Composting Sugarcane Filter Mud with Different Sources Differently Benefits Sweet Maize

Abstract

Reusing organic wastes in land applications would enhance the recovery of resources, following the concepts of the circular economy. The sugarcane-based sugar industry produces various by-products (e.g., sugarcane filter mud, molasses, and bagasse) that have the potential to contribute to crop production and soil fertility, owing to their high contents of organic matter and nutrients. Although the agricultural benefits of compost utilization in agriculture have been well-documented, to the best of our knowledge, few scientific data are currently available on the effects of sugarcane filter mud combined with the application of compost for increasing crop production. Thus, a field experiment was carried out to study how sugarcane filter mud, in combination with two compost sources, affected the growth and yield of sweet maize (Zea mays var. saccharata). We compared (i) two types of compost made from brassica residue and household waste applied at a rate of 9 t ha−1, and (ii) two application rates of sugarcane filter mud: 0 and 2 t ha−1 to two controls without any compost application: one with (+SFM) and one without (−SFM) sugar filter mud. The results highlighted that all crop growth and yield parameters benefited more from the domestic waste compost than from the brassica straw compost. Moreover, the addition of sugar filter mud to the compost further boosted the crop performance. Based on the above results, we concluded that the addition of sugarcane filter mud to locally available composts is a feasible approach for more sustainable production of sweet maize, combining efficient waste disposal and the provision of organic matter to the soil.