Sugarcane

Botanical name: Saccharum officinarum

Family: Gramineae (=Poaceae)

Parts used: Stem or canes

Economic Importance

1. Sugar is one of the most valuable products of the plant world obtained from Saccharum species.

2. It is a necessary food for man as it is a perfect food and produces energy.

3. A lot of sugar is used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, ice-creams, chocolates, confectionary and canning industry.

4. Molasses is an important byproduct of sugarcane industry which is used as livestock feed and for the preparation of rum, industrial alcohol, vinegar, glycerol, lactic acid, citric acid and monosodium glutamate (fluring).

5. Thick noble canes which are soft and have high juice and sugar content and low fibre are chewed throughout the tropics.

6. The molasses is used in cooking, manure and candy making.

8. Bagasse is used as a fuel in sugar mills. It is also used for paper making and as an ingredient of fibre board.