What are the white or reddish plumes seen in some cane fields during winter and spring?
Sugarcane plumes are the flowers and seed heads of the cane plant. Each plume consists of several thousand tiny flowers, each flower capable of producing one seed. The cool winter weather in Florida ordinarily prevents development of the seeds. During breeding for variety development, special precautions are taken in order to produce viable seed. What attention does a cane field require after planting? After planting, weeds are controlled with cultivation and herbicides (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/WG004 ). Water must be pumped out when rainfall is excessive. When the soil gets too dry, the crop is irrigated by allowing the water to flow back into the ditches that are normally used for drainage. Water readily seeps from the lateral field ditches throughout the entire field because the muck soil is so porous. When and how is the cane harvested? Sugarcane is harvested from late-October through mid-April. If there are no damaging effects of freezes, sugar yields are typically highest after D
