EEFFECTS OF FILTER CAKE AND BLENDED NPS FERTILIZER RATES ON SUGARCANE (Saccharum officinarum L.) GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY AT FINCHAA SUGAR ESTATE, WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

High cane yield and juice quality are crucial for the commercial sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) industry. This study investigated the effects of blended NPS fertilizer and filter cake on cane growth, yield, and quality, particularly in light of declining soil fertility. The field experiment was conducted at FSE during the 2023/2024 cropping season, the experimental design involved a factorial arrangement combination in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments included four levels of NPS fertilizer (0, 200, 300, and 400 kg ha-1 ) and four levels of filter cake (0, 10, 20, and 30 tons ha-1 ). The findings aim to identified optimal fertilizer combinations and conduct a partial budget analysis of their effects on sugarcane production. Variance analysis revealed highly significant (p < 0.01) differences in cane parameters due to both main and interaction effects of the treatments. The combination of 400 kg ha⁻¹ NPS and 20 tons ha⁻¹ filter cake yielded the highest values for leaf area (332.1 cm²), leaf area index (5.8), cane stalk girth (26.2 mm), millable canes (120155 stalks/ha), fresh stalk weight (1.47 kg/stalk), dry stalk weight (0.42 kg/stalk), pol (16.8%), purity (90.0%) sucrose content (11.73%), cane yield (192.8 t/ha), and sugar yield (24.47 t/ha). The maximum partial budget net benefits return of ETB 1,015,957.9 was achieved with the same treatment, compared to ETB 294,652.5 in controlled. These results suggested that the integration of 20 tons ha⁻¹ filter cake with 400 kg ha⁻¹ NPS was significantly enhance sugarcane production on luvisol soil. Further research is needed with different sugarcane varieties and soil types over multiple cropping seasons for more conclusive recommendations.