Ratoon Cane Research Articles

Effect of Stabilized Ortho Silicic Acid on Pre and Post-Harvest Quality Attributes of Plant and Ratoon Sugarcane

India is the second largest producer and consumer of sugar in the world. Lower cane yields coupled with post harvest losses are key factors limiting sustainability of Indian sugar industry. Silicon is a beneficial nutrient for plants and in some plants (silicon accumulators like sugarcane), it is absorbed in the range of essential primary nutrients viz. nitrogen, potassium or phosphorous. The present study was undertaken to explore the impact of stabilized ortho silicic acid (OSA, silixol 0.8%), when applied as foliar sprays on two contrasting sugarcane varieties: CoS 08279 (high yield and low sugar) and UP 05125 (low yield and high sugar) for three consecutive years (two plant and one ratoon crop). Impact of OSA was assessed on both plant and ratoon crop for yield attributes as well as pre and post-harvest quality parameters. Number of tillers per hectare for ratoon crop increased by 8% and number of millable canes (NMC) by 155 and 1312 canes per hectare in low yield/high sugar variety compared to 3% increase in tillers and 772 and 319 NMC per hectare in high yield/low sugar following the foliar application of OSA. The cane height was increased by 5.9 and 14 cm in plant and ratoon of UP 05125 and by 9.1 and 16 cm in plant and ratoon of CoS 08279 respectively,which ultimately leads to higher cane yield. Additionally other yield attributes like cane girth and cane weight increased in the treated areas compared to control ones. Commercial cane sugar (CCS %) increased by 13% and 7% in the plant and ratoon crop, respectively of high yield/ low sugar variety. Likewise, OSA application showed higher acid invertase activity during grand growth phase in both treated plant (0.95 and 1.25 units) and ratoon cane (0.46 and 1.38 units) of UP 05125 and CoS 08279,however, the activity was reduced during ripening stage as compared to control cane which resulted in higher accumulation of sucrose in treated canes. OSA treatment exhibited a profound impact on post- harvest quality losses. Almost 10% less decline in weight and 0.5 (plant canes) to 0.87(ratoon canes) units low reduction in sucrose percentage were recorded after 240 h of harvest for both the varieties. Our findings of the present study indicates that application of ortho silicic acid not only helps in ameliorating yield and quality of sugarcane and juice but also helps in reducing the quality deterioration in harvested cane up to a significant level. The data also suggests that the use of OSA would increase remuneration of the crop for both the grower and the millers.

Evaluation of sugarcane clones in two crop cycles and interrelationships among yield and agronomic traits

Twenty sugarcane clones (genotypes) and one check cultivar were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Mattana Agricultural Research Station Luxor Governorate, Egypt, during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. The objective of study was to evaluate and calculate interrelationships among cane yield and quality traits in plant cane (PC) and first ratoon crop (FR) at early clonal selection stage. The results showed significant (p < 0.05) differences among the genotypes for cane yield and its component traits, sugar yield and quality traits, except for purity percentage. The interaction of genotype x crop cycle was highly significant for most studied traits (p < 0.01), except for purity, sugar recovery percentages and sugar yield. Mean performance for different traits revealed that clone G.2017–68 showed substantial superiority over the other ones, for cane yield. G.2017–30 recorded the highest sugar yield/fed, while the lowest was recorded for G.2017–28. The correlation analysis showed that the cane diameter, number of stalks per meter and cane height contributed the most in the harvestable cane yield. Based on the performance of genotypes across the two crop cycles, the selection at the plant cane and first ratoon can be recommended at early clonal stage to strengthen the varietal development program.

