Sugarcane Row Spacing Influences Cane Yield in Rainfed Conditions in Cote dIvoire

Sugarcane smallholders yields in Ivorian sugar complexes have been about 39, 7 tc/ha over the seven last years. Three spacing between sugarcane rows (1.5 m, 0.5-1.3 m, 1.2 m) were assessed during three years under rainfed conditions at Ferk in Cte dIvoire. The study aims to identify the inter-row that might impact sugarcane yield. The experimental design was a split-plot with spacing as main factor and five varieties as secondary factor. The new row spacing (1.2 m) significantly increases sugarcane yield by about 18 %. All varieties reacted positively to narrowed spacing. However, varieties M1565/87 and M1246/84 gave the best yields, regardless of the spacing. This shows the interest of using these varieties and encouraging the new sugarcane row spacing so as to improve sugarcane productivity.