Effect of planting pattern and nutrient management on yield of spring planted sugarcane

Row spacing and nutrient management have a key role in maximizing sugarcane yield and improving its quality. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the performance of sugarcane variety, CP-7/400 to row spacing with different fertilizer levels at Sugar Crops Research Institute Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during 2005-06. The experiment was comprised of two row spacing (135 cm spaced single row, 75 cm spaced double row strips) and two fertilizer levels (recommended dose, 190-80-50 kg NPK per ha; 2-times recommended dose). The maximum cane length (203.0 cm) was achieved in dual row strips planting while minimum cane length (184.0 cm) was recorded at single row planting. The same cane length (193.5 cm) was obtained from both standard and double NPK fertilization. The maximum cane diameter (2.49 cm) was achieved from single rows while minimum cane diameter (2.31 cm) was recorded in dual row strips planting. Cane diameter did not differ between double NPK application and the standard application. The maximum number of millable canes m-2 (8.48) was produced with dual row strips whereas the minimum number of millable canes m-2 was recorded at single row plantation. Fertilization treatments did not differ for millable canes m-2 - or cane yield. The Maximum cane yield (57.84 t per ha) was recorded with dual row strips while minimum cane yield (32.7 t per ha) was obtained at single row plantation. The commercial cane sugar percentage was higher (13.45%) with dual row planting compared with single rows (12.84%). The NPK application had no effect on commercial cane sugar percentage. Dual row spacing affected maximum sugar yield (7.74 t per ha) while minimum sugar yield (4.21 t per ha) was obtained at single rows, however, NPK application had no effect on sugar yield.