Effect of natural farming on soil health and yield of sugarcane

A field experiment was carried out during 2014-16 (Plant cane) and 2016 - 17 (ratoon cane) at the research farm of Sugarcane Research Institute, Shahjahanpur to study the effect of plant geometry and natural farming on yield, and soil health. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The soil of experimental field had organic carbon (0.33%), phosphorus (9.20 kg/ha) and potash (106.6 kg/ha), pH (6.90), bulk density (1.12 g/cm3) with soil microbial population of 1.5×107 cfu/g. Experimental crop was planted with variety Co 05011 through one and three budded sett at different geometry as per treatment comprising five treatments. Experimental results showed that planting of three budded sett at row spacing of 240 cm with conventional practices (T1) produced significantly higher plant cane yield (63.97 t/ha) followed by planting of one budded sett at row spacing of 240 cm and bud to bud 60 cm spacing with natural farming (T2) with plant cane yield of 54.13 t/ha and intercrop yield of lahi (8.45 q/ha), lentil (1.74 q/ha) and moong (2.23 q/ha). However, significantly higher ratoon cane yield (69.89 t/ha) was recorded in planting of one budded sett at row spacing of 240 cm and bud to bud 60 cm spacing with natural farming (T2) ) followed by planting of three budded sett at row spacing of 240 cm with conventional practices (T1) with ratoon cane yield of 51.41 t/ha. Organic matter, available NPK and microbial population were found to be increased in natural farming treatments than that of conventional treatment.

Adjusting the growth curve of sugarcane varieties using nonlinear models

ABSTRACT: Assessing sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) stalk growth helps to adequately manage the phenological stages of the crop. The aim of this study was to describe the height-growth curve of four sugarcane varieties (RB92579, RB93509, RB931530 and SP79-1011), in irrigated plant-cane and ratoon cane plantations, using the Logistic and Gompertz nonlinear models, while considering all deviations from assumptions. The model parameters were estimated based on the least squares method using the Gauss-Newton algorithm. To select the most suitable model, nonlinear measures, adjusted coefficient of determination (R2 adj), residual standard deviation (RSD), and corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc) were used. Based on the best models, stalk height growth rates and crop phenological stages were determined using critical points. All tests were performed in the free software environment for statistical computing and graphics, R. In general, the Logistic and Gompertz models without AR(1) better described the plant-cane and ratoon cane stalk height, respectively. All varieties showed early growth, and the RB92579 variety presented higher rates in both cycles.

Nonlinear models to describe height and diameter of sugarcane RB92579 variety

ABSTRACT Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer (Saccharum spp.), followed by India and China. In 2019, Brazil produced 642.7 million tons of sugarcane, having collected 1.44 billion and 983.52 million dollars from sugar and ethanol exports, respectively. For crop management, it is important to monitor plant growth, duration of growth phases and point of physiological maturation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fit of nonlinear Logistic, Gompertz, Brody and von Bertalanffy models to the height and diameter growth of ratoon cane stalk RB92579 variety, considering age in days. The parameters of models were estimated using R software routines, applying the least squares method and the iterative Gauss-Newton process. The adjustment of models was compared using the following evaluators: determination coefficient (R2), residual standard deviation (RSD) and corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc). In all models, parameters were significant by the t test at 1% level, except for the Brody model. When using the Shapiro-Wilk, Durbin-Watson and Breusch-Pagan tests, it was found that residues were normal, homoscedastic and independent at 1% significance level. All models fitted well to data, except for the Brody model for stalk height. Based on results, the Gompertz and Logistic models presented higher R2 values and lower RSD and AICc values; thus, it could be concluded that these models are suitable to describe the height and diameter of sugarcane RB92579 cultivar, respectively.

Enhancing Sugarcane Plant–Ratoon Productivity Through Bud Chip Transplanting Geometry

A field experiment was conducted for three consecutive seasons on sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid complex) plant–ratoon system (2013–2016) at Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, to study the effect of planting distance and row spacing on productivity of sugarcane planted with bud chip raised settlings by furrow-irrigated raised bed method of planting. The results revealed that growth and yield attributes, viz. leaf area index, drymatter accumulation, plant population, plant height, net assimilation rate, cane diameter and millable canes, were significantly influenced due to planting distance and row spacing. The mean higher cane yield (81.7 and 74.6 t/ha) in plant and ratoon crops was obtained at 30 cm planting distance. Though the differences between 30 and 45 cm planting distance were not significant, the higher benefit/cost ratio was obtained at 45 cm planting distance. Among row spacing, planting at 90 cm row spacing showed the highest drymatter accumulation (30.6 and 28.1 t/ha), millable canes (102,000 and 116,300/ha), net returns (Rs. 137,700 and 140,600/ha) and benefit/cost ratio (1.67 and 2.40) in plant and ratoon crops, respectively. Planting of bud chip raised settlings at 90 cm row spacing significantly increased the yield of plant and ratoon canes during all the years of experimentation as well as on mean basis. Sucrose content juice was not affected by planting distance and row spacing. Correlation studies between cane yield and sucrose content with different growth and yield parameters of sugarcane plant and ratoon crops indicated that the yield of sugarcane was significantly and positively correlated with most of the growth and yield parameters.

