Assessment of nutrient ratios in the leaf of sugarcane grown in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

To assess the impact of nutrient ratios N/P, N/K and N/S on sugarcane productivity, a survey was conducted during its grand growth stage (October, November and December) influenced by various yield levels based on soil quality zones in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India. The leaf samples were collected from cane yielding zones of the district was classified into three categories viz., low yielding (less than 75 t ha^-1), medium (75 to 100 t ha^-1) and high yielding (more than 100 t ha^-1). Computation of nutrient ratios for sugarcane at its grand growth stage implied that the mean N/P, N/K and N/S ratios 8.31, 1.60 and 15.0 respectively in the third leaf of sugarcane in the high yielding zone resulted in maximum cane yields compared to relatively higher ratios in the top dewlap leaves from soils of low soil quality category which indicates that maintenance of high quality in sugarcane soils influences crop nutrient uptake, optimum nutrient ratios, the yield and quality of sugarcane.