Every year, the sugar industry loses lakhs of rupees because of the degradation of sugarcane post-harvest. A recent innovation of the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research IISR, Lucknow, may make that a thing of the past by retaining cane freshness and checking bacterial invasion.

‘‘Any degradation in the quality of the cane is bound to affect the sugar and other value-added products derived from it. The freshener we have developed arrests the conversion of sucrose into its non-crystalline forms—a principal factor in limiting extraction of sugar from cane—and also fights bacteria, which normally affects harvested stock from its cut or bruised ends,’’ says IISR’s principal scientist S Solomon.

Since the institute has applied for a patent, he is reluctant to reveal the formulation of the freshener. But, he says, the product—to be available as an aerosol spray—will be pocket-friendly.

Asit Srivastava