Industrial Quality of Sugarcane Under Fertigation with Nitrogen and Zinc

Both the excess and deficiency of nutrients in the soil can influence the technological quality of sugarcane stalks, and affect the quality of the juice, the fiber content, and the concentration of sucrose, which directly impact the quality and quantity of products derived from sugarcane. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of nitrogen and zinc fertigation, irrigated by a central pivot, on various parameters that affect the industrial quality of sugarcane (IACSP 95-5000), in the plant and first ratoon crop cycles in a Cerrado Red Latosol soil in Brazil. The experiment was conducted under field conditions at an average altitude of 907 m in an area of the Rio Paraiso II farm of the Raizen Mill, in the municipality of Jatai, Goias (GO). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete blocks design and analyzed in a scheme of 4 × 5 subdivided plots, with three repetitions. The treatments consisted of four nitrogen doses (0, 60, 120, and 180 kg ha−1) and five zinc doses (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 kg ha−1), on plant cane and first ratoon cane. Urea served as the source of nitrogen fertilizer and was applied in three dosages (treatments) 60 days after planting. Zn sulfate served as the zinc source and was applied in four dosages (treatments) at a single time in the planting. At harvest, ten stalks were randomly sampled from each plot and sent to the Raizen Mill agro-industrial laboratory in Jatai-GO for analysis and to determine the polarizable amount of sugar per cane (Pol % cane), polarizable amount of sugar in the juice (Pol % juice), total soluble solids (Brix %), apparent purity, wet bagasse weight (WBW), reducing sugars, total recoverable sugar (TRS), and fiber content. The highest doses of zinc (10 kg ha−1) and nitrogen (180 kg ha−1) had the greatest effects on sugarcane WBW and TRS.

DISCRIMINATION OF SUGARCANE CROP AND CANE YIELD ESTIMATION USING LANDSAT AND IRS RESOURCESAT SATELLITE DATA

Abstract. The objective of this research work aims at crop acreage estimation at mill catchment level, derivation of sugarcane phenology and yield estimation at field level. The study was carried out in Kisan Sahkari Chini Mill catchment, Nanauta, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Extensive and systematic field sampling was carried out for ground-truth observations, biophysical measurements (LAI and above/below canopy PAR) and mill-able cane yield through crop cutting experiments. Major emphasis were laid on sugarcane crop discrimination, biophysical parameter estimation, generation of phenological metrics and yield model development for sugarcane crop at mill catchment level. Sugarcane crop discrimination and its acreage estimation was done using multi-sensor satellite data. The sugarcane classification accuracies were &gt; 92% for LISS-IV, &gt; 86% for Landsat-8 and &gt; 83% for LISS-III classified image. The sugarcane phenological matrices at field level derived using time-series of NDVI for a period of 2015–2016 through TIMESAT software. To retrieve the biophysical parameters particularly leaf area index, best predictive function developed with vegetation indices (EVI, NDVI, SAVI) through correlation and regression analysis along this cane yield estimation attempted with multi-date (eight-day) NDVI from Landsat OLI. Yield models developed for ratoon cane and planted cane explained variance in yield significantly with coefficient of determination (R2) values equal to 0.83 and 0.69, respectively. Similar predictive functions were also established with monthly composite dataset for village-level yield estimates with step wise regression (R2 = 0.83) (P = 0.00001), Multi linear regression (MLR) (R2 = 0.792) (P = 0.00081) and Random forest regression (R2 = 0.466) (P = 0.038).

