Abstract

Sugarcane is a major crop in the north eastern region of Tamil Nadu, occupying 4.2% of the total cultivable area. Balanced application of fertilizer nutrients and organic manures can sustain higher yield and quality of sugarcane while improving soil fertility. However, intensive sugarcane cultivation can deplete native plant nutrients in the soil, leading to a decline in soil fertility. A permanent manurial experiment was started at the Sugarcane Research Station in Cuddalore in 1963 to evaluate the long-term use of manures and fertilizers on sugarcane yield and quality. In this study, the 20th plant crop of sugarcane CoSi 95071 was tested in a split plot design with different combinations of phosphorus, potassium, and compost, as well as various levels of nitrogen in the form of prilled urea and neem cake blended urea.

Keywords: Soil fertility, intensive cultivation and native plant nutrients