EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PHOSPHORUS ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGARCANE AS INFLUENCED BY CANE TRASH AND MYCORRHIZAE

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1 Ind. J. Sci. Res. and Tech (1):61-65/Usha Rani et al EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PHOSPHORUS ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGARCANE AS INFLUENCED BY CANE TRASH AND MYCORRHIZAE * T. Usha Rani, D. Balaguravaiah, K. Veerabhadra Rao, M. Bharata Laxmi and D. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy Regional Agricultural Research Station, Anakapalle * Author for correspondence ABSTRACT The field experiment was conducted at RARS, Anakapalle on the effect of different levels of phosphorus on yield and quality of sugarcane in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four main levels and four sub levels. The main levels consists of control (M 1 ), mycorrhizae alone (M 2 ), cane trash and mycorrhizae alone (M 3 ) and cane trash alone (M 4 ). The four sub level consists of 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1. The data on cane yield indicated that application of 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 recorded highest cane yield. The application of main treatments cane trash and mycorrhizae recorded maximum cane yield when compared to other treatments. The sugar yield also followed the same trend. The juice quality i.e juice sucrose, CCS % was not affected by the application of phosphorus levels. The highest purity (%) of 90.04, 90.1 and 87.6 in juice was observed in 1 st and 2 nd plant crop and ratoon crops respectively with the application of 150 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 which was significantly superior to other levels of inorganic P. The highest juice sucrose of 18.6, 18.7 and 18.3 percent and CCS of 12.7, 12.8 and 12.7 percent respectively were obtained in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and in ratoon crop with cane trash plus mycorrhizae and was significantly superior to cane trash alone (M 4 ), mycorrhizae alone (M 2 ) and control (M 1 ). The lowest purity (85.9, 80.0 and 80.0%) was observed in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and in ratoon crop with control (M 1 ) treatment. Key Words: Mycorrhizae, Cane Trash, Juice Quality, Purity and Phosphorus Levels INTRODUCTION Sugarcane is one of the important cash crops in India and plays pivotal role in both agricultural and industrial economy of the country. India the largest producer of sugar cultivating sugarcane in an area of 5.04 million hectares with a production of million tonnes and productivity of 70 tonnes per hectare ( ). Sugarcane is an exhaustive crop and depletes soil nutrients heavily. India ranks second in the world contributing to 22 % of world s production. Andhra Pradesh ranks fifth in sugarcane crop area of the country with a share of 4.83 per cent (0.22 M.ha) with an average production of Mt contributing to 5.83 per cent of the total production of the country. In India approximately 6.5 million tonnes of sugar cane trash are being produced every year and most of the residues are usually burnt in the field due to lack of proper composing techniques. Phosphorous is one of the essential elements required in optimum amounts for the growth and development of the plants. About 98% soils have inadequate supply of available. Phosphorous (Hansan, 1996) and likely to induce deficiency of this mineral. Application of 100 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 through SSP or DAP along with 112 kg nitrogen ha -1 was found optimum for sugarcane in sandy loam soils (Devi et al., 2007). The plants which are deficient in P, show retarded growth and causes dark green colouration due to enhancement of anthocyanin formation (Khan et al., 2009). Phosphorous is the important nutrient for plant growth and root development in crops (Eftkhari et al., 2010). Application of phosphorus increases the dry matter yield, intermodal length and quality parameters in sugarcane (Tilib et al., 2004). Earlier, sugarcane crop was not responding to P application in A.P. With the advent of physiologically active improved sugarcane variety P nutrition to sugarcane crop played a vital role in yield, and quality improvement. The symbiotic associations formed by fungi with roots, known as mycorrhizae, are of particular importance in the uptake of phosphorus and some micronutrients thus enhancing the beneficial microbial populations in the root zone. These endomycorrhizae form external hyphal networks in the soil and grow extensively within the cells of cortex. Vesicular- arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi colonize plant roots and ramify into the surrounding bulk soil extending the root depletion zone around the root system. They transport water and mineral nutrients from the soil to the plant while the fungus is benefiting from the carbon compounds provided by the host plant. In low input agricultural systems, cultural practices such as organic amendments are known to enhance Arbuscular mycorrhizae formulation and fungal propagules (Darzi et al., 2009). These changes in crop growth and yield produced by various organic amendments are ascribed to changes in the physical, chemical or biological properties of the soils. The response of crop growth and yield to different organic amendments may be related to changes in population of AM fungi, as in conventional high input farming system. 61

