Improving the Yield and Quality of Spring Planted Sugarcane through Nitrogen Management.

Sugarcane is one of the important cash crops of Pakistan and plays a vital role in agricultural and industrial economy of the country. Sugarcane is a long duration and exhaustive crop that that depletes the soil nutrients heavily, especially the NPK. Studies to see the effect of dose and time of nitrogen application on growth, yield and quality of spring planted sugarcane were conducted for two consecutive years during 2006 and 2007 on a loam soil at Farm area, Sugarcane Research Institute, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Different rates of N (168, 252 and 336 kg ha^-1) were applied in full dose or in two splits (one at sowing and other at 90 DAS). Results revealed significant effect of dose and time of N application on all agronomic and physiological traits except germination, number of shoots, number of internodes, NAR, HI and all quality parameters. Maximum number of millable canes, plant height, cane length, length of internodes and stripped cane yield was recorded when N was applied in two splits (at sowing and 90 DAS) each @126kg ha^-1. Based on marginal rate of return it is recommended that the sugarcane growers with medium investment power should fertilize their crops @ 168 kg ha^-1 at the time of sowing while the growers having high investment power may fertilize their crops with N in two splits (at sowing and 90 DAS) each @126kg ha^-1.