FAISALABAD: Agriculture experts have advised farmers to start the water-intensive sugarcane cultivation in September which could yield a bumper crop given the floods.

A spokesman for the agriculture department said on Tuesday that growers should plough three to four times before cultivating the crop. The distance between sugarcane rows should be at least 4 feet and seeds should be cultivated at a depth of 10 to 12 inches.

Farmers should use approved seed varieties, including CPF-237, CPF-243, CPF-246, CPF-247, SHF-240, HSF-242, CP-77-400, CPF-249, CPF-252, CPF-253, CPSG-2525, SLSG-1283 because these varieties not only are more disease resistant but also gave maximum production.