Effect of Foliar Application of NPK and Micronutrient (Zn and Fe) on the Yield and Quality of Sugarcane Crop

Abstract

The foliar application of nutrients help the plant leaves to readily absorb the applied nutrients through the nutrient solution and increases the nutrient use efficiency and thus improves the crop yield. The field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years to find out the affect of foliar spray of NPK and micronutrient on cane yield, yield parameters and juice quality of sugarcane during 2019-20 and 2020-21.The present study was carried out on clay loam soils of Research farm of Regional Research Station, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Karnal, Haryana. The research revealed that cane yield and yield parameters i.e., cane length, and cane weight was significantly affected with the foliar spray of NPK and micronutrient but non-significant effect was observed for cane girth and number of internodes. With respect to juice quality parameters viz., commercial cane sugar (CCS) %, pol % and sugar yield, significantly affected with foliar spray of NPK and micronutrient. The highest cane yield, cane weight and cane length was recorded with the foliar application of 2% NPK (19:19:19) + 0.5% ZnSO4 +1% FeSO4 (78.16 t/ha, 1.21 kg and 207.3 cm) followed by foliar spray of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 1% FeSO4+ 2.5% urea recorded 76.75 t/ha, 1.20 kg and 207.1 cm, respectively. The lowest cane yield (70.68 t/ha) was recorded with the application of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) alone. The highest CCS % (12.16), pol % (17.36) and sugar yield (9.51 t/ha) was observed in the treatment 2% NPK + 0.5% ZnSO4 +1% FeSO4. Thus, foliar application with NPK and micronutrient could significantly improve the cane yield, yield parameters and juice quality of sugarcane crop.