The cleaning of sugarcane plantations requires an exceptional effort, due to the high level of weeding.

As long as the lack of fuel keeps on pause the fulfillment of the sugar production plan of the Majibacoa sugar mill -which is the same as saying the sugar harvest in Las Tunas-, and does not let the sowing progress in the foreseen magnitude, it is necessary "to focus the cannons" towards the cleaning of the sugarcane fields.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- The need to focus entirely on these tasks is urgent for all companies and production units, because according to estimates by specialists, at this time, about 60 percent of the plantations in the province are suffering from light, medium, and heavy weeding.

This is an unusual level of affectation for a territory that in the past, during the worst periods, had between 20 and 15 percent of the total area affected by some type of weeds.

Therefore, rather than talking about perimeters that have already benefited or plans that were conceived for normal working conditions, the reasonable and objective thing to do is to approach the matter from the perspective of matching the levels of cleanliness with the state of existing weeding in each place.

The worst thing that can happen to any entity is to accommodate its efforts to daily results expressed in the plan and not to the real situation shown on the ground. The workers of the Antonio Guiteras Company, for example, know that they are the best in the soil of Las Tunas with a level of weed control below 14 percent, but they have not lowered their guard because they recognize that, although to a lesser extent, they still have plantations threatened by weeds.

Therefore, the situation requires joining forces and speeding up the use of hoes, animal traction, and also the application of herbicides to the extent possible.

And when I say join forces, I am not only talking about incorporating office staff and all the elements available in the companies and production units but also the mobilization of support from other sectors of the municipality, a practice that some time ago became a driving force in tasks such as the cleaning and planting of sugarcane.

For engineer Danilo Infante Morales, a member of Azcuba's Coordination and Support Group in the province, the rains may hinder the cleaning rhythm; however, he affirmed that everything possible will be done to advance the total weeding, but with emphasis on the so-called new canes.

Regarding the harvest, Rafael Pantaleón Quevedo, Azcuba's representative in the Balcón de Oriente, confirmed that the device is still activated to comply with the sugar plan of the Majibacoa sugar mill, now only 225 tons, whose production depends entirely on the fuel that will be allocated.