SHORT COMMUNICATION

Effect of Integrated Nutrients Management on Cane Yield, JuiceQuality and Soil Fertility Under Sugarcane Based CroppingSystem

Vijay Kumar • Mehar Chand

Received: 18 July 2012 / Accepted: 2 January 2013 / Published online: 20 January 2013

� Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2013

Abstract Two field experiments were conducted at CCS

HAU Regional Research Station, Karnal, Haryana, India

during 2004–2007 on the plant–ratoon–plant sequence of

sugarcane crops in and during 2008–2010 on plant–ratoon

in sequence. In both the experiments, the application

of NPK fertilizer increased the cane yield of plant

(3.8–7.9 %) and ratoon crops (4.9–6.2 %) of sugarcane,

over NP treatment. Cane yields produced with the appli-

cation of farm yard manure (FYM) ? N 1/2 P, press-mud

(PM)/press-mud compost (PMC) ? N 1/2 P, FYM ? NP,

PM/PMC ? NP, green manure (GM) ? NP were at par

with application of NPK, respectively (cane yields pro-

duced with NPK were 83.0, 77.9 and 85.7 t/ha for plant–

ratoon–plant crops, respectively and 76.3 and 90.4 t/ha for

plant–ratoon crop, respectively). These treatments pro-

duced higher cane yield of plant and ratoon crop than NP

fertilizers alone. The application of FYM ? NPK or PM/

PMC ? NPK or GM ? NPK produced significantly higher

cane yield (3–5 % of plant and 5–8 % of ratoon crops) than

the application of NPK alone. In both the experiments, the

application of NPK fertilizer increased the CCS% of plant

and ratoon crops of sugarcane over NP treatment. The

application of organic manure (FYM or PM/PMC or

GM) ? N 1/2 P or NP or NPK increased the soil organic

carbon (OC%) over NPK (from 0.39 up to 0.52 % in first

experiment and 0.44 up to 0.48 % in second experiment).

The application of NPK increased the available K in the

soil over NP (from 180 up to 194 kg/ha in the first

experiment and 142 to 150 kg/ha in second experiment).

The application of organic manure (FYM or PM at 12.5 t/

ha) ? NPK substantially increased the available K in the

soil (from 180 up to 200 kg/ha in the first experiment and

142 up to 154 kg/ha in second experiment).

Keywords Inorganic fertilizers � Organic manures �Soil properties � Green manuring

Sugarcane is an exhaustive crop and depletes the soil

nutrients heavily. Continuous sugarcane cropping with the

use of only inorganic fertilizers has led to depletion of

essential available nutrients beside organic carbon in the

soil. To stop the continuous decline in soil fertility it is

important to use organic manure in combination of inor-

ganic fertilizers i.e. integrated nutrients management in

sugarcane (Kumar and Verma 2005). This will not only

improve the chemical fertility of soil but also maintain the

physical and biological health of soil. Use of organic

manure not only provide the essential nutrients but improve

the water holding capacity, aeration, exchange capacity of

soil, solubility of essential nutrients thereby increasing

their availability (Sagwal and Kumar 1998). The use of

organic manure activates the soil micro-organism which

helps in decomposition of crop residues thus maintaining

the proper C:N ratio and soil pH. The various organic

manure viz. Farm yard manure (FYM), sugar factory waste

like PM or PMC, green manuring, can be used in inte-

gration with chemical fertilizer to increase the sugarcane

production and maintain of soil fertility (Bokhtiar and

Sakurai 2005). The fresh press mud, when incorporated in

the soil may cause burning in the crop. The application of

decomposed press mud compost in combination with

inorganic fertilizers could be more beneficial. Keeping

these in view, the experiments were conducted at Regional

Research Station, Karnal (Haryana) to study the effect of

V. Kumar � M. Chand (&)

Regional Research Station, CCS Haryana Agricultural

University, Karnal 132001, India

e-mail: meharhau@gmail.com

123

Sugar Tech (Apr-June 2013) 15(2):214–218

DOI 10.1007/s12355-013-0204-2

application various combination of FYM, sulphitation PM

or PMC, green manuring of Sesbania aculeata in situ with

inorganic fertilizers (NPK or NP) on cane yield of sugar-

cane and on available nutrients in the soil.

