: To dam up food control dike at some areas of which long harvest helps for increasing sugar productivity per ha Besides, to plant early mature varieties

in the sugarcane zones are flooding every year

Government will establish the policy on insurance against prices and stable prices of raw materials

To step up mechanical cultivation and harvest is essential to modern cultivation in the future

Selections of suitable varieties are harvesting time as early, mid and late; simultaneous combination of resistance to pests, flood, drought and salt, acid soil, etc Along with domestic varietal selections will import new varieties from foreign, from exotic varieties are going to be carefully retested before release to reality production However, ratio of exotic varieties is lower than 30% in area

To invest in expenditure for transferring new varieties, modern cultivation and advance of technology There are 70% of new varieties with high yield and quantity (30% in present) Carrying out ratio of sensible new varieties increases about 5% of cane yield per year

A system of seedcane treatment is necessary to clean setts for supply planting material for commercial fields in each sugarcane area

REFERENCE

1 Diep, Do Ngoc 2002 Research for bores in sugarcane and bores control in South-Eastern

(Thesis of PhD.) Hanoi University Agriculture No 1, Hanoi, Vietnam

2 Ministry of agriculture and rural development of Vietnam, 2006 Report of closing

sugarcane in 2005-2006 season Vietnam’s sugarcane industry conference 8/2006

3 Quang, Nguyen Duc 2004 Research for Sesamia sp on sugarcane in the South-eastern

and thier coltrol method (Thesis of PhD), Vietnam Agricultre Science Institute, Hanoi

Vietnam

4 Quang, Nguyen Duc 2006 Selection of varieties and integrated crop management (ICM)

which are help for increase yielding cane and cane quality (period 2006-2010) Sugar and sugarcane research and development centre, Vietnam

5 Tuan, Ha Dinh 2003 Investigation of sugarcane diseases in the new exotic varieties and

exploratory development of major diseases in common sugarcane varieties in the Eastern South (Thesis of MSc.) University of Agriculture and Forestry of Ho Ch Minh City, Vietnam

6 Tuan, Ha Dinh 2006 Preliminary results of studies on fungal diseases damaging

sugarcane in the Eastern South The journal of protection crop No 2, April /2006, pp 1-5, Vietnam

Appendix 1: The planning of sugar mills are expand capacity to 2010 (tons per day)

No Sugar mill (2005/2006 season) Present capacity Capacity of year 2010

(Source: Ministry of agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, 2006)

I Bore group

II Harmful leaf group

III Sting-suck group

IV Harmful root

* Note: +++: High appearance; ++: Moderate appearance

+: Little appearance; - : Rare appearance

Appendix 3a: Common diseases in sugarcane in Vietnam

I Uncertain etiology

II Caused by virus and phytoplasma

4 Yellow leaf syndrome (YLS) Emergentvirus, Polerovirus, ++

* Note: +++: High appearance; ++: Moderate appearance

+: Little appearance; - : Rare appearance Appendix 3b: Common diseases (fungi) in sugarcane in Vietnam

aciculispora

sacchari

8 Dry top rot Ligniera vascularum

Plasmodiophoro-mycetes

- -

9 Zonate leaf spot Gloeocercospora sorghi Dothideomycetes Pleosporales -

17 Flora smuts Sporisorium cruentum Basidiomycetes Utilaginales -

19 Red rot of the

leaf sheath

Corticium rolfsii Basidiomycetes Polyporales ++

21 Red spot Mycovellosiella vaginae Deuteromycetes Dothideales +++

IV Caused by Bacteria

1 Ratoon stunting (RSD) Leifsonia xyli subsp xyli ++

2 Gumming Xanthomonas campestris pv

5 Spindle rot Acidovorax avenae subsp Avenae -

VII Nutritional, environmental and

chemical disorder

25 Brown stripe Bipolaris stenospila Deuteromycetes Dematiales ++

* Note: +++: High appearance; ++: Moderate appearance

+: Little appearance; - : Rare appearance Appendix 4: Common weed in sugarcane in Vietnam

2 Amaranthus hybridus L Amaranthacae -

3 Amaranthus spinosus L Amaranthacae +

4 Centella asiatica (L.) Urb Apiaceae -

5 Boerhavia diffusa L Basellaceae -

6 Borreria latifolia Schum Boraginaceae +++

9 Commelina diffusa Burm Commelinaceae -

12 Cyperus difformis L Cyperaceae -

13 Cyperus rotundus L Cyperaceae +

14 Dactyloctenium aegyptium B Cyperaceae +

15 Digitaria cialiaris (Retz) Koel Poaceae +

16 Digitaria setigera R & S Poaceae +

19 Euphorbia thymifolia L Euphorbiaceae -

21 Echinocholoa colona (L.) Link Poaceae -

22 Lantana camara L Asteraceae ++

23 Leptochloa chinensis (L) Nees Poaceae +

24 Pennisetum polystachyon (L.) Schult Poaceae -

25 Mimosa invisa Mart Ex Colla Leguminosae +

29 Setaria palmifolia (Koen.) Stapf Poaceae -

31 Sida acuta Burman Malvaceae -

32 Oxalis corniculata L Oxalidaceae -

34 Portulaca oleracea L Portulacaceae -

* Note: +++: High appearance; ++: Moderate appearance

+: Little appearance; - : Rare appearance