Sugarcane harvesting requires a significant amount of energy and time to manage dry leaves after the harvesting process. Therefore, the objective of this study was to minimize the energy requirement to process the cane and dry leaves’ harvesting (CDLH) for sugarcane while, at the same time, maximizing sugar production from cane and energy from dry leaves in Sri Lanka. The CDLH was conceptualized using a novel approach to optimize sugarcane harvesting to maximize biomass supply for energy production while reducing supply chain sugar-loss. The CDLH was investigated for manual harvesting capacity, energy consumption, sugar loss, and biomass energy potential. It was observed that CDLH consumed higher energy compared to the present practices of harvesting. However, the energy used for fieldwork was reduced because of the shifting of cane chopping and cleaning from the field to the factory. Low bulk density of the harvested cane of the CDLH system had a higher energy requirement in transportation. Comparatively, CDLH showed higher biomass energy potential and less sugar loss. High energy potential increases the energy potential to consumption ratio compared to the existing method. Therefore, the theoretical evaluation showed that the CDLH system can produce more than 20 kg of sugar and 879 MJ of electricity when processing 1 t of sugarcane.

Long-term sugarcane monoculture degrades soil. Applying sugarcane by-products can improve soil properties. This study compared the effects of sugarcane bagasse-based boiler ash versus bagasse-based biochar on soil physicochemical properties and initial growth of sugarcane variety SL 96 128. A pot experiment was conducted under shade house conditions using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Treatments consisted of four application rates of biochar and boiler ash (1, 2, 4, and 6 t ha⁻¹) along with the recommended N: P: K rates for sugarcane, recommended N: P: K rates only, and a zero-amendment as control. Plant growth performance and soil physicochemical properties were assessed three months after planting. The results indicated that the application of biochar and boiler ash improved nutrient availability to sugarcane plants. Both biochar and boiler ash amendments exhibited similar effects, while the zero-amendment control was found to be inadequate for the sugarcane variety SL 96 128. Regarding pH buffering capacity, the highest application rate of boiler ash (6 t ha⁻¹) resulted in low buffering capacity, suggesting that boiler ash should be applied under well-monitored conditions. Nevertheless, the application of boiler ash up to 6 t ha⁻¹ combined with recommended chemical fertilizers showed no negative impact on sugarcane plants within the first three months. Further studies are required to evaluate the effects of boiler ash on soil physicochemical properties and sugarcane growth under field conditions.