Two field experiments were conducted at CCS HAU

Regional Research Station, Karnal, Haryana, India during

2004–2007 on the plant–ratoon–plant sequence of sugar-

cane crops and during 2008–2010 on plant–ratoon in

sequence. For the first experiment the treatment consisted

of the application of NP, NPK, FYM at 12.5/t/ha ? N ? 1/

2 P, FYM ? NP, FYM ? NPK, PM at 12.5/t/ha ? N 1/2

P, PM ? NP, PM ? NPK, green manuring of S. aculeata

in situ (green manure, GM) ? NP, GM ? NPK in ran-

domized block design with four replications. The N, P, K

were applied at 150 kg N/ha, 50 kg P2O5/ha, 50 kg K2O/

ha, respectively for plant and 225 kg N/ha, 50 kg P2O5/ha,

50 kg K2O/ha for ratoon as per treatments. The application

of inorganic fertilizer NPK is recommended practice for

both plant and ratoon crops of sugarcane grown in Haryana

state. The sugarcane was planted in spring season in month

of March and the ratoon crop was initiated in the month of

February in both the years. The top 15 cm of soil of

experiment site was clay loam in texture and had pH (1:2)

8.9, electrical conductivity 0.40 dS/m, organic carbon

0.39 %, available P (Olsen) 7 kg/ha, available K 180 kg/

ha. Second experiment consisted of the treatments

i.e. the application of NP, NPK, FYM ? N 1/2 P,

FYM ? NP, FYM ? NPK, PMC ? N 1/2 P, PMC ? NP,

PMC ? NPK, GM ? NP, GM ? NPK. The top 15 cm

of soil of this experiment site was clay loam in texture

and had pH (1:2) 8.6, electrical conductivity 0.30 dS/m,

organic carbon 0.44 %, available P (Olsen) 7 kg/ha,

available K 142 kg/ha. Cane yield (t/ha) for plant and

ratoon crops were recorded at the harvest. For juice quality

analysis of both plant and ratoon crops at the harvest, ten

canes stalk per plot were randomly collected, weighed and

passed through a three roller sample mill for juice extrac-

tion. The crusher juice was analysed for brix (soluble solid)

by brix hydrometer. After clarifying the juice with lead

sub-acetate, the sucrose concentration was determined by

polarimeter. The percentage of sucrose and commercial

cane sugar (CCS%) in juice were determined by the

methods of Meade and Chen (1977). Sugar yield was cal-

culated by multiplying CCS% with cane yield. The

response of different organic manure ? inorganic fertiliz-

ers on the cane yield and CCS (%) of both plant and ratoon

crops were determined by the ANOVA and LSD (P \ 0.5).

The soil samples 0–15 cm were collected at grand growth

stage (September) every year and were analysed for vari-

ous physico-chemical properties (Van Reeuwijk 1987).

In both the experiments the application of NPK fertilizer

increased the cane yield of both plant (3.8–7.9 %) and

ratoon crop (4.9–6.2 %) of sugarcane, over NP treatment

(Table 1). For the first experiment cane yields produced

with the application of FYM ? N 1/2 P, PM ? N 1/2 P,

FYM ? NP, PM ? NP, GM ? NP, were at par with the

cane yields produced with application of NPK (cane yields

produced with NPK were 83.0, 77.9 and 85.73 t/ha for

plant–ratoon–plant crops, respectively and 76.3 and 90.4 t/

ha for plant–ratoon crop, respectively) and these treatments

produced higher cane yield of plant crop and ratoon crop

than NP fertilizers. Similarly cane yields produced with the

application of FYM ? N 1/2 P, PM/PMC ? N 1/2 P,

FYM ? NP, PM/PMC ? NP, GM ? NP were at par with

the cane yields produced with application of NPK (cane

yields of 76.3 and 90.4 t/ha for ratoon crop, respectively)

and these treatments produced higher cane yield of plant

crop and ratoon crop than NP fertilizers. This indicate that

the application of organic manure FYM and press-mud can

compensates the application of half dose of P and full dose

of K to achieve the similar cane yield as produced by the

recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer NPK. In both

the experiments, the application of FYM ? NPK, PM/

PMC ? NPK, GM ? NPK produced significantly higher

than the application of NPK. These treatments produced

3–5 % higher cane yield of plant and 5–8 % of ratoon

crops respectively over NPK fertilizes alone. Jeyaraman

and Alagudurai (2003) conducted the experiment at Sug-

arcane Research Station, Sirugamani, Tamil Nadu to study

the nitrogen and phosphorous management in sugarcane

with GM as intercrop and phosphobacteria incorporation.

