Sugar experiment works

MORE than 1,300 townships in six provinces and one autonomous region in southern China have adopted new technology to grow sugar cane with a high yield and rich sugar content.

The technology has been applied over 850,000 hectares in southern China, says Xinhua.

The average yield per hectare soared to 65 tonnes last year, 11 tonnes more than previously. The sugar content rose by 13 per cent.

The new technology was developed by the Guangxi Sugar Cane Research Institute between 1981 and 1985. In 1990, the State Science and Technology Commission urged its widespread use in rural China.

The provinces of Guangdong, Yunnan, Hainan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were chosen for pilot schemes in 1991.