Lynne Wong's PhD thesis

Table 3.1. It can be seen that the main part of the sugar cane plant from which sugar can
be extracted is the stalk (Fig 3.2).
Table 3.1. Composition of different parts of cane (Brown and Blouin, 1907).
Composition/% Stalks Roots Leaves
Water
Ash
Fats and wax
Nitrogeneous matter
crude cellulose
Fibre pentosans
ligneous bodies
Sugars, etc.
74.96
0.64
0.38
0.58
4.86
3.04
2.14
13.40
68.79
1.87
0.54
1.59
9.58
7.04
4.25
6.34
74.38
2.23
0.69
1.70
9.18
5.49
4.13
2.21
According to Van Dillewijn (1952), the structure of cane stalk can be roughly divided into
two parts: an outer peripheral region or rind, and an inner soft pith section, which differ
mainly in the relative concentrations of juice-containing cells (parenchyma) and
fibrovascular bundles. The rind has a strong outer cuticle often covered with a layer of
wax, which prevents evaporation of water from the inner cells as well as giving them
protection against mechanical injuries and attack by micro-organisms. The term “rind”
normally refers to the relatively thin external layer of the stalk, but it is also taken as the
adjacent layer of dense tissue in which there is a high concentration of vascular bundles
and relatively few juice cells (Fig 3.3). By virtue of its high fibre content this is the
strongest portion of the plant and it gives the stalk much of its characteristic strength and
rigidity.
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