“1 Plant, 100 Uses” explores the many ways familiar Indian plants, leaves, fruits and trees have been part of everyday life — from food and farming to homes, traditions and natural remedies. Each story takes one plant and uncovers the surprising ways people have found it useful, often across generations.
Sugarcane is a familiar sight across India’s agricultural landscape. Its sweet juice is a popular summer drink; its stalks are crushed to make sugar and jaggery, and its leaves can be used as cattle fodder. But the plant’s usefulness does not end when the juice has been extracted.
India produced 454.61 million tonnes of sugarcane in 2024-25, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’s Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2024-25. Beyond sugar production, the crop also supplies raw materials for industries that use its fibrous residue and other by-products.
From generating electricity and making paper to producing compostable tableware and enriching agricultural soil, sugarcane offers several uses beyond the kitchen. Even the fibrous residue left after crushing the stalks can become a valuable raw material for industries.
Research by Indian agricultural institutions highlights how different parts of the crop can be put to use. Here are ways this everyday plant finds a purpose well beyond the sugar bowl.
1. Sweeten everyday foods
Sugar is the most familiar product made from sugarcane. Its juice is processed to extract sucrose, then crystallised into the sugar used in homes, restaurants, and food manufacturing.
Sugarcane is a familiar sight across India’s agricultural landscape. Photograph: (Saveur)
The crop also supplies traditional Indian sweeteners such as gur (jaggery) and khandsari sugar. Jaggery is made by boiling concentrated sugarcane juice until it solidifies and is widely used in regional sweets, laddoos, halwas, and traditional preparations.
The Government of India’s One District One Product portal provides further information on sugarcane-based products such as jaggery and molasses.
2. Make a refreshing drink
Fresh sugarcane juice is a popular street-side drink across India, particularly during summer. Vendors crush the stalks to extract the juice, often serving it with lemon, ginger, or mint.
The juice can also be boiled down to make jaggery. In traditional production, the fibrous residue left after extraction may be burnt to provide heat for boiling the juice. This allows one part of the plant to help process another.
3. Create compostable tableware
The fibrous residue left after extracting sugarcane juice is called bagasse. Its fibres can be processed into plates and other disposable tableware, offering an alternative to conventional plastic products.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology has developed a technology to produce disposable paper plates using sugarcane bagasse and banana pseudostem fibres. According to ICAR’s technology note on creating wealth from agricultural waste, a production unit could manufacture between 10,000 and 30,000 paper plates a day, depending on its size. The process uses compression moulding to turn the fibres into usable products.
This provides sugarcane-processing industries another way to use the residue left behind after crushing the stalks.
4. Generate electricity
Bagasse can also serve as fuel. Sugar mills burn this fibrous residue in boilers to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity.
The electricity helps meet a mill’s own energy requirements, while facilities with suitable infrastructure can supply surplus power to the grid.
According to a Press Information Bureau release from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, sugar mills have used bagasse-based cogeneration plants to produce steam and electricity for their operations and generate additional power for sale.
5. Turn waste into paper
Bagasse contains cellulose, a component of plant fibres used in paper manufacturing. After suitable processing, it can be converted into paper and other fibre-based products.
The Institute of Wood Science and Technology, under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, explains how bagasse can be used to manufacture particle boards. It also identifies the material as a potential source of pulp for paper production.
Its juice is processed to extract sucrose, then crystallised into the sugar used in homes, restaurants, and food manufacturing. Photograph: (Gardening Know How)
Using this residue can create another source of raw material for industries that rely on plant fibres.
6. Feed farm animals
Sugarcane can support livestock farming, too. The green tops and leaves left after harvesting can be used as dry fodder for cattle, particularly when conventional fodder is scarce.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s study on sugarcane trash as fodder explains how the material can be chopped and mixed with green fodder and concentrate feed. Its nutritional limitations mean it should be used as part of a balanced ration rather than as a complete feed on its own.
7. Enrich agricultural soil
Press mud, also known as filter cake, is a by-product separated during sugar juice clarification. It contains organic matter and plant nutrients that can be useful in agriculture.
After appropriate treatment, it can be incorporated into compost and soil amendments, helping return organic matter to farmland. Its composition should be checked before application to make sure it is suitable for the intended use.
This provides another route for putting sugar-industry residues to productive use instead of treating them solely as waste.
8. Make particle boards
Sugarcane bagasse can be used to manufacture particle boards, which are made by processing plant fibres or particles and binding them into sheets. These boards can be used in certain furniture and interior applications.
The Institute of Wood Science and Technology’s research on bagasse particle boards describes the material’s fibre content and its potential in board manufacturing.
This application turns a residue from sugar production into a material that can serve the construction and furniture industries.
Fresh sugarcane juice is a popular street-side drink across India. Photograph: (Juice at Home)
One crop, many possibilities
Sugarcane’s value lies not just in its sweet juice but also in the many products that can be made from its different parts. Making better use of these materials can reduce waste and create additional value for sugar mills and farmers. The key is to choose suitable processing methods so that more of the crop can be used productively.
