Abstract

                                A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, during 2012-2013 to evaluate the performance of planting materials and nutrient levels in chewing cane. (Saccharum officinarum). The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The treatments evaluated were planting materials of single budded setts (M 1 ), double budded setts (M 2 ), single chip bud seedlings (M3 ) under factor I and the nutrient levels viz., application of 100 per cent RDF + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (S 1 ), 75 per cent RDF + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (S 2 ), 50 per cent RDF + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (S 3 ), 100 per cent recommended dose of N, P and 125 per cent K + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (S 4 ), 75 per cent of N, P and 125 per cent K + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (S 5 ) under factor II. The recommended dose of sugarcane is 275:62.5:112.5 kg NPK ha -1 . The result revealed that among the planting materials, single chip bud seedlings recorded the highest cane yield. Regarding the nutrient levels, application of 100 per cent recommended dose of N, P and 125 per cent K + vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 recorded the best results. Regarding the interaction, the combination of planting single chip bud seedlings along with application of 100 per cent recommended dose of N, P and 125 per cent K + vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 recorded the highest cane yield. All the growth attributes showed the similar results.

Key words : Chewing cane, Planting materials, Nutrient levels, Chip bud method.