Sugarcane Response to High Water Tables and Intermittent Flooding

Sugarcane production has engendered environmental concerns of nutrient transfer and subsidence of organic soils. Retaining water on fields would ameliorate these environmental issues. The objective of this research was to document the growth of sugarcane subjected to various high water-table treatments. Two experiments were conducted across two years using three sugarcane cultivars grown outdoors in large pots. Key aspects were to examine the timing of when water-table treatments were imposed and the influence of intermittent flooding. Continuous flooding at all growth stages was deleterious. A continuous water table at a 15 cm depth below the soil surface resulted in no negative effect on cane yield. Intermittent flooding in cycles of 6 d flooding, followed by 15 d at either a 15 cm or 45 cm water table, did not decrease yields. These results indicated that there may be practical management options for sustaining sugarcane production at high water tables.