Companion Cropping of Vegetables with Ratoon Sugarcane: A Case Study

This study was laid out during the years of 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 at the village Niyamatpur Thakuran, Farrukhabad, India. The soil of the experiment site was sandy loam which is conducive for cane cultivation. The six treatment combinations, i.e. ratoon cane alone, cane ratoon + vegetable pea, cane ratoon + cauliflower, cane ratoon + cabbage, cane ratoon + radish and cane ratoon + onion, were tested on farmers’ fields. Sugarcane planted in the spring season was harvested from the end of October to mid-November for juice and other purposes, and autumn ratoon was allowed. The row-to-row distance of cane ratoon was 90 cm; therefore, two rows of cauliflower and cabbage, three rows of radish and vegetable pea and four rows of onion were planted between two rows of autumn cane ratoon for fetching market value. The companion crops gave additional yield to the extent of 221 q/ha cauliflower, 319 q/ha cabbage, 224 q/ha radish, 118 q/ha green pods of vegetable pea and 298 q/ha bulbs of onion without any adverse effect on autumn ratoon. The highest stalk yield was weighed by 641 q/ha under companion cropping of cane ratoon + vegetable pea followed by cane ratoon + onion (639 q/ha). The lowest yield of cane ratoon was noticed in cane ratoon alone by 561 q/ha in comparison with all other companion cropping systems. The highest net return was computed under cane ratoon + onion cropping system (Rs. 38,794/ha) followed by cane ratoon + radish (Rs. 324,869/ha) and cane ratoon + vegetable pea for green pods (Rs. 32,236/ha). The similar trend was noted under benefit–cost ratio.

Association of Physiological Responses and Root Distribution Patterns of Ratooning Ability and Yield of the Second Ratoon Cane in Sugarcane Elite Clones

Poor ratooning ability for sugarcane can limit crop productivity and profitability of sugarcane growers. The objective of this study was to determine the association of physiological responses and root distribution patterns on the yield of the second ratoon cane, and the relationships between these traits. Seventeen sugarcane genotypes were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The second ratoon crop was evaluated for germination percentage, cane yield, Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR), chlorophyll fluorescence, relative water content (RWC), specific leaf area (SLA), and stomatal conductance. Root length density (RLD) was evaluated through the auger method. The root samples were divided into upper and lower soil layers in order to study root distribution patterns. Sugarcane genotypes were significantly different for RLD, germination percentage, and cane yield. Root distribution patterns were classified into three groups based on the RLD. High RLD between plants in the upper soil layers at 90 days after harvest (DAH) was positively correlated with high germination, whereas high RLD between rows in the lower soil layers at 90 and 270 DAH was associated with high cane yield. RWC at 90 DAH and stomatal conductance at 180 DAH were closely related to germination percentage, whereas chlorophyll fluorescence and stomatal conductance at 180 DAH were closely related to cane yield.

EFISIENSI TEKNIS PRODUKSI USAHATANI TEBU PLANT CANE DAN TEBU RATOON CANE (Studi Kasus di PT. Perkebunan Nusantara X)

The decline in national sugar cane production from 2015 amounted to 2.4 million tons and in 2016 amounted to 2.2 million tons. One of the reason for the decline in sugar cane production is the proportion of Ratoon Cane (RC) which is relatively high compared to Plant Cane (PC). The objective of the study is to analyze the technical efficiency of farming between plant cane (PC) and ratoon cane (RC). The method used in sampling farmer households is purposive by considering there is no sampling frame available in the study area. Data analysis method using the stochastic frontier production function model. The results showed that the plant cane farming (PC) was more technically efficient than ratoon cane (RC) with an average value of PC sugarcane technical efficiency of 93 percent and an average sugarcane technical efficiency of RS by 89 percent.

Sugarcane inoculated with endophytic diazotrophic bacteria: effects on yield, biological nitrogen fixation and industrial characteristics.

The growing need for the use of clean energy has led society to seek alternatives to fossil fuels in order to less pollute the environment. Sugarcane has been known to produce enough biomass and to have associative microorganisms, such as plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), which have the potential to improve the yield of crops. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency and the isotopic dilution of 15N of microbial inoculants containing endophytic diazotrophic bacteria, individually inoculated and in mixture, on productivity, technological quality and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of sugarcane variety RB92579. The experiment was conducted for three consecutive years, comprising different crop cycles, in a completely randomized block design with four replications. The evaluations were at 11 months after planting for plant-cane, and at 12 months after cutting for ratoon cane and second ratoon cane. The contribution of BNF by 15N natural abundance technique to inoculated treatments ranged from 18% to 57.31%. This study showed that no strain promoted the improvement on yield and biological nitrogen fixation during the three cycles of sugarcane (plant-cane, ratoon cane and second ratoon cane). However, industrial characteristics of sugar cane can be affectd by PGPB inoculation.

