DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / March 19, 2000

VACHERIE – If you think the sugar cane seems a little greener every year, you might not be mistaken. With the cane beginning it’s yearly climb towardthe sun, a very popular variety is being grown all over St. James Parish. “384 is very vigorous, so much so that about anyone can tell the difference between it and 845 or 321,” said J.B. Falgoust, owner of Vacherie’s J.B.Falgoust Farm, Inc.

Developed by the Louisiana State University Agriculture Center and the United States Department of Agriculture and released in 1993, this new breed of sugarcane has greatly accepted by the American Sugarcane League in Thibodaux and local cane farmers.

384 yields up to 23 percent more an acre than the previously popular 321, grown on 40 percent of the state’s acreage, said Leader’s Winter 2000 newsletter. 321 produces approximately 23,000 pounds of sugar per acre init’s three-year rotation, while 384 produces over 28,500 pounds in the same amount of time.

Also adding to the quality of the cane, 384 equals or produces more in it’s second year in the ground than in it’s first, a trend opposite of it’s predecessors. Another benefit of the cane is that it can be harvested fouryears in the field rather than the usual three. This significantly decreasesthe cost of planting, said the Leader.

“384 grows good, the weight’s good, the sugar’s good and it outlasts the others. Every grower is going into 384. If they plant a substantial amount, itcan be very profitable,” said Falgoust.

However, Falgoust added, if the variety develops a disease then it could be very problematic. With everyone beginning to plant more acres with 384,researchers are concerned they may be putting all their eggs in one basket.

It’s still a fairly new variety, and if it is susceptible to an unknown disease it could devastate many of the farmers that are relying on it, said Falgoust.

This is not the only difficulty in using 384. Though the cane produces a muchlarge amount of sugar, it also grows very tall and is heavy. The cane is easilylodged, or knocked down, by high winds, which makes it difficult to harvest with the traditional soldier harvester, said Falgoust. Also the thick amount ofleaves make it hard to harvest.

There are solutions to the problems. Some farmers burn off the crop beforeharvesting, which reduces the amount of leaves and allows the harvesters to cut the cane more efficiently. The side effect is difficult for many otherparish citizens to handle. The thick smoke generated by the burning rainsdown black soot that settles on everything, said Falgoust.

“The public has a right to complain. We have to get our act together and getaway from burning,” added Falgoust. He hopes that with the availability thenew “chopper” harvesters, an alternate solution can be found.

The chopper harvester is more powerful than the soldier harvesters in many aspects. It can be attached with more powerful fans, which strip the cane ofit’s leaves more effectively. Also it “chops” the cane much closer to theground, allowing lodged cane to be salvaged with much less difficulty, said Falgoust.

“LSU and the rest became the savior of the Louisiana cane industry when the experimental stations came up with 384,” said Falgoust. American SugarCane League figures show that sugar production in Louisiana has increased almost 50 million tons since 384 was released in 1993. That increase mustbe attributed to the advances in the cane industry as a whole rather than solely 384, said Falgoust.

Though this may be a great advance in St. James farming, Falgoust is stillspreading out his eggs between the last three varieties of sugarcane released by LSU and the American Sugar Cane League.

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