They found that the application of 275–62.5–112.5 kg of

N, P2O5 and K2O/ha with daincha as intercrop and incor-

poration on 60 days after sowing along with soil applica-

tion of phosphobacteria at the time of planting of setts

recorded the highest tiller production of 163,680, millable

cane of 133,667, brix 22.1 %, pol 18.2 %, purity 88.9 %,

CCS 12.7 %, cane yield and sugar yield of 196 and 24.8 t/

ha respectively. This was comparable with application of

275–62.5–112.5 kg of N, P2O5 and K2O/ha along with

daincha as intercrop. The data showed that there was a

saving of 25 % nitrogen when intercropped with daincha

and in situ incorporation on 60 days after sowing in sug-

arcane. Gana (2008) conducted field trials in Nigeria to

evaluate the effect of organic fertiliser on chewing sugar-

cane production. The results showed the best sugarcane

growth and yield (t/ha) were obtained from the plots

incorporated with cow-dung at 10 t/ha and also supple-

mented with in-organic fertilizer at 120N-60P2O5–

90K2O kg/ha. Paul et al. (2001) conducted a field experi-

ment with integrated nutrient management by organic and

inorganic fertilizers on sugarcane ratoon at Regional

Sugarcane Research Station farm under Old Himalayan

Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh. It was comprised of nine

treatments including organic manure and Rice mill ash and

press-mud integrated with inorganic fertilizers. Results

Sugar Tech (Apr-June 2013) 15(2):214–218 215

123

revealed that all the treatments with organic and inorganic

fertilizers significantly produced higher ratoon cane

yield over recommended fertilizers and control. The

treatment having combinations of 50 % recommended

N120P35K100S25Zn2 kg/ha with press mud at 20 t/ha and

rice mill ash at 10 t/ha showed the highest net economic

benefit and better apparent nutrient balance in soil.

The application of NPK fertilizer significantly increased

the juice quality i.e. commercial cane sugar (CCS%) of

both plant crop and sugarcane ratoon, over NP treatment

(Table 2). With application of NP only the CCS% of plant

and ratton crops ranged from 11.51 to 11.87 % in first

experiment and 12.14 to 12.32 % whereas for NPK treat-

ment, the CCS% ranged from 12.04 to 12.36 % in first

experiment and 12.45 to 12.82 % in second experiment.

The application of FYM ? NPK, PM/PMC ? NPK and

GM ? NPK produced CCS% of plant and ratoon crops at

par with NPK fertilizes. However the application of

FYM ? N 1/2 P or PM/PMC ? N 1/2 P produced lower

juice quality (CCS%) of plant and ratoon crop than the

application of NPK fertilizers. Similarly the application of

FYM ? NP or PM/PMC ? NP produced lower juice

quality (CCS%) or at par juice quality (CCS%) of plant

and ratoon crop than the application of NPK fertilizers

(Tables 1, 2).

The application of NPK fertilizer significantly increased

the sugar yield of both plant crop and sugarcane ratoon,

over NP treatment (Tables 1, 2). The application of

Table 1 Effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on cane yield, CCS% and sugar yield of sugarcane

Treatments Cane yield (t/ha) CCS% Sugar yield (q/ha)

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

NP 80.0 73.34 80.50 11.87 11.51 11.84 95.0 84.4 95.3

NPK 83.0 77.91 85.73 12.04 12.09 12.36 99.9 94.2 105.6

FYM ? N 1/2 P 83.5 76.84 83.64 11.71 11.54 11.87 97.8 88.7 99.3

FYM ? NP 83.9 78.20 84.84 11.85 11.79 12.05 99.4 92.2 102.2

FYM ? NPK 85.4 82.96 89.59 12.14 12.15 12.39 103.7 100.8 110.

