Does sugarcane grow faster on sand?

Question

I've been playing Minecraft for a while - at first, you could only place it on sand adjacent to water, but then there was the option to grow it on dirt. I had read and always believed that sugarcane could grow on both, but would grow faster on sand. I have experienced this twice in Minecraft, once in the PC version and one in Pocket Edition. Recently, though, I read that they grow the same speed, and that several people have proven it to be that way.

I'm really confused now - could someone clear it up for me? Thanks ;)

Answer 1

The base block does not change the rate at which sugarcane grows. Players have even checked the code responsible for the growth- it only checks the block above for air and the blocks below to check it isn't already 3 blocks. There is nothing which could cause a difference between the two.

Source: Minecraft Wiki: Sugar Cane Talk Page

Contrary to popular belief, the speed of growth of sugar cane is the same, regardless of the block it is placed on. - Minecraft Wiki

Answer 2

YouTuber xisumavoid has actually covered this in his "Minecraft Myth Busting" series (you can find the video here if you're interested).

Xisuma concludes, using science and a check of the game code, that it makes no difference what block it is planted on. So no, it doesn't make any difference whatsoever what block you plant it on.

Answer 3

My brother and I ran some tests - we timed how long the sugarcane takes to grow on sand, dirt, grass and farmland.

Our results showed sugarcane growing faster on sand.