Effect of planting season and type of fertilizer on biomass yield and quality of sugar cane

摘要

Sugarcanehasthetwincharacteristicsofyear-roundgrowthbutaharvestcapabilitythatisoftenseasonallyconstrainedinordertooptimizesucroseyieldbothinthefieldandduringtheprocessofextraction.Forenergy,animalfeedandprotectionofsoilecosystems,sucroseyieldislessimportantthanayear-round,stabilizedsupplyoftotalbiomass.Threetreatmentswerecompared:plantingatmonthlyintervalsfromJune1994throughtoMay1995;mulchingornomulchingwiththedeadleaves;andorganic(cattle)manureorchemicalfertilizer.Theexperimentaldesignemployedmonthlyplantingasmainplots,mulchingornomulchingassplitplotsandfertilizertypeassplit-splitplots.Harvestingwas12monthsafterplanting.Thedensitiesofmatureplantsatharvesttimevariedfrom35,000to75,000plants/haandwashigherwhenplantingwasfromJanuarytoApril(thetraditionalsystem)thanfromMaytoAugust.PlantpopulationwasverylowforsugarcaneplantedbetweenSeptemberandDecember.TheplotsestablishedbetweenJanuaryandJulygavehigher(P=0.001)stalkyields(67-74tonnes/ha)thanthoseplantedfromAugusttoDecember(37-50tonnes/ha).Totalbiomassyieldfollowedthesamepattern.°Brixvariedmarkedlywithplantingdateandwashighestforcaneplanted(andharvested)intheperiodfromOctobertoApril.