Optimal crop nutrient management for sugarcane production on sandy soil in the northeast of Thailand

An effective nutrient management for plant cane production on sandy soil was investigated. This aimed to be a guideline of fertilizer recommendation for plant cane production on sandy soil in the Northeast of Thailand. The experiment was conducted in Ban Phai soil series at Khon Kaen Province. The experimental design was split-split plot with 3 replications. Main plots comprised 1) without soil amendment and 2) amendment with 100 kg/rai of dolomite and 1,000 kg/rai of filtercake compost. Subplots consisted of Khon Kaen 3 and LK92-11 sugarcane varieties. Sub-subplots were fertilizer application levels i.e. 0-6-18, 9-6-18, 18-6-18, and 27-6-18 kg N-P2O5-K2O/rai. The results showed that average yield of plant cane grown on infertile Ban Phai soil series without soil improvement was rather low about 11.43 t/rai. When the soil was amended with dolomite and compost, the yield of plant cane increased to 15.35 t/rai. Comparison between both sugarcane varieties showed that Khon Kaen 3 variety was higher production potential than LK92-11 variety, in which average yield of Khon Kaen 3 was 14.20 t/rai whereas that of LK92-11 variety was 12.59 t/rai. As an aspect of economic returns, if the soil was amended with dolomite and compost, nitrogen fertilizer application could be reduced to a lower rate. Without soil amendment, the fertilizer should be applied at 18-6-18 kg N-P2O5-K2O/rai for Khon Kaen 3 variety and 27-6-18 kg N-P2O5-K2O/rai for LK92-11 variety. On the other hand, with compost application, the chemical fertilizer should be applied at a lower level of 9-6-18 kg N-P2O5-K2O/rai for Khon Kaen 3 variety and 18-6-18 kg N-P2O5-K2O /rai for LK92-11 variety, which maximized benefit for economic returns