Cenicaña delivers to sugar cane mills and growers one more issue of the Informative Letter, which presents experiences related to the adoption of new technologies, which are worth highlighting because they are pillars of a sustainable and successful agribusiness.
Cenicaña delivers to sugar cane mills and growers one more issue of the Informative Letter, which presents experiences related to the adoption of new technologies, which are worth highlighting because they are pillars of a sustainable and successful agribusiness.
One of these experiences reveals the value of technology transfer, through the testimonies of the technical staff of a mill that has been trained as a facilitator and of a cane supplier that has been trained based on the Learning and Technical Assistance Program (PAT ).
Two other experiences make the creativity and innovation of the sector visible by implementing production systems committed to the environment. One case is that of the El Hatico nature reserve; the other, a drip irrigation and fertigation system on the El Recreo farm.
Also included here is the management that is carried out from industrial processes to make efficient use of natural resources, as occurs with some water condensates that can be recovered to improve the efficiency in the use of this input and contribute to a lower demand of energy.
An important factor in the sugarcane production system is the health of the crop, subject to the permanent threat of different pest insects, including new species of borer Diatraea spp.
Today four species of Diatraea in the Cauca river valley, and tachyinid flies have become valuable allies of sugar cane growers to control the pest and avoid its effects on crop productivity. Hence the importance of persevering in its use.
This edition also reports on research advances in fertilization with vinasse mixed with nitrogen sources and the implementation and validation by Cenicaña of drones with multispectral cameras for the development of sugarcane, technology that will offer data that will complement the satellite information and spectral with which the Research Center has been working with the sector for years.
Finally, it is important to keep in mind the responsibility that concerns us all in soil management. 2015 has been declared by FAO as the International Year of Soils, a propitious occasion to invite the sector and agriculture in general to use the tools and valuable information that Cenicaña has consolidated throughout its thirty-seven years of research for the sustainable management of this natural resource.
Álvaro Amaya Estevez
CEO, Cenicaña
