Growth, yield and crop quality performance of sugarcane cultivar Co 957 under different rates of application of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers

Abstract

SummaryScreen house and field experiments at the Sugar Research Institute, University of Ilorin, Nigeria were carried out to evaluate the effects of various amounts of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers singly and in combinations on growth, yield and crop quality of sugarcane cultivar Co 957. Growth rate, number of green leaves per mother shoot, leaf area, plant height, stalk length and tiller density were significantly affected by nitrogen application but were not significantly affected by potassium. Similarly, cane tonnage was significantly affected by nitrogen but not by potassium. In the screen house trial, responses to N were linear from 0 to 160 kg N/ha. However, in the field, while the measured variables also increased linearly with N application from 0 to 160 kg N/ha, they decreased at 200 kg N/ha.Cane quality decreased with increased nitrogen and potassium. However, these reductions were significant only at the highest level of nitrogen and potassium. There were no significant nitrogen and potassium interactions on any of the variables studied.