Estimating yield is a major challenge for the majority of agricultural crops. With the advancement of field technologies however, especially those related to the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Drones, the quality of available information has increased, making it possible to overcome technological bottlenecks. However, drone technologies have advanced much faster than studies dealing with the treatment and analysis of information, which can represent an obstacle to the complete adoption of such technologies in sugarcane fields. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential for UAV images to assess the degree of canopy closure from different planting approaches and row-spacing treatments applied to sugarcane crop, in order to assess the potential of these tools to predict crop yield. The vegetative growth of the crop was evaluated and the images were obtained at the point of maximum tillering and the inflection point of the biomass accumulation curve. The evaluations included the index; LAI (Leaf Area Index) and GRVI (Green-Red Vegetation Index) obtained by field sensor and UAV, respectively. Because the images from UAV cover the total area, the results revealed that GRVI appears to be much better able to reflect the whole condition of the crop yield (R² = 0.69) in the field when compared to LAI (R² = 0.34); demonstrated convincingly by the high spatial resolution capacity of the technology. When integrated, these two indices were able to improve yield estimates by 10% (R² = 0.79). Images obtained using UAV can represent a low-cost tool for obtaining high-precision remote data that can be used to estimate the agricultural yield of sugarcane fields; and in this way are an effective tool to aid decision making by growers.

Sugarcane straw is a crop residue that has a dual purpose and can be maintained on the fields or used to produce bioenergy. The straw retention in the field provides multiple ecosystem services, and the complex interactions between straw and yield responses are hard to predict by local studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the straw removal effects on sugarcane yield in south-central Brazil. To achieve the objective, a set of 21 field studies was conducted in contrasting edaphoclimatic conditions. In addition, data of seven studies from the literature were included to build a more robust dataset. Since straw removal treatments were not homogeneous in all experiments, they were grouped as follows: NR, no removal (baseline treatment); LR, low removal; MR, moderate removal; and TR, total removal. To facilitate the data analysis, the experiments were gathered in four macroregions: southern Goiás, western São Paulo, central-eastern São Paulo, and northeastern São Paulo. The site location was the most effective individual factor to explain the straw removal effects on sugarcane yields. Compared with NR treatment, the average yield losses induced by LR, MR, and TR were 2, 10, and 13 Mg ha⁻¹ in southern Goiás and 2, 4, and 6 Mg ha⁻¹ in western São Paulo states, respectively. In other regions, no clear pattern was observed, and only site-specific effects were observed. Straw removal affected sugarcane yields in all soil types, but higher responses were observed under best conditions for sugarcane growth (i.e., clayey soils in southern Goiás). Our findings indicated harvesting season has a relevant role on determining yield responses to straw removal and younger ratoons are more responsive to straw removal. Conclusions from this study suggest straw removal recommendations cannot be designed based on isolated factors but require holistic and integrated knowledge to ensure that the straw amount left on field is enough to sustain multiple soil ecosystem services and crop yields.

Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial produtivo de diferentes variedades de cana-de-açúcar irrigadas plenamente por gotejamento durante dois ciclos. O experimento foi instalado na região de Jaú, SP, em um Latossolo Vermelho eutrófico. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados em arranjo fatorial 8 x 2 (variedades x ciclos), com seis repetições. Em cada ciclo foram avaliadas variáveis de qualidade do caldo, produtividade de açúcar e de colmos e eficiência de utilização de água em relação à produtividade de colmos. Observou-se que variedades de cana-de-açúcar respondem diferentemente à irrigação plena, sendo esta resposta influenciada pelas condições climáticas do ano agrícola. Nesta pesquisa apenas o primeiro ciclo de avaliação (cana-planta) foi determinante para diferenciar o desempenho entre as variedades. As variedades IAC91-1099, IACSP96-3060, RB855536, RB867515 e SP85-1115 apresentaram melhor potencial produtivo agroindustrial e menor consumo relativo de água podendo, então, ser recomendadas para o manejo de produção com irrigação por gotejamento.