Sugarcane is grown under diverse agro-climatic conditions in the world. Therefore there is a considerable variation in the planting dates. The optimum planting periods in different countries are presented in Table 8.

Table 8. Recommended Planting Time in Different Countries

S.No.	Country	Season	Planting time
1	Brazil	Central-South	May to October
		Northeastern	September to March
2	India	Tropical	October to March
		Subtropical	September to April
3	China	---	November to April
4	USA	Hawaii	Year round
		Southeastern	August to March
5	Mexico	---	November to June
6	South Africa	---	May to November
7	Australia	---	June to December
7	Argentina	---	May to November
8	Cuba	---	November to May
9	Thailand	---	June to July and November
10	Philippines	---	October to May
11	Pakistan	---	February to March

Machinery Planting

Due to increase in labour scarcity use of cane planting machinery is on the rise in different countries not only to achieve efficiency in planting operation but also to save fuel expenses and time to cover large areas. Several types of planting machinery have been developed in different countries to suit the local conditions.

Research on depth of soil cover over seed cane indicates that soil cover in excess of four inches can cause yield losses. Growers should use a covering tool that will cover the cane without pushing the cane closer than the width it was planted. Packing of rows should be done immediately after covering.

In the picture: Planted Cane and Sett Coverage Using Machine