Evaluation of Sugarcane Genotypes Under Irrigation Based on Genetic Variations and Heritability for Agronomic Traits at Early Selection Stage in Ferké, Ivory Coast

The objective of the study was to determine the best performing sugarcane genotypes tested at early selection stage under sprinkler irrigation, in comparison with a check variety (R579). The experiment was designed following a randomized complete block (RCB) with 21 cane genotypes in three replications. Each plot consisted of five dual rows of ten meters with 0.5 and 1.90 m of inter-row spacing, i.e. 95 m2 per plot and about 6,000 m2 for the whole experiment. It was carried out on a commercial sugarcane plantation of Ferke 2 located in the northern part of the country, over two seasons (plant cane and first ratoon) as an early-season crop from, November 18, 2016 to November 15, 2018. Over each micro-plot, data based on different agro-morphological traits were collected at harvest from three central dual rows. The study showed that most relevant traits in genotype clustering were related to juice quality (recoverable sucrose, sucrose content, purity), yields and yield components (millable stalk number/ha, stalk height, stalk diameter, internode number). Based on sugar yields, four genotypes equivalent to the check (R579), namely KQ228, R97-6177, R99-4064 and KQ236, were found promising for the next advanced selection stage with, respectively, 19.2, 17.7, 17.3 and 16.9 t sugar/ha. Their cane yield performances ranged from 147.7 to 170.8 t/ha compared to 170.7 for the check and belong to 3 clusters genotypes over the eight determined. Not only sugar yield, but also flowering rate, stem borer infestation rate and number of tillers per hectare were found as the most relevant agro-morphological traits in the genetic variation of sugarcane genotypes tested.

Does the tolerance of sugarcane to excess water in the soil depend on the stage of development?

Soil waterlogging reduces the availability of oxygen to the roots of the plants, which makes necessary an efficient drainage system for correction. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of sugarcane in flooded crop with different velocities of lowering the groundwater in three stages of ratoon sugarcane development. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (3 x 5 + 1), with three developmental stages (44, 210 and 305 days after planting) and five groundwater falling velocities (30 cm in 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days) and the control (irrigation without flooding the soil). There was a significant effect for groundwater retraction velocities and evaluation periods for leaf area (LA) and leaf area index. The treatments P1V4 and P2V3 presented the highest LAs (0.91 m²). The first sugarcane ratoon was tolerant to soil waterlogging at different stages of development and to different groundwater falling velocities, with no major losses in plant development and productivity, however, for total recoverable sugar cane ratoon was more sensitive when the flood occurred in the regrowth stage.

Quantifying sugarcane cultivar differences in tiller and stalk phenology: identifying traits suited to crop model-assisted breeding

ABSTRACT The “Canegro” sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) model uses cultivar trait coefficients to simulate crop growth. The primary objective of this study was to quantify the cultivar trait values for some tillering and stalk traits for a diverse range of cultivars. An additional objective was to determine the stability and heritability of these traits across environments and crop stages to assess their potential contribution to model-assisted breeding. A total of 12 diverse cultivars were evaluated in a rainfed and an irrigated environment across two crops (plant cane and first ratoon). The traits peak tiller population (PTP), thermal time to peak tiller population (TTPP), final population (FPOP), tiller survival percentage (TSP) and stalk elongation rate (SER) were derived from in-season measurements. The highly significant (p < 0.001) effect of cultivar was larger than the cultivar × ratoon and cultivar × site effects for all traits studied. The traits PTP, FPOP and SER showed strong cultivar rank correlations between sites, crops, and crops within sites, suggesting that they can be quantified per cultivar by single-site and single-crop experiments. These traits had heritability estimates of 0.70 (PTP), 0.97 (FPOP), and 0.72 (SER). Hence, these traits were identified as good candidates for model-assisted breeding. Some cultivars showed consistent rankings for certain traits and were identified as ideal indicator cultivars for future characterization studies. The cultivar trait values determined here will be used to calibrate the crop model. The range of values for these traits will also contribute to model-wise exploration of genotype × environment interactions and model-assisted breeding efforts.

