Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Sugarcane Production

Abstract

Nitrogen is one of the most essential macro-nutrients that improve crop growth, development, quality, and productivity of sugarcane. However, nitrogen fertilization in sugarcane yield has serious constraints. Leaching, runoff, and fixation losses of nitrogen increase production costs, decrease nitrogen use efficiency and crop productivity, and cause environmental pollution. On the contrary, agronomic management practices are pivotal for sustainable nitrogen management in sugarcane fields. Sustainable nitrogen management in sugarcane is possible by applying the integrated approaches of field management and crop production. For this, the optimum rate of nitrogen fertilizer applied via the best method at a crucial time of the crop growth stage significantly lowered the nitrogen losses and improved the crop productivity and nitrogen use efficiency. Legume intercropping provides promising results for controlling nitrogen leaching losses from sugarcane fields. Using urease inhibitors and controlled-release fertilizers is also a pivotal approach to decreasing nitrogen losses. Furthermore, introducing nitrogen-efficient sugarcane genotypes and nanomaterials in agriculture improved farmers’ economics and environmental safety.