“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.

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........

© The Better India