Bio-intensive Modulation of Sugarcane Ratoon Rhizosphere for Enhanced Soil Health and Sugarcane Productivity Under Tropical Indian Condition

Intensive cropping and exhaustive nature sugarcane crop in tropical India have led to depletion of inherent soil fertility resulting in serious threat to sustainable sugarcane production. Improving soil organic matter and soil fertility are important factors for sustainable sugarcane production. Microbial consortia comprising of Trichoderma viride, Humicola spp, Paecilomyces lilacinus, Gluconacetobater diazotropicus, Azospiriillum brasilense, and Bacillus subtilis have great potential to recycle crop residue and restore soil fertility which eventually promote sugarcane growth. Field experiments with in situ trash management in plant crop and bio-intensive modulation of sugarcane ratoon rhizosphere in ratoon crops were conducted during 2014, 2015 and 2016 at ICAR—Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The results revealed that green manuring with sunnhemp, in situ trash management and application of 280:62.5:120 kg NPK ha−1 in plant crop sustained the soil health by way of reducing soil bulk density (1.26 kg dm−3), lower soil penetration resistance in the ratoon rhizosphere (1.79, 1.82 and 1.75 MPa) and higher soil organic carbon (0.52%) which in turn increased ratoon cane yield 12.24% (99.02 t ha−1) and sugar yield by 8.64% (12.83 t ha−1) over the control. Further, bio-intensive modulation of ratoon rhizosphere by off barring, trash shredding plus soil incorporation with microbial consortia and application of 350:62.5:120 kg NPK ha−1 in ratoon crop recorded significantly higher cane yield (100.95 t ha−1) and sugar yield (13.19 t ha−1) over the control. The improvement in cane yield and sugar yield to the tune of 16.35 and 14.10% due to bio-intensive modulation of ratoon rhizosphere over control have clearly established that productivity of sugarcane ratoon can be significantly improved with balanced use of fertilizers, green manuring, crop residue recycling and microbial consortia application. Similarly, bio-intensive modulation of sugarcane ratoon rhizosphere (S3) with lowest soil bulk density (1.26 kg dm−3) and soil penetration resistance values (1.69, 1.81, and 1.75 MPa) was found effective in minimising the soil compaction and improving nutrient availability (NPK) with build-up of soil microbial population than control (Trash removal). Based on the results of 3-year field experiments, it is concluded that sunnhemp green manuring and in situ sugarcane trash management coupled with application of 280:62.5:120 kg NPK ha−1 in plant crop followed by bio-intensive modulation of ratoon rhizosphere including off barring, trash shredding and soil incorporation with microbial consortia and application of 350:62.5:120 kg NPK ha−1 in ratoon crop can be recommended for sustaining soil health and sugarcane productivity under wide-row sugarcane planting systems of tropical Indian condition.

Registration of ‘CP 09‐1430’ Sugarcane

‘CP 09‐1430’ (Reg. No. CV‐178; PI 686940) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was developed and released (6 June 2016) through cooperative research conducted by the USDA–ARS Sugarcane Field Station, Canal Point, the University of Florida, and the Florida Sugarcane League, Inc., for use on organic muck soils. The clone results from CP cross #06‐0576 (CPCL 00‐6756 × CP 01‐2390) and possesses the following agronomic traits: high cane and sucrose yields, high economic index, and acceptable commercial recoverable sucrose on muck soils. It germinates well, particularly under wet planting conditions. Results of replicated trials on muck soils (2012, five locations; 2013, two locations) included 19 total harvests for the three crop stages. Yield comparisons with check cultivars (‘CP 72‐2086’, ‘CP 78‐1628’, and ‘CP 89‐2143’) indicated CP 09‐1430 had significantly higher means than CP 89‐2143 (P = 0.10) for the following: stalk weight (1.38 kg stalk−1), second ratoon cane yield (129.4 Mg ha−1), mean cane yield of three crops (146.4 Mg ha−1), sugar yield (plant cane [21.9 Mg ha−1], second ratoon [13.1 Mg ha−1], and overall mean for the three crop harvests [17.6 Mg ha−1]); and the economic index (US$3137 ha−1). CP 09‐1430 is susceptible to brown rust, scald, and ratoon stunting disease and is moderately resistant to orange rust, smut, and Sugarcane yellow leaf virus, with full resistance to mosaic. It is moderately resistant to freezing temperatures.