PM ? 1/2 P 84.0 76.93 82.97 11.80 11.54 12.04 99.1 88.7 99.9

PM ? NP 84.3 78.30 83.88 11.89 11.79 12.13 100.2 92.3 101.7

PM ? NPK 86.2 82.00 88.18 12.18 12.14 12.36 105.0 99.5 109.0

GM ? NP 84.0 77.02 86.01 11.84 11.65 12.30 99.5 89.7 105.7

GM ? NPK 86.4 81.50 87.85 12.13 12.13 12.31 104.8 98.9 108.4

CD at 5 % 2.08 2.03 3.15 0.13 0.17 0.291 2.73 2.55 4.34

Table 2 Effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on cane yield CCS% and sugar yield of sugarcane

Treatments Cane yield (t/ha) CCS% Sugar yield (q/ha)

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

NP 70.77 86.6 12.32 12.14 87.2 105.1

NPK 76.34 90.4 12.82 12.45 97.9 112.5

FYM ? N 1/2 P 74.47 90.3 12.56 12.41 93.5 109.6

FYM ? NP 76.23 92.5 12.80 12.44 97.6 113.0

FYM ? NPK 80.50 96.2 13.24 12.78 106.6 122.9

PMC ? 1/2 P 74.48 90.2 12.61 12.46 93.9 109.7

PMC ? NP 75.05 91.4 12.73 12.49 95.5 111.4

PMC ? NPK 79.87 96.5 13.22 12.72 105.6 122.7

GM ? NP 75.23 90.3 12.83 12.48 96.5 110.7

GM ? NPK 79.00 98.0 13.13 12.76 103.7 125.0

CD at 5 % 2.511 3.50 0.208 0.210 3.50 4.73

FYM at 12.5 t/ha

PM press-mud (12.5 t/ha), GM green manuring of daincha in situ

216 Sugar Tech (Apr-June 2013) 15(2):214–218

123

FYM ? NPK, or PM/PMC ? NPK or GM ? NPK pro-

duced significantly higher sugar yield of plant and ratoon

crops as compared to NPK fertilizes. However with the

application of FYM N 1/2 P or PM/PMC N 1/2 P produced

lower sugar yield of plant and ratoon crop than the appli-

cation of NPK fertilizers. The application of FYM and PM/

PMC with full NP produced lower sugar yield or at par

sugar yield of plant and ratoon crop than the application of

NPK fertilizers. Bokhtiar and Sakurai (2005) conducted

experiment to study the effects of integrated nutrient

management on plant crop and successive first and second

ratoon crops of sugarcane in Bangladesh. The organic

materials included press mud, farmyard manure (FYM),

and GM of Sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea). The result of the

study revealed that 25 % reduction of inorganic fertilizer

with FYM or press mud at 15 t/ha in plant cane and

addition of 50 % more N with same amount of fertilizer

suggested for plant cane showed better yield and improved

juice quality in first and second ratoon crops of sugarcane.

The application of organic manure (FYM or PM/PMC

or green manuring in situ) ? N 1/2 P or NP or NPK

increased the soil OC% over NPK (from 0.39 up to 0.52 %

in first experiment and 0.44 up to 0.48 % in second

experiment). (Tables 3 and 4). The application of organic

Table 3 Effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on organic carbon, available P and K in soil

Treatments Organic carbon (%) Available P (kg/ha) Available K (kg/ha)

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

Plant

04–05

Ratoon

05–06

Plant

06–07

NP 0.39 0.39 0.39 7 7 7 180 180 180

NPK 0.39 0.39 0.38 8 8 8 190 190 194

FYM ? N 1/2 P 0.46 0.48 0.50 7 6 5 186 186 188

FYM ? NP 0.47 0.48 0.50 8 8 8 188 188 188

FYM ? NPK 0.46 0.49 0.52 8 8 8 192 196 198

PM ? 1/2 P 0.45 0.47 0.50 7 6 5 188 188 191

PM ? NP 0.46 0.48 0.51 8 8 8 190 190 192

PM ? NPK 0.46 0.47 0.50 9 8 8 195 198 200

GM ? NP 0.44 0.46 0.48 7 7 7 182 182 184

GM ? NPK 0.46 0.47 0.48 7 7 7 190 192 194

CD at 5 % 0.04 0.04 0.03 NS NS 1.5 5.5 4.1 4.7

FYM at 2.5 t/ha

PM press-mud (12.5 t/ha), GM green manuring of daincha in situ

Table 4 Effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on organic carbon, available K in soil