2 Ind. J. Sci. Res. and Tech (1):61-65/Usha Rani et al MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four main treatments and four sub levels with a early maturing variety 93 A 145. The sets were selected from the short crop. The seed rate per hectare was 16,000 ha -1.. The main treatments consists of control (M1), mycorrhizae alone (M2), cane trash and mycorrhizae (M3) and cane trash alone (M4). The sub levels consist of 4 levels of phosphorus i.e., 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1. The fertilizers for the plant crop are 112 kg N, 75 kg P 2 O 5 and 100 kg K 2 O ha -1 and 224 kg N, 75 kg P 2 O 5 and 100 kg K 2 O ha -1 for ratoon crop. The phosphorus in the form of single super phosphate and potassium fertlisers in the form of muriate of potash were applied as per the treatments. The nitrogen was applied at 45 and 90 days after planting for plant crop and at stubble shaving and 45 days after planting for ratoon crop. The cane trash (pre decomposed) was ha -1 three days after planting. The mycorrhizae were kg ha hours after application of chemical fertilizers. The EM1 culture was applied on the 1kg ton -1 after application of chemical fertilizers. Weeding and irrigation was done as and when required. Harvesting was done when the cane attains maturity. The Shoot population in each treatment from the net plot in plant and ratoon crop was counted at 90, 120, 150 and 240 DAP in plant crop and ratoon crops. The total numbers of canes obtained from the net plot were made into bundles with 20 canes each and they were weighed to determine the cane weight. The numbers of canes were counted for the determination of millable canes. The weight of all the millable canes in the net plot of each treatment was recorded in Kilograms and converted to tones ha -1. The juice analysis was conducted as per the procedure mentioned below. Juice analysis Juice sucrose Horne s dry lead method Hornes, 1941 Glucose Fehlings method Fehlings, 1942 Nitrogen Ninhydrin method Browne and Zerban, 1945 Phosphorus Dil. Hcl method Browne and Zerban, 1942 Purity Browne and Zerban Browne and Zerban, 1941 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Cane yield (t ha -1 ) The mean cane yield of sugarcane was significantly influenced by inorganic P at 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 across all the combination of cane trash and mycorrhizae in both the plant crops with respective mean cane yield of 96 and 102 t ha -1, the pooled mean cane yield was 99 t ha -1 at the same level of P application. The mean cane yield of plant crops was also significantly influenced by cane trash and mycorrhizae. When both are applied in combination, the mean cane yield increased significantly to 112, 108 and 110 t ha -1 respectively in 1 st plant crop, 2 nd plant crop and pooled data as against 70, 78 and 74 t ha -1 in their absence. The mean cane yield was higher in 2 nd plant crop. The interactions between inorganic P, cane trash and mycorrhizal combinations were significant. At any level of P the cane yield significantly increased upto 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 and later showed a decrease. Significantly higher cane yield of 118 and 119 t ha -1 was obtained respectively in the two plant crops when inorganic 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 was applied in presence of both cane trash and mycorrhizae. This could be due to availability of P and other nutrients at optimum levels. The lowest cane yield was observed in the absolute control which neither received inorganic P nor cane trash nor mycorrhizae The mean cane yields obtained from ratoon crop were lower than any of the plant crops with the mean cane yield of 81 t ha -1 as against 91 and 93 tha -1 respectively in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops. The inorganic P in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae showed similar effect on ratoon crop as that of the plant crops except that the inorganic 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 across the levels though resulted in a significantly higher mean cane yield of 83 t ha -1 and showed a decline thereafter, as it was on par with cane yield of 82 t ha -1 at inorganic 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1. This could be due to inefficient mobilization of both native and applied phosphorus by the ratoon crop. The yield increase was mainly based on the cane length, girth of the cane and number of millable canes. Increased availability of nutrients accompanied with favourable soil environment might be the reason for higher yields. Hogarth (2005) reported that sugarcane was able to achive maximum yield with lower levels of P in the soil. The interaction effect was significant and the highest cane yield of 94 t ha -1 was achieved by the combined application of inorganic P at 50 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 along with cane trash and mycorrhizae. Sugar yield (t ha -1 ) Sugar yield of the crop was influenced only by cane trash and mycorrhizae in both the plant crops but no effect was noticed on ratoon crop. Among various combinations of application of cane trash and mycorrhizae, the mean sugar yield of plant crops was significantly higher when cane trash and mycorrhizae are present across all the inorganic P levels, with corresponding values of 12.3 and 12.2 tha -1 as against 9.5 and 14.7 t ha -1 in the absence of both 62

