Studies on Sugarcane Cultivation. II. Effects of the mixture of charcoal with pyroligneous acid on dry matter production and root growth of summer planted sugarcane(Saccharum officinarum L.).

Abstract

An experiment was conduced to study the effects of a mixture of charcoal with pyroligneous acid (charcoal 4: pyroligneous acid 1 ; Sannekka E) on dry matter production and root growth of summer planted sugarcane. Sugarcane variety NCo 310 was tested against four levels of Sannekka E (SE) ; 0 (control) > 200, 400, and 800 Kg 10a~l and the experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with five replications. Yield contributing characters, such as stalk number, stalk length, stalk diameter and sugar content in stalks were increased by application of SE. Values of CGR, NAR and LAI of SE treated crops were higher in comparison to those of the controls. The correlation coefficients between CGR and NAR, and CGR and LAI were significant. The yield of cane stalks, sugar and total dry matter content in SE treated plots had been increased by 13-24%, 19-31% and 14-20%, respectively, over the controls. The highest cane stalk yield (11.4 kg m~2), sugar yield (1.95 kg m~z) and total dry matter content (4.4 kg m"2) were obtained by the application of SE of 400 kg 10a"1. Root content in unit soil cover depths was higher in SE treated plots.