Treatments Organic carbon (%) Available P (kg/ha) Available K (kg/ha)

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

Plant

08–09

Ratoon

09–10

NP 0.44 0.44 7 7 142 142

NPK 0.44 0.44 7 7 150 152

FYM ? N 1/2 P 0.47 0.48 6 7 142 141

FYM ? NP 0.47 0.48 7 8 142 142

FYM ? NPK 0.47 0.48 7 7 148 150

PMC ? 1/2 P 0.45 0.46 6 6 142 144

PMC ? NP 0.46 0.47 7 7 142 144

PMC ? NPK 0.47 0.48 7 8 152 154

GM ? NP 0.45 0.46 7 7 142 142

GM ? NPK 0.46 0.46 7 7 150 152

CD at 5 % 0.02 0.03 NS NS 2.7 1.8

FYM at 12.5 t/ha

PMC press-mud compost (5 t/ha), GM green manuring of daincha in situ

Sugar Tech (Apr-June 2013) 15(2):214–218 217

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manure (FYM or PM/PMC) ? N 1/2 P decrease the

available P (from 7 up to 5 kg/ha) in 2006–2007. However

the application of these organic manure (FYM or press-

mud) ? NP or NPK usually did not affected available P.

The application of NPK increased the available K in the

soil over recommended NP (from 180 up to 194 kg/ha in

the first experiment and 142 up to 152 kg/ha in second

experiment). The application of organic manure (FYM or

PM/PMC) ? N 1/2 P or NP increased the available K

(from 180 up to 192 kg/ha in the first experiment and 142

up to 144 kg/ha in second experiment) over NP alone. The

application of organic manure (FYM or PM/PMC) ? NPK

increased substantial available K in the soil (from 180 up to

200 kg/ha in the first experiment and from 142 up to

154 kg/ha in second experiment) over NP alone. Bokhtiar

and Sakurai (2005) studied the effect of application of

inorganic and organic fertilizers (FYM, press-mud and

GM) in sugarcane and reported that the organic carbon,

total N, and available P, K and S contents of soils increased

slightly due to incorporation of organic materials. Chandra

et al. (2008) at Pantnagar, India studied the effect of trash

burning ? S. aculeata GM incorporation, trash removal

and trash burning on plant and ratoon crops of sugarcane

and wheat. Soil organic C and available N after ratoon and

wheat crops were highest with trash removal ? GM

incorporation and available P and K with trash remo-

val ? GM mulch. The different treatments of trash and

GM management were also superior to trash removal and

trash burning in organic C and available N and P in soil at

termination of the study.

The application of FYM ? N 1/2 P or PM/PMC ? N

1/2 P produced at par cane yield of plant and ratoon crop to

NPK fertilizers. This indicates that with the application of

organic manure FYM or PM/PMC ? half dose of phos-

phorus (25 kg P2O5/ha) and full N, we can achieve the

similar yield as with recommended dose of NPK fertilizer.

However the application of FYM ? N 1/2 P or PM/

PMC ? N 1/2 P produced lower juice quality (CCS%) of

plant and ratoon crop than the application of NPK fertil-

izers. Similarly the application of FYM ? NP or PM/

PMC ? NP produced at par cane yield and at par juice

quality (CCS%) or lower juice quality (CCS%) of plant and

ratoon crop than the application of NPK fertilizers. The

application of FYM ? NPK, or PM/PMC ? NPK or

GM ? NPK produced significantly higher cane and at par

juice quality of plant and ratoon crops as compared to NPK

fertilizes. Therefore to achieve still higher cane yield and

the similar juice quality as compare to recommended NPK,

the application of organic manure (FYM or PM/PMC or

GM of S. aculeata) ? full dose of NPK is required. Results

showed that the integrated use of organic manure and

inorganic fertilizers improves the soil fertility in term of

organic carbon and available K in soil. The result showed

the paramount importance of organic manure inclusion in

fertilizer practices of sugarcane.

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