CTC Inaugurates Sugarcane Seed Plant: “No More Nurseries,” Says Director

Brazil's Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC) officially inaugurated its synthetic sugarcane seed plant this Thursday, November 16th. This announcement was confirmed by the company's Commercial Director, Luiz Antônio Dias Paes, during the Cana Summit event in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. Paes highlighted that this marks a key moment for the 13-year initiative, which aims to completely transform sugarcane planting methods. Paes emphasized, “The project aims to completely change how sugarcane is planted. It goes beyond planting stalks and even beyond planting pre-sprouted seedlings (MPB). The seed offers something new. We have developed a new technology for commercial planting. We will no longer need to establish nurseries.” He expressed his excitement that this innovation will bring significant changes. The director further explained that the inaugurated plant is a demonstrative facility, and research and development efforts will continue. He stated that the new production scale will allow CTC to conduct more experiments focused on planting, automation, and the quality and uniformity of processes. “We will use equipment from other crops, from partners, and cutting-edge technology, primarily so that producers can achieve scale. Therefore, this new factory is a crucial step towards the next stage, which is a commercial plant. At that point, the seed will be closer to the customer.” Paes also revealed that during the 2025/26 harvest season, planting was carried out at some partner mills and at cultivation centers outside of CTC. Currently, the company is completing the planting of 20 hectares of mechanized seed cultivation. Moving forward, CTC will continue to expand the application of this technology.