Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on the Growth and Yield of Selected Varieties of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm (Crop section) of the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria to examine the effects of organic, inorganic and organomineral fertilizer on the growth and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L). The experiment was a 3 x 6 factorial scheme laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications per treatment. Three varieties of sugar cane (F141, Ibon007 and Hausani), five fertilizer sources (250kg/ha organomineral fertilizer, 5 tons/ha organic fertilizer, 5 tons/ha poultry manure, 200kg/ha organomineral fertilizer, and 200kg/ha NPK20:10:10) and control (no fertilizer/manure application) were used. The growth parameters assessed include: plant height (cm), stem girth (cm), number of leaves, and number of tillers; cane yield (kg/ha) and proximate and chemical composition of the cane was determined. Results from the study showed that the varieties differed in most of the growth and yield attributes measured. The improved sugarcane varieties (F141 and Ibon 007) produced significantly higher numbers of leaves and tillers compared to the local (Hausani) variety. The Hausani variety gave higher (but not significant (p=0.05) cane yield compared with the improved varieties. Application of 250kg/ha sunshine organomineral fertilizer also resulted in significantly (p =0.05) higher cane yields. The analysis of the proximate composition of the sugarcane varieties showed that the percentage ash, crude protein, carbohydrates, crude fibre, fats and moisture contents differed significantly across treatments. The highest percentages of crude protein and fibre were recorded in plots treated with 5t/ha poultry manure. Plots treated with 5 tons/ha organic fertilizer recorded the highest percentage of fat, while 200kg/ha organomineral fertilizer produced highest carbohydrate contents. Application of 250kg/ha of organomineral fertilizer produced overall highest growth and yield compared with other treatments. This result suggests that the use of organomineral and organic fertilizers should be encouraged in sugarcane production to obtain increase in the productivity of sugarcane.