Frost Risk Alert in CS Brazil Cane Fields

Main Focus

• An intensive cold front is reaching CS sugarcane-producing areas starting tomorrow.
• Over the next 3 days, frost risk is expected everywhere from Parana to Mato Grosso, Goiás, and Minas Gerais
• Frost has a negative impact for cane, and as winter season approaches cold temperature monitoring should became a constant for the market.

Frost Alert at Sugar Cane Regions

• A cold front is expected this week, Inmet (National Meteorological Monitoring) indicates an extensive and intense cold front reaching extended sugarcane producing areas by tomorrow.
• Frost has already been expected as of today in the south of the country and is moving up to the Centre-South by tomorrow.
• It will bring temperatures close to or below zero in several cities in the country, something atypical for Brazil in May.
• The cold will be more severe between Wednesday (18^th) and Thursday (19^th), with some areas even reporting moderate intensity frost.
  

How harmful frost is to crops will depend on its level of intensity (temperature and duration) and the stage in which the cane field is:

• When cane is ready to harvest, frost can be beneficial to sucrose content increasing ATR levels.
• If the sugarcane is close to the harvest period, the loss of productivity may not be as significant (however, the mills must harvest quickly to avoid a fall in the ATR and/or plant rot).
• The worst-case happens when the cane has not fully grown and the frost kills the apical bud of the plant.
• In these situations, cane harvested will show significant losses of in agricultural productivity and sucrose – TCH and ATR, respectively.
• Also, in other cases it may be necessary to replant the affected area.