Integrated Nutrient Management Approaches for Enhancing Production Potential and Sustainability of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) Plant–Ratoon System in North Region of India

A field experiment was conducted to develop nutrient management strategies for sustaining soil health and sugarcane production in spring planted crop (2014–2015) and its ratoon (2015–2016) at the research farm of Sugarcane Research Institute, Shahjahanpur, UP, India. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications, implying sugarcane variety CoS 08279. The results revealed that out of the nine treatments, addition of 10 t/ha FYM/compost along with inorganic fertilizers on the basis of soil test + biofertilizers (Azotobacter + PSB) @ 12.5 kg/ha each had a positive effect on sugarcane growth and yield in both plant (113.10 t/ha) and ratoon crops (98.84 t/ha) as compared to other treatments. Response of biofertilizers was observed to be more pronounced. No significant results were observed in C.C.S. percent in cane. Maximum benefit–cost ratio (2.66 in plant and 1.96 in ratoon cane) was also obtained under the aforesaid treatments.

PENGARUH SUMBER PUPUK ORGANIK TERHADAP PENAMPILAN TEBU (Saccharum officinarum L.) PADA TATA TANAM BARIS GANDA BENIH GANDA

Increased productivity of sugarcane in upland area can be done through the implementation of the integration of manure with a high dose of inorganic fertilizer in the double rows and twice plant populations of single row (“double rows double seeds”) planting arrangement. Limited availability of manure and inorganic fertilizer entails the replacement of manure with green manure fertilizer. The research was aimed to obtain a green manure as replacement manure that can be intercropped in the double rows double seeds planting arrangement. The experiment was done in the Asembagus Experimental Station, Situbondo, East Java on January to December 2014 for plant cane (PC) and from January to December 2015 for ratoon cane (RC). Treatments were arranged in a Randomized Block Design time for replication. The treatment includes (1) the four rows of Crotalaria juncea, (2) two rows of Crotalaria juncea, (3) four rows of peanuts in width between rows of sugar cane, (4) manure, and (5) no organic fertilizer. The results showed that the integration of organic fertilizer with a low dose of inorganic fertilizers increases productivity and sugar yield 5.20 to 41.78% and 33.33 to 69.90%, respectively in PC and 7.33 to 32.67% and 5.74 to 29.61%, respectively in RC from no organic fertilizer. Four rows of Crotalaria juncea could replace the role of manure in improving the productivity and sugar yield for PC and two rows of Crotalaria juncea for RC.

Soil Load-Bearing Capacity and Development of Root System in Area Under Sugarcane with Traffic Control in Brazil

Attempts to achieve reduced traffic area and favorable conditions for sugarcane field durability have been made increasingly necessary to use traffic control techniques in areas of sugarcane production. Our goal was to assess the benefits of traffic control for sugarcane cultivation areas by using a load-bearing capacity modeling and developing a root system. Our experiment was conducted in a sugarcane cultivation area in the region of Nova Europa, Sao Paulo, Brazil, by assessing the following treatments: T1 = sugarcane planted with row spacing of 1.50 m managed without autopilot; T2 = sugarcane planted with row spacing of 1.50 m managed with autopilot; T3 = sugarcane planted with row spacing of 1.5 × 0.90 m managed with autopilot. Soil sampling occurred at layers of 0.00–0.15 and 0.15–0.30 m in inter-row center and seedbed region. Our results reveal that the use of autopilot in the seedbed area is less influenced by machinery traffic, which guarantees preserved soil structure maintenance in the plant row region. Mathematical models of the inter-row center presented higher load-bearing capacity values than the seedbed region for all treatments, layers, and cycles assessed. Additionally, load-bearing capacity increases as the sugarcane cultivation cycles evolve, including higher soil load-bearing capacity at the first ratoon cane cycle in relation to the cane-plant cycle. Finally, the sugarcane crop root system has good distribution during the cane-plant cycle; however, the first ratoon cane cycle has a downward trend for the plant rows in the inter-row center because of intensive machine traffic.