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Drying‐Off Periods for Irrigated Sugarcane to Maximize Sucrose Yields Under Brazilian Conditions

The natural ripening process in sugarcane plants is influenced by several factors, including water stress. In irrigated sugarcane areas, water application is often withheld prior to harvest, a process called drying‐off, which is done to increase the sucrose content and yield, and to provide suitable conditions of soil moisture for mechanical harvesting. Based on this, the objective of this study was to determine the drying‐off periods for irrigated sugarcane in different Brazilian regions to maximize sucrose yields. The APSIM‐Sugarcane model was used to simulate 12‐month plant cane in 12 Brazilian sites for a long‐term period. Three soil types with different water‐holding capacities (low, medium and high) were adopted. The drying‐off periods were determined based on the relationship between relative stalk dry mass yield (dried‐off and fully irrigated) and days in which water was withheld prior to harvest, considering yield reduction up to 4% as a target. As expected, the drying‐off periods varied considerably according to locations, soil types and harvest dates, with the median ranging from 15 to 115 days. In general, more drying‐off days are required at the beginning and end of the harvesting season, when higher interannual variability is also observed. The results obtained are useful for planning and decision‐making in irrigated sugarcane areas, since they allow evaluation of the best strategy to maximize sucrose yield. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.