Physiology applied to sugarcane production in Colombia
Introduction
Plant physiology is the science that studies the functioning of plants. In this sense, it explains, through chemical and physical laws, how plants use solar radiation to synthesize organic molecules from inorganic substances, building the complex structures that make up their bodies. However, the main objective of plant physiology is to understand how the chemical and physical processes that occur in different locations and stages of plant development are integrated and modulated (Azcón Bieto and Talón, 2013). Thus, this science plays a fundamental role in the development of agricultural production systems based on a correct understanding of the processes that occur in the crop plant, from the cellular level to the community level, within the context of interaction with other plants of the same species and with the prevailing climatic variables of the place where it grows and develops. However, understanding the physiological processes and phenomena that occur in the plant is not sufficient per se; rather, it must be the basis for building applied knowledge that translates into new or better practices for managing sugarcane cultivation and producing improved genetic materials.
The physiology of production is responsible for the study of the factors and components that determine the real performance of a productive system and at the same time helps to detect gaps, which must be closed, with respect to potential performance. Frequently, the physiology of production involves the study of the so-called components of yield, that is, the physiological variables that condition the production of a crop per unit of area per unit of time. In sugar cane, the three main components of yield have been identified: the number of grinding stems per hectare, the individual weight of the stem and the concentration of sucrose per unit mass of the stem.
As an explanatory note, given the tendency that exists in the Colombian sugar agroindustry to consider as performance only the relationship between the weight of the processed sugar cane and the weight of the quintals of sugar obtained, it is necessary to note that this chapter addresses the different factors that affect crop productivity, which for most species are called 'yield components'. In this purpose, it develops the theoretical concepts and implications of the formation of the number of stems, the weight of the stem and the concentration of sucrose per unit of weight of the stem, based on the information obtained from experiments with varieties improved by Cenicaña (CC ), in the conditions of the Cauca River valley.
