The improvement of soil, plant growth, and sugarcane yield Saccharum officinarum (L) on account of the application of fly ash granule and dolomite as ameliorating agents in peat soil

Abstract

Abstract Probably effective application of fly ash granules for ameliorants on sugarcane has not been meaningful reported in tropical agricultural systems and no exact results have not been established. The experiment was arranged from January 2014 up to May 2015 at IPB Bogor, Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the improvement level of additional fly ash granules as soil ameliorants on peat soil in sugar cane cultivation compared to the application of dolomite. The experiment used a complete randomized block design in sub-optimal peat soil. There were five levels of treatment at 50 kg peat soil weight at polybag as the following: without the addition of ameliorant as control (C0) at pH=4.0; Mixing with fly ash granule at pH 6.0 (C1); Mixing with fly ash granule at pH 7.0 (C2); Mixing with dolomite at pH 7.0 (D1), Mixing with dolomite at pH 6.0 (D2). The fly ash granule and dolomite application at a starting value of pH 6.0 or pH 7.0 exposed reliable impact to maintain the pH value of peat soil at least for one year during the growth of the sugarcane plant biomass until harvest. The application of fly ash granule at the starting value of pH 6.0 showed a better effect on plant growth biomass and was sufficient to ameliorate the peat soil to achieve the optimum sugar yield. More than this application rate would be luxurious, it causes no increase in sugar production.