3 Table 1: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on cane yield ( t ha -1) in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and pooled data of cane yield of sugarcane M M M M Mean M P PXM MXP Table 2: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on sugar yield (t ha -1) in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops of sugarcane Treatments Cane yield Sugar yield P 0 P 1 P 2 P 3 Mean P 0 P 1 P 2 P 3 Mean M M M M Mean SED CD CV SED CD CV M P 0.07 NS 0.03 NS PXM 0.14 NS 0.07 NS MXP 0.17 NS NS 6.3 Table 3: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on cane yields (tha - 1 ) and sugar yield (t ha -1 ) in ratoon crop Treatments Cane yield Sugar yield P 0 P 1 P 2 P 3 Mean P 0 P 1 P 2 P 3 Mean M M M M Mean SED CD CV SED CD CV M NS 6.9 P NS PXM NS MXP NS

4 Table 4: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in the presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on juice quality of 1st plant crop M M M M Mean M P 0.02 NS 0.03 NS PXM 0.04 NS 0.07 NS 0.27 NS MXP 0.06 NS NS NS 2.8 Table 5: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on juice quality of 2 nd plant crop M M M M Mean M P 0.03 NS 0.04 NS PXM 0.05 NS 0.08 NS 0.29 NS MXP 0.07 NS NS NS 2.1 Table 6: Effect of different levels of phosphorus in presence and absence of cane trash and mycorrhizae on juice quality of ratoon crop M M M M Mean M P 0.04 NS 0.03 NS PXM 0.07 NS 0.07 NS 0.28 NS MXP 0.07 NS NS NS

5 (Table 4). The interaction effect was not significant. These results are in confirmity with the findings of Bhoktiar and Sakurai (2003) who stated that the significant increase in sugar yield was due to increasing levels of soil P and a highest sugar yield of 12.4 t ha -1 was observed with 38 ppm soil P level. Juice quality During both the years of study, phosphorus application did not show any significant influence on the juice sucrose and CCS % in cane juice in both plant and ratoon crops. However, the phosphorus application influenced the purity (%) of juice in both plant and ratoon crops. The highest purity (%) of 90.04, 90.1 and 87.6 in juice was observed in 1 st and 2 nd plant crop and ratoon crops respectively with the application of 150 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 which was significantly superior to other levels of inorganic P. These results are in conformity with find ings of Ismail et al., (2000) who reported that phosphorus levels had a significant influence on purity percentage while its effect on the length and diameter of stalks, sucrose percentage, cane and sugar yields were insignificant. The highest juice sucrose of 18.6, 18.7 and 18.3 percent and CCS of 12.7, 12.8 and 12.7 percent respectively were obtained in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and in ratoon crop with cane trash plus mycorrhizae and was significantly superior to cane trash alone (M 4 ), mycorrhizae alone (M 2 ) and control (M 1 ). In the absence of cane trash plus mycorrhizae, juice sucrose of 17.6, 17.6 and 17.7 percent and CCS of 12.3, 12.6 and 12.1 percent were recorded in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and ratoon crop respectively. The lowest purity (85.9, 80.0 and 80.0%) was observed in 1 st and 2 nd plant crops and in ratoon crop with control (M 1 ) treatment. The interaction of cane trash plus mycorrhizae with phosphorus was not found significant on these three parameters of juice quality in both plant and ratoon crops. REFERENCES Brown CA & Zerban FN (1941). Physiological and chemical methods of sugarcane analysis. John Villey and Sons, New York. Devi TC, Bharatalaxmi M, Kumari MBGS & Naidu NV (2007). Effect of sources and levels of phosphorus with zinc on yield and quality of sugarcane. Sugar Tech, 14(2) Darzi MT (2007). Application on Qualification and Quantification Yield Effect of the Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal of Fennel in Order to reach to a Sustainable (VAM) Fungus Glomus fasiculatum on the Essential Agroecosystem. PhD Thesis, Tarbiyat Modarres Oil Yield Related Characters and Nutrient Acquisition University, Iran, (In Farsi). Eftkhari Egener T, Hurek T & Reinhold-Hurek B (2010). Endophytic expression of nif genes of Azoarcus sp. strain BH72 in rice roots. Mol Plant- Microbe Inter El-Tilib MA, Elnasikh MH & Elamin EA (2004). Phosphorus and potassium fertilization effects on growth attributes and yield of two sugarcane varieties grown on three soil series. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 27(4) Fehlings (1942). Analysis of glucose. Analysis of sugarcane juice 2-3. Hornes (1941). Dry lead method for undiluted juice. Analysis of sugarcane juice 2-3 Hogarth ZL, Bian W & Zhu J (2005). Screening and identification of microorganisms capable of utilizing phosphate adsorbed by goethite. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, Hanson PJ, Edwards NT, Garten CT & Andrews JA (1996). Separating root and soil microbial contributions to soil respiration: a review of methods and observations. Biogeochemistry, Ismail AMA, Hagrus AM, El-Sonbaty & Faarrag MM (2000). Effect of phosphobacterin and phosphorus levels on yield and quality of sugarcane. Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research, 78(4)