[Syrupmakers] sorghum cutting

[Ivan and Eileen]

Shaun,

     I have had experience with primarily Dale cane.  When cane is cut in 
the mature stage (seed being dough to hard) we have let cane lay as much as 
two weeks.  If cane is gathered and stacked in a pile it will encourge 
bacterial growth thus generating heat in the pile.  This will in time 
degenerate sugar content and degrade the quality of syrup.  A side benefit 
to letting cane lay is the fact that it alows natural enzymes to help 
balance the sucrose to simple sugar ratio thus inhibiting crystalization in 
the syrup.

     Question number two is one in which I have very little experience but I 
do know that if cane is topped and is not cut down within a relatively short 
amount of time that it will want to make new seed heads.  If this occurs, 
much of the energy stored in the stalk as sugar will be used to produce new 
seed growth.

                               A former producer,  Ivan Eck