Abstract

The crystallization efficiency of sucrose in industrial sugar processing is influenced by the composition of non-sucrose compounds in sugarcane juice. This study evaluated the variability of potassium (K⁺), sodium (Na⁺), and calcium (Ca²⁺), their association with soluble ash, and their relationships with reducing sugars and the reducing sugar-to-ash ratio, termed the melasigenic index (MI) in the operational terminology used in this manuscript. Juice samples from different supply plots were analyzed using chemical determinations and multivariate statistical analyses, including analysis of variance, Pearson correlations, and an exploratory multiple linear regression. Potassium showed the strongest association with soluble ash (r = 0.946), corresponding to approximately 89.5% shared linear variance, while MI was strongly correlated with reducing sugars (r = 0.836). Reducing sugars and ash were weakly correlated (r = 0.096), indicating little linear co-variation in the present dataset. Because MI is mathematically defined as RS/Ash, regression coefficients involving its two components were interpreted descriptively rather than as independent causal effects. The results identify reducing sugars and soluble mineral load, particularly potassium, as distinct monitoring domains relevant to juice quality and sucrose crystallization.