EFFECTS OF ORGANIC, INORGANIC AND ORGANOMINERAL FERTILIZERS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF SUGARCANE (Saccharum officinarum L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm (Crop section) of the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria to examine the effects of organic, inorganic and organomineral fertilizer on the growth and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L). The experiment was a 3 x 6 factorial scheme laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) involving three replicates. Three varieties of sugar cane (F141, Ibon 007 and Hausani), five fertilizer sources (250 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer, 5 tonnes/ha Organic Fertilizer, 5 tonnes/ha Poultry manure, 200 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer, and 200 kg/ha NPK 20:10:10) and control (no fertilizer/manure application) were used. Each replicate consisted of eighteen treatments. The treatments were: (i) Ibon 007 + 250 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (ii) F141 + 250 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (iii) Hausani + 250 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (iv) Ibon 007 + 5 tonnes/ha organic fertilizer; (v) F141 + 5 tonnes/ha organic fertilizer; (vi) Hausani + 5 tonnes/ha organic fertilizer; (vii) Ibon 007 + 200 kg/ha NPK; (viii) F141 + 200 kg/ha NPK; (ix) Hausani + 200 kg/ha NPK; (x) Ibon 007 + 5 tonnes/ha poultry manure; (xi) F141 + 5 tonnes/ha poultry manure; (xii) Hausani + 5 tonnes/ha poultry manure; (xiii) Ibon 007 + 200 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (xiv) F141 + 200 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (xv) Hausani + 200 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer; (xvi) Ibon 007 only; (xvii) F141 only; and (xviii) Hausani only. The growth parameters assessed include: plant height (cm), stem girth (cm), number of leaves, and number of tillers; cane yield (kg/ha) and proximate composition/nutrient contents of the cane was also determined. Results from the study showed that the varieties differed in most of the growth and yield attributes measured due to their genetic make – up. The improved sugarcane varieties (F141 and Ibon 007) produces significantly higher number of leaves and tillers compared to the local Hausani variety. The Hausani variety gave higher (but not significant (p=0.05) cane yield compared with the improved varieties. Application of 250 kg/ha sunshine organomineral fertilizer also resulted in significantly (p=0.05) higher cane yields. The analysis of the proximate composition of the sugarcane varieties showed that the percentage ash, crude protein, carbohydrates, crude fibre, fats and moisture contents differed significantly across treatments. The highest percentage of crude protein and fibre was recorded in plots treated with 5 tonnes/ha poultry manure while. Plots treated with 5 tonnes/ha organic fertilizer recorded the highest percentage of fat; while plots treated with 200 kg/ha organomineral fertilizer has the highest