Brazil's main cane belt will likely see an intense flowering in the 2016/17 crop, similar to last season, potentially reducing yields in areas most affected, a leading cane research center said on Wednesday. Intense flowering of cane fields happen around six months after a complex set of conditions are met, including precipitation levels, temperatures and hours of sun.
A field heavily impacted with flowering will produce less weight in cane, with less sugar content. The Cane Technology Center (CTC), a research body sponsored by the sugar industry, said in a report that important producing areas such as R. Preto and Piracicaba, in Sao Paulo state, will again have the conditions for flowering. "This is going to be a crop with high-flowering incidence, above historical levels," said CTC researcher Mauro Violante.