Received: 3
February, 2009; Accepted: 10 May, 2009
ABSTRACT
Sugarcane is a perishable commodity
and must be processed into sugar quickly after it is harvested. Post harvest
sucrose losses have been reported from
many cane producing countries and linked with low sugar recovery and several
problems during sugar processing. Bio deterioration is associated with the
inordinate delays between harvest to milling of sugarcane and aggravated by
many intrinsic and extrinsic factors causing enormous depreciation in cane
tonnage as well as sugar recovery. Besides harvest-to-mill delays, other
factors such as ambient temperature, humidity, cane variety, period of storage,
activities of invertases, maturity status etc. are responsible for decline in
sugar recovery. The activity of invertases and proliferation of acid, ethanol
and polysaccharides (dextran) producing microbes play a crucial role in the loss
of recoverable sugars in cane and milled juice. In addition to loss in sugar
recovery, its adverse affects has been noticed in the sugar manufacturing
process and sucrose quality. Efforts have been made to reduce loss in tonnage
and sucrose using physico-chemical methods. These include spraying of water,
bactericidal solution, use of anti-inversion and anti-bacterial formulations
and pre-harvest foliar and soil
application of zinc and mangnous compounds. An integrated mill
sanitation program and simultaneous use of dextranase could further improve
sugar recovery and minimize problems caused by dextran. The possibility of electrolyzed water (EW) fogging to reduce post harvest deterioration in field
and mill yard has also been explored. Some of these methods are useful and
present larger options for the industry
to minimize after-harvest quality losses in the field and milling tandem.
Keywords Post-harvest
deterioration, acid invertase, dextran, commercial cane sugar, biocides, field
control, dextranase
