Efficacy of dormex (hydrogen cyanamide) on germination, growth, yield andquality of sugarcane

Abstract

Sugarcane is propagated by vegetative means using cane pieces containing one, two or more buds. After planting the crop begins with the germination of buds which is a complex phenomenon and differs from other seed plants. Under north Indian conditions, the germination of buds varies from 20–45%. In order to determine the effect of Dormex, a product having hormone like properties, an experiment was conducted at research farm of UP Council of sugarcane Research Institute Shahjahanpur (U.P.) during the spring season of planting 2012–13 using variety CoS 96268. Sugarcane setts were treated for fifteen minutes with different concentrations (i.e, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) of Dormex before planting to explore its efficacy on bud germination. The results indicated that sugarcane planting with setts treated with Dormex increased the germination significantly at 60 days after planting (DAP). The germination at 30 and 45 DAP was also higher than untreated control. The shoot population was also increased with the application of Dormex at a significant level at 30 days intervals. Increase in number of millable canes and cane height also followed the similar trend upto maturity. The cane yield increased in plots treated with Dormex than untreated control. Quality of cane was not affected significantly due to the application of Domex.