Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s3.t2.3

v1.c6.s3.t2.3

Sugarcane was generally cultivated during the times of Northern and Southern Dynasties. However, its planting region was confined to south China. There are various theories about the native habitat of sugarcane and quite a lot of scholars produce linguistic evidence in favour of India as the homeland of sugarcane. They argued that the name of a country in central Bengal was Gauóa and this word was derived from Sanskrit guóa meaning sugar. Besides, one of the most famous families in ancient India was Ikùvàku and its name came from Sanskrit ikùu meaning sugarcane. India has a long history of sugarcane planting partly because the environment of many places. Bengal, for instance, is very suitable for sugarcane growing. All these tend to form the grounds for the argument favourable to India as the native habitat of sugarcane.