Forage yield of sugarcane growing in different row spacing and harvesting periods

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of 0.90 m and 1.30 m row spacing and one or two periods of harvesting on the agronomical characteristics and forage yield of sugarcane cultivar RB72454. The trial was performed in three farms located in Santo Antonio da Platina - PR, from November 2004 to January 2006. Treatments were composed by combination of 0.90 m and 1.30 m row spacing and number of harvesting, being two periods of harvesting (240 days of plant-cane and 180 days of regrowth), or one harvesting (420 days of plant-cane). A randomized blocks design was used, with five replicates per treatment. The yield forage varied between 142.49 t-ha(-1) and 225.70 t-ha(-1) and was due to row spacing. The period of harvesting affected (P < 0.05) the yield and the treatment of one cut was 21.41% more productive than two harvests. The stubbles losses in simulated mechanical harvesting represented, on average, 17.41% and 6.83% of the total yield for two and one harvesting, respectively.