Produtividade de sorgo sacarino em função de populações de plantas e de épocas de corte

Abstract

The present work aimed to evaluate the sorghum saccharine cultivar BRS 506 regarding industrial characteristics related to yield and production of ethanol related to plant population and harvest time. The experiment was carried out in November 2012, in Lavras – MG. A randomized blocks experimental design was used, with three replications, in a 4x4 factorial scheme [4 populations: 70, 100, 130 and 160 thousands plants per hectare; 4 cutting seasons according to flowering: 0 days after flowering (DAF), 10 DAF, 20 DAF and physiological maturity 40 DAF]. Industrial characteristics such as juice volume (JV), total soluble solid (0 brix), total reducing sugars (TRS) and tones of brix per hectare (TBH) were evaluated after the analysis of saccharine juice of the BRS 506. Increased population provided higher JV. The industrial characteristics were affected by the period of cutting. The cutting at 40 DAF provided the highest 0 brix and TRS. JV and TBH reached the highest values at 17 and 14 DAF, respectively, periods showing the highest production of ethanol.