How sugarcane is grown and harvested
Sugarcane is the world's biggest crop by weight, and cutters traditionally burn the field first to chase out snakes.
- stations
- 4
- things downstream
- 370
The short version
Sugarcane is a tall tropical grass planted from stalk cuttings, each with at least one bud. It needs warmth and plentiful water for more than 6 to 7 months a year. Cane is cut at ground level, either by hand with knives after the field has been burned, or by a harvester that strips and chops the stalks.
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Plant stalk cuttings
Modern cane is propagated from stem cuttings rather than seed, and each piece must carry at least one bud. In places like the United States and Australia machines plant billets, which are stalk sections, into opened furrows.
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Grow in warm, wet land
Stalks reach 2 to 7 m tall, so the crop needs a tropical or subtropical climate and a minimum of 60 cm of moisture a year. It does not tolerate severe frost, so most of it is grown between 22°N and 22°S.
at least 60 cm of moisture a year
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Burn, then cut the cane
In hand harvesting the field is set on fire first, which burns off dry leaves and drives out snakes without damaging the stalks. Cutters then chop the cane just above ground with knives or machetes. A skilled one cuts 500 kg an hour.
500 kg per hour by hand
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Chop with a harvester
A mechanical harvester cuts the cane at the base, strips the leaves, chops the stalks to consistent lengths and drops them into a trailing transporter. One machine can handle 100 long tons an hour.
Worth repeating
- Sugarcane is the world's largest crop by production quantity and supplies 79% of the sugar produced globally.
- Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of production and dominates in the developing world.
Where it comes from
- Brazil40% of world output
2020, share of the 1.9 billion tonnes of sugarcane produced worldwide.
Where it goes next
Sugarcane feeds 4 lines directly and reaches 370 things in total.
Further down the line
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How sugarcane is grown and harvested." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/sugarcane