Development and production of sugarcane under different levels straw after four years of cultivation

Environmental constraints, labour shortages and the search for greater efficiency have induced the mechanisation of sugarcane harvesting, providing a large amount of straw in the system, which provides benefits to the soil, the crop and the environment. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the removal of different amounts of straw from the soil surface on the development and productivity of sugarcane in eutrophic Red Latosol. The experiment was conducted in an area belonging to the Usina in Bandeirantes, PR, using a randomised block design with four replications. The effects of six treatments (0, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of straw and sugarcane) were evaluated after four years of cultivation on the LAI (leaf area index), tillering, diameter, length and fresh mass of the stalks, in five periods: 60, 120, 180, 240 and 370 days after harvest (DAC). The results were submitted to analysis of variance and the means compared by Tukey's test. The straw on the soil surface provided benefits to the development and productivity of sugarcane. The management of sugarcane burning, total removal of the straw (0% of soil cover) or 75% of straw resulted in a lower IAF and stalk diameter and a 37% decrease in final yield under conditions of water deficiency. The maintenance of 50% of straw is sufficient to favour the development and to provide greater productivity of the sugarcane, as it is possible to use the 50% surplus of the field for the production of ethanol of second generation or electric energy, without damage